Andrew Tew, Polk State College, and Michael Parsons, Eastern Florida State College, contributed to this release
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Two coaches - one past, one present - with FCSAA roots are preparing to lead teams into "The Basketball Tournament," the wildly popular tournament featuring 64 teams competing for a $1 million dollar prize.
Polk State College Director of Athletics Stan Cromartie, whose coaching resume includes head coaching stints at Valencia College and Seminole State College, and current Eastern Florida State College head men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman will lead teams into the 64-team event.
Now entering its 10th year, The Tournament has grown in popularity due to the number of former NBA and college players who participate, many of whom form alumni teams.
Polk State Athletics Director to coach in TBT
Polk State Director of Athletics Stanley Cromartie transitioned from coaching to administration several years ago, but later this month, he'll have the opportunity to show that he's still got it.
Cromartie, 58, will coach in the 10th annual TBT (The Basketball Tournament). TBT is a 64-team single-elimination tournament with the winning team taking home $1 million.
"Trying to put a basketball team together is never easy," Cromartie said. "I'm excited about this year's team. We'll see how we do."
Cromartie will be the head coach for Team DRC, which was founded by Cromartie's son and former NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers-Cromartie spent 12 years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, and Washington Commanders.
"My son's a competitor, so we're going there to win," Cromartie said. "Although he played professional football, he can really play basketball."
The tournament is made up of former professional and collegiate athletes. Notable players joining Rodgers-Cromartie on this year's Team DRC roster are Ronald Moore, a former All-MAAC performer at Siena University, and Michael Forrest, a guard who helped Florida Atlantic University reach the Final Four this past season.
Team DRC holds a 4-3 record all-time in TBT and a 2-2 mark with Cromartie as head coach. In 2018, Team DRC reached the Sweet 16 after beating a team of University of Memphis alumni.
As for Cromartie, he's no stranger to the coaching ranks. After a stellar playing career at what is now State College of Florida-Manatee and Webber International University, Cromartie took his first head coaching job at Edwards Waters College in Jacksonville.
Cromartie later served as an assistant at NCAA Division I Bethune-Cookman University. Cromartie had stints as the head man at Valencia College, and Seminole State College of Florida before concluding his coaching career as an assistant at another Division I school, South Carolina State University.
An inductee in both the FCSAA and State College of Florida Halls of Fame, Cromartie also guided Edward Waters Softball to a conference championship in 2015 and its first appearance in the national NAIA Tournament two years later. Cromartie served as Director of Athletics at Edward Waters before joining Polk State in 2019.
Because he was on the road coaching, Cromartie never had the opportunity to coach his son as a youth. Participating together in TBT is a chance to do that.
"The most fun thing is getting to coach my son," Cromartie said. "I'm too old to coach the college kids anymore, but this gives me my fix."
All TBT games will air on ESPN's family of network. Team DRC will begin the tournament at Cintas Center in Cincinnati on July 21 at 1 p.m. against The Program for Autism, which features J'Covan Brown, a former All-Big 12 guard at the University of Texas.
EFSC men's basketball coach named head coach for TBT team this summer
Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman has been named a head coach of a team in TBT, a single-elimination tournament for a million dollars.
"I never would have thought this opportunity would come and I am very humbled and very grateful. It has not even fully set in yet just how cool of an opportunity this is," Shulman said. "I have already reached out to some guys who have coached in the past and I am trying to learn. I think I can become a better coach this summer, so many things that it can open your eyes to and coaching a bunch of high-level pros and coaching against pros, it is going to be a great opportunity."
The JUCO Products will feature former junior college standouts including some former Titans that coach Shulman coached. The 2023 tournament, which will be shown on ESPN and ESPN2, will be in celebrating its 10th season and will be played in eight different cities around the country in July and August.
"I don't have a lot of say in who will be on the roster but the GM did pick some former Titans in CJ Jackson, BJ Gladden and hopefully Noah Horchler, it is going to be really cool," Shulman said. "To coach those guys again, you know when they left Eastern Florida I thought I would never get to coach these guys again and to get the chance to do that again for a few weeks is going to be an unbelievable experience."
The JUCO Products will be part of a 64-team tournament comprised of some of the best basketball players around the country. Last season Blue Collar U won the title led by C.J. Massinburg who was the Most Valuable Player.
"There has been talk for years that someone needed to do a JUCO team in the TBT, there are a lot of alumni teams, Ohio State Alumni Team, The Big Ten Alumni Team, Syracuse has Boeheim's Army and there are just all of these great teams so there has always been talk about the need for a JUCO team. Thankfully, Brandon Noble at JUCO Advocate and a few other guys put a team together," Shulman said.
Shulman, who was a court coach during the 2017 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Training Camp, was originally helping get in contact with a couple of players, but then was asked if he wanted to be the head coach.
It did not take him long to say yes. And now he has already begun thinking about how to get the team ready in the three-day training camp before games start in the middle of July.
"It will be very unique, trying to get nine individuals together that haven't played with each other and are playing in different pro leagues around the world. I will just try to get everyone on the same page and find out what we can do and what we can't do really. It is going to be a really interesting puzzle," Shulman said. "I am trying to communicate with as many former coaches as I can because I don't want to be too ambitious, keep it simple but not street ball. Just trying to find that balance is going to be the biggest challenge, and of course all nine guys are coming from big programs and deserve to play, so finding a good balance will be key."
Games are scheduled to begin July 19.