The Basketball Tournament has become a fixture of Louisville‘s summer sports scene, with Cardinals fans flocking to Freedom Hall to watch former greats such as Peyton Siva, Montrezl Harrell and Russ Smith don the red and black once more.
Those three are running it back for The Ville’s third crack at claiming the 64-team tournament’s $1 million grand prize; as are Chane Behanan, David Johnson and Chris Jones. But coach Luke Hancock has some new (familiar) faces getting in on the action, too.
The Ville made its deepest run yet in TBT last summer, when it won the regional it hosted but fell to a team representing archrival Kentucky, La Familia, in a quarterfinal game at Freedom Hall that drew the largest crowd in tournament history, 13,506. Having been the first team to reach 4,000 tickets sold, the ex-Cards have home-court advantage for as long as they stay alive in 2025.
If The Ville is to capitalize on that momentum and contend for a championship, Hancock must get impactful performances up and down his roster — especially with Siva taking on a player-coach role this go-around. Here’s a look at three newcomers whose presence will be felt from the opening tip:
Earl Clark
Earl Clark had a spot on The Ville’s inaugural roster back in 2023 but had to withdraw due to professional contract obligations the team described as “beyond his control.” Two years later, the 6-foot-10 former NBA lottery pick will make his much-anticipated TBT debut.
Clark, who played at Louisville from 2006-09 and helped lead the program to its first No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25, has been bouncing around rosters overseas since 2016. The forward from Plainfield, New Jersey, spent the 2024-25 season with the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League. Across 23 games, he averaged 18 points on 39.9% shooting with 8.9 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.7 assists against 2.7 turnovers in 34.7 minutes per contest.
That’s not all; Clark is also a co-captain of the DMV Trilogy in the BIG3 — a professional 3-on-3 league that was founded in 2017. He joined the team in 2022 and helped bring home a championship that season. Last year, he finished third in the league in total rebounds (65, 8.1 per) and tied for seventh in total points (113, 14.1 per).
There is some overlap between DMV Trilogy’s season and The Ville’s TBT schedule, but there has been no indication to this point that it will affect Clark’s role with the ex-Cards. Considering his experience and proven production, he should be in line for a pivotal one.
Jay Scrubb
Louisville native Jay Scrubb signed with the Cards after two seasons with John A. Logan College, during which he was named the 2019-20 NJCAA Player of the Year. But the Trinity High School grad opted to bypass the homecoming and enter the NBA draft instead.
The Brooklyn Nets selected Scrubb with the 55th overall pick in 2020, then traded the 6-4 guard to the Los Angeles Clippers. At the time, he was the first junior college player to get drafted since Oldham County product Donta Smith in 2004.
Scrubb logged 24 appearances in the NBA from 2020-23. After signing a two-way deal with the Boston Celtics, he spent the 2023-24 season recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered during a practice. In 31 games off the bench for Maine Celtics in the G League this past campaign, he averaged 16 points on 43.1% shooting (33.5% from 3) with 4.2 rebounds, two assists against as many turnovers and 1.5 steals across 24.7 minutes per.
The Ville needed to bolster its perimeter depth with Siva shifting into a player-coach role. Scrubb should slot in nicely alongside Johnson, Jones and Smith; and he, like the next player on this list, will no doubt want to put on a show for his hometown.
Ray Spalding
Ray Spalding, another Louisville native and former Shamrock, spent three seasons with the Cards before declaring for the NBA draft in 2018. The Philadelphia 76ers selected the 6-10 forward with the 56th overall pick, then traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.
Spalding appeared in 16 NBA games between 2018 and 2021. Across 128 G League games from 2018-24, he averaged 13.6 points on 53.9% shooting (27% from 3) with eight rebounds, 2.3 assists against 2.6 turnovers, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 steals in 26.9 minutes per.
Since then, Spalding has gone international. At his most recent stop, with AEK Larnaca B.C. in Cyprus, he played in nine games and averaged 11.3 points on 58.3% shooting from 2-point range with 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists against 2.2 turnovers and 1.2 steals across 20.7 minutes per.
It’ll be tough to beat out Clark and Harrell for a starting spot in the post, but Spalding should get his fair share of run as one of the tallest and most athletic players on The Ville’s roster.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bh*****@*****tt.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The Basketball Tournament Louisville: Earl Clark on TBT 2025 roster
