Another former member of the Louisville men's basketball program is running it back with their alumni team taking part in The Basketball Tournament.
David Johnson has officially signed to the 2025 playing roster for year three of "The Ville," TBT announced Monday.
Johnson will be joining Russ Smith and Montrezl Harrell as a player, while Luke Hancock, after starting his run with The Ville as a player, will serve as their head coach this summer.
In his TBT debut last year, Johnson made an instant impact. Starting all four games, he averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 28.6 on three-point tries. The Ville made their deepest run in the TBT, making it to the quarterfinals before falling to La Familia.
Johnson was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft, but has spent nearly his entire career in the NBA G-League. The Louisville native and Trinity alum was member of the Raptors' organization for his first two years in the league, but was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the 2023-24 season.
In 81 games and 43 starts for the Raptors 905 and Memphis Hustle - the respective G-League affiliates for the Raptors and the Grizzlies - Johnson has averaged 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 45.1/38.2/73.2.
Johnson was Louisville's second-leading scorer during the 2020-21 season as a sophomore, averaging 12.6 points over 19 games. He also chipped in with 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 41.1% from the field and 38.6% on three-point attempts. He was the only player in the ACC among the top 25 in both rebounding and assists, earning honorable mention All-ACC honors.
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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