Red Scare hopes added size helps in TBT one year after first-round exit

Their answers varied:

• “Because I’m a Flyer.”

• “Because of what happened last year.”

No one said they joined the roster for the chance to win a share of the $1 million TBT prize that goes to the champion.

“Everyone lied about that,” joked former UD walk-on Jeremiah Bonsu, who will coach with Gruden once again seven years after they last sat on the bench together as Flyers.

The money is a distant dream in the 64-team tournament, but it’s in the back of everyone’s minds as the tournament begins this weekend at UD Arena.

“The money is definitely a part of it,” Bonsu said. “It’s money that can help you. We’re adults now. Life happens. Life has bills. But on the other side of it, for Joe and I, were competing as coaches, and the players are competing as players. That’s really important.”

The Red Scare is the No. 2 seed in the Dayton Region and plays No. 7 seed DaGuys STL in the first round at 5 p.m. Saturday. The game will air on Fox Sports 1. Most seats cost $25.

The Red Scare started practice Tuesday and scrimmaged We Are D3, the No. 4 seed in the region, on Thursday at UD Arena. The team made up of former NCAA Division III players led the majority of the game but lost 74-69 to the Dayton alumni team. Four former Flyers started the game — Darrell Davis; Jordan Sibert; Scoochie Smith; and Ryan Mikesell — but only Davis was on the court during the Elam Ending finish.

Cleveland Melvin, a 1,792-point scorer at DePaul from 2010-14 when he played for former UD coach Oliver Purnell, made the game-ending shot as the Red Scare reached the target score.

Along with Melvin and Davis, the Red Scare finished the game with former Virginia Commonwealth forward Marcus Santos-Silva, former Missouri and Buffalo guard Wes Clark, former Wright State and Virginia Tech forward Grant Basile on the floor.

The scrimmage showed once again how every game in the tournament is a battle. The Red Scare has a 9-5 record in five TBT appearances and reached the semifinals in 2022 but lost in the first round to India Rising a year ago. That result played a part in the decision by some players to return for another chance in 2024.

“It hurt bad,” Smith said. “It always hurts, even when we made it to the final four and lost. We’re just looking to complete the job.”

Davis, the only player making his sixth appearance on the Red Scare roster, did not hesitate to commit to playing this year because of what happened last year.

“We’ve got a sour taste in our mouth,” Davis said. “Give India Rising credit, but we feel it was a slap in the face. We’re going to take this year way more harder than last year. I’m not saying we didn’t take it (seriously) last year, but we took them lightly and underestimated them.”

The Red Scare had an eight-man team last year but only three forwards: Mikesell (6-7); AJ Pacher (6-10); and Terry Allen (6-8). It has more size this year with Mikesell (6-7), Melvin (6-8), Josh Cunningham (6-8) and Basile (6-9).

“We’ve got some enforcers this year,” Gruden said. “We’ve got some bigger guys, some strength, which we were missing last year. Everyone’s in shape. They look good.”

Dayton’s first opponent, DaGuys STL, has played in the last two TBTs and lost in the first round each time. In 2022, as the No. 7 seed, it lost 72-69 to No. 2 Team Arkansas in Omaha, Neb. Last year, it was the No. 7 seed again and lost 72-59 to No. 2 seed Purple & Black in Wichita, Kan.

DaGuys STL has no official connection to Dayton’s Atlantic 10 Conference rival, Saint Louis, but includes players from the St. Louis area. The roster has one former Billiken: Terrance Hargrove Jr., a 6-6 forward who averaged 13.4 points last season in his fifth and final season at SLU.

DaGuys STL’s 2024 roster also features another familiar A-10 name: 6-5 guard Courtney Stockard, who’s from St. Louis and averaged 14.2 points in two seasons (2017-19) at St. Bonaventure.

Jordan Barnett, a 6-6 forward who played two seasons at Texas and two seasons at Missouri from 2014-18, led the team with 15 points last season. De’Marco Owens, a 6-8 forward who played one season at McNeese State (2017-18), scored 23 points in the 2022 game and also returns.

The Dayton Region includes the defending TBT champion, No. 1 seed Heartfire, which plays No. 8 seed Rise and Grind at 2 p.m. Saturday. Former Notre Dame star LaPhonso Ellis, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, coaches the team. Former Valparaiso coach Homer Drew is the Heartfire general manager.

The Ohio State alumni team Carmen’s Crew, the 2019 TBT champion, is the No. 3 seed and plays No. 6 Purple Hearts in the final first-round game of the day Saturday. The former Buckeyes on the roster are: Jared Sullinger; Andre Wesson; Kaleb Wesson; Keyshawn Woods; and Kyle Young.

If the Red Scare wins Saturday, it will play Carmen’s Crew or Purple Hearts in the second round at 8 p.m. Monday.

This will be the fourth straight year UD Arena has hosted TBT games and the third straight year the Red Scare has played in Dayton.

“Anytime I get the opportunity to play in front of family and friends, it’s a huge thing,” Mikesell said. “They don’t really get to watch me play overseas. Now it’s an opportunity for them to come back to the arena and relive some glory days.”

SATURDAY’S TBT GAMES AT UD ARENA

Games 1 & 2

12 p.m. — No. 4 seed We Are D3 vs No. 5 Sweet Home Alabama

2 p.m. — No. 1 Heartfire vs No. 8 Rise and Grind

Games 3 & 4

5 p.m. — No. 2 Red Scare (Dayton) vs. No. 7 DaGuys STL

7 p.m. — No. 3 Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State) vs No. 6 Purple Hearts