City of Basketball Love

Varun Kumar (@vrkumar8)
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One of the great things about The Basketball Tournament is that it allows fans to reconnect with their favorite college basketball stars from the past. Some big names, like one-time Ole Miss guard and known agitator Marshall Henderson, have participated every year in TBT’s short history.

But on the flipside lies one of the other great aspects about The Tournament: less-heralded players and those from small colleges also get an equal shot at winning the $2 million prize.

Arguably the least-known roster among the teams left competing for the title is Trained To Go.

Just a few members of the team played Division I hoops, though two--forward Damien Wilkins and big man Mickell Gladness--actually played in the NBA. Instead, many of them, like bruising big man Brian Harper of Paine College and wing Brandon Robinson of Clayton State,  played their college ball at Division II or NAIA schools.

As one of two lowest seeds remaining in TBT, they are relishing their roles as underdogs, surprising everyone as they advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round.

“It’s fun,” Harper said after their 85-74 win over TMD on Thursday afternoon. “I’ve always played the role of underdog. I went to a small D-II school and I’ve played nine years of professional basketball. I like sneaking up on people. I don’t want you to see me coming. But now they know we’re here and we’re in the Top 8.”

The members of Trained To Go almost exclusively hail from the state of Georgia. They are mostly familiar with each other, with all having previously worked out with their head coach, Mark Hughes.

Hughes has trained players in and around Atlanta for the past seven years under the official company name, Trained To Go.

They conduct their workouts at historic Burdett Gymnasium in College Park, Ga., where players like Dominique Wilkins and Mookie Blaylock honed their skills as youngsters.

Through his experiences in working with them, Hughes knows his players’ strengths and weaknesses and how to mix-and-match his lineups accordingly.

“If you're in the Atlanta area, you've probably come through my gym at some point in the last seven years,” he said. “We see who fits. When you have a chess set, you have certain pieces who each help you win. Here, we have guys who have specific skills- scoring, shooting, who match with versatile defenders.”

The players agreed that Hughes has gotten them to buy into their roles on the team. High level overseas pros like Harper or Damien Wilkins normally would be the leading scorer on their team, but both have instead chosen to focus on other aspects of the game.

In their win over TMD, Harper led Trained To Go in blocked shots, while Wilkins led in rebounds and assists.

“In this type of setting, this type of tournament, the best teams have guys that do whatever it takes to win,” Wilkins said. “I’m not trying to lead The Tournament in scoring. I know I can score it if I want to. Let’s just get the win, however we can get the win. The most important thing is advancing.”

Harper echoed Wilkins sentiments, praising the team-first mentality that each player has displayed the past few weeks. He also stressed the importance of doing things for the greater good.

“We have guys who come and just do everything they can [to win]. That’s how you’re going to win this tournament. Whoever wins it, they sacrificed the most. You’re not going to get it if everyone is out there playing for themselves.”

Trained To Go’s defense, particularly their defensive versatility, has been a key to their success thus far. It helped them to secure a spot in the quarterfinal stage, giving them a chance to win the South Region on Saturday.

Their defense was particularly strong in the second half, after making some matchup adjustments at halftime. In the second, they held TMD to a paltry 28.6 percent from the field, and held Henderson to just 1-of-9 shooting on just five points overall.

Hughes ability to get his players to buy into his system and play hard-nosed defense might be attributed to his own background. He is through and through a military guy. He was born on Montgomery Air Force Base, as his mother and seven uncles all served in the military.

“Moving around a lot [while growing up] allows me to coach a lot of different personalities, and blend in guys from different backgrounds,” he said.

That's not to say his style of coaching is overly militaristic and strict. To Wilkins, it’s been the exact opposite, noting how enjoyable it's been to play the past few weekends with other players that he counts as his friends.

“It’s been fun. It's been really fun, even though we’ve overcome so much adversity these past few games,” Wilkins said. “We’ve played together the past few years. It's nice to do those things together as a unit, and it's been helping us tremendously.”