Earl Clark Joins Louisville Alumni TBT Team for 2025

The Louisville men's basketball alumni team taking part in The Basketball Tournament has secured another notable former Cardinal.

Earl Clark has officially signed to the 2025 playing roster for year three of "The Ville," TBT announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-10, 220-pound power forward was originally set to make his TBT debut during The Ville's inaugural run in 2023. However, he had to back out at the last minute due to “recent contractual obligations beyond his control."

Clark is the fifth former Louisville player to suit up for The Ville's third go round in the TBT, joining Russ Smith, Montrezl Harrell, David Johnson and Peyton Siva. Louisville natives Jay Scrubb and David Sloan have also been signed to this year's roster. Luke Hancock was elevated to head coach for 2025, while Siva and Mark Lieberman are his assistants.

Clark most recently played overseas in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League for the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers. In 23 games during the 2024-25 season, he averaged 18.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

The Plainfield, N.J. native played a key role in helping Louisville attain their first ever No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll during the 2008-09 season. That year as a junior, he was the Cardinals' top scorer and rebounder at 14.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while also adding the second-most assists per game at 3.2.

Clark was later selected by the Phoenix Suns with the No. 14 overall pick in 2009 NBA Draft. He spent six years in the NBA with the Suns, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, and has mostly played in overseas leagues since 2016.

TBT is a 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all tournament that has seen its popularity rise in recent years after it was first established in 2014. While anyone over 18 years old and not currently on an NBA roster can play, teams more often than not consist of former collegiate and professional basketball players.

It is also home to the Elam Ending, which is an alternate way to conclude basketball games without them turning into an intentional foul fest. At the first dead ball under four minutes in the fourth quarter, a target score for both teams is then established by adding eight points to the leading team’s score.

For the third year in a row, The Ville is serving as the host to one of TBT’s eight regional locations, with play once again taking place at legendary Freedom Hall. For the first time in TBT history, regional hosts have the opportunity to have home court advantage all the way up through the championship game.

The Louisville Regional will take place on July 19-23, with exact matchups and and tip-off times being announced at a later date.

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