After four years of playing solely with Ohio State alumni from the Thad Matta era, Carmen’s Crew will finally have someone who played under Chris Holtmann after former center Kaleb Wesson announced his intentions of participating in this summer’s rendition of The Basketball Tournament on Tuesday morning.
A former four-star prospect from Westerville South, Wesson averaged 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds in 96 games for the Buckeyes from 2017-20. He left the program following a strong junior year in which he averaged 14.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, as well as a team-leading 42.5 percent from three-point range, but went undrafted.
Wesson and his brother, Andre Wesson, were supposed to play in The Basketball Tournament last year for Big X but opted out to focus on their professional basketball pursuits. He then spent time in training camp with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who eventually signed him to their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The 6-foot-10 and 252-pound Wesson averaged 9.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in 13 games with the Warriors, who fell in the second round of the playoffs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. He then signed with Filou Oostende of the EuroMillions Basketball League of Belgium in April but left the team after aggravating a previous knee injury.
Other former Ohio State players who have committed to play for Carmen’s Crew this summer include William Buford, Jon Diebler, David Lighty, Evan Ravenel, Shannon Scott and Keyshawn Woods. Meanwhile, Jared Sullinger and Evan Turner will once again serve as the team’s general manager/head coach and assistant coach, respectively.
This year’s tournament will be played at four regional sites, including the Columbus Regional at the Covelli Center on July 23-27, with the top two teams from each regional site advancing to tournament play at the University of Dayton Arena on July 31-Aug. 3.
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