UConn alums 'Stars of Storrs' fight their way to Sweet 16 in TBT

Ryan Boatright, and many of the players he has helped assemble for the Stars of Storrs, have not had many chances to play basketball in their home country since leaving college.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) offers that chance, and so far Boatright, 32, and the team built around UConn alums, are making the most of it.

“It’s so much fun, it’s a blessing to be back playing in the States again,” said Boatright, who has hit game-clinching shots in each of the Stars’ first two games. “A lot of players that have to play overseas, you don’t get to play in front of your peers, don’t get to play on national TV, your family doesn’t get to watch you play a lot. So to have this opportunity is a blessing.”

Ryan Boatright delivers another game-winner, Stars of Storrs advance in TBT

The Stars of Storrs came from behind to defeat Green Mountain Men, the Vermont alums, on Monday night in the second round of the TBT’s Syracuse Regional, and now have a Round of 16 matchup Wednesday night (7 p.m. on FS1) with We Are D3, a team of former Division III college players that upset the host and top seed, Boeheim’s Army.

Boatright, a key part of the Huskies’ 2014 championship team, has helped founder Marc D’Amelio build the TBT rosters the last two years.”

“This is a fresh thing, we’re learning as we’re going,” Boatright told the FS2 announcers on Monday night.. “We’re trying to get some of the other alumni to play, some of the bigger names, the guys who played in the NBA, the younger guys who came after me. It’s a process. We’re happy with the team we have now, we’re excited about this team and we’re taking it day by day.”

After playing in NBA summer leagues and briefly in the G League, Boatright has played in Italy, China, Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Slovenia, Russia, Lithuania, France, Israel, Iran and Venezuela during his career. His two game-winning shots, though, were reminiscent of the one he hit for UConn in the 2015 American Athletic Conference tournament to beat Cincinnati.

In fact, with the Stars faced with a next-basket-wins scenario against Green Mountain Men, with both teams within a bucket of the Elam Ending target score of 77, Boatright told coach Tyler Olander in the huddle to call the same play that was called in 2015.

“They were trying to draw up a play,” Boatright said. “I said, ‘Bro, just set a screen, flare out, get me the ball on the right side, I’ll take it home.”

Boatright hit the 3-pointer for a 78-76 victory in a close game, where the Vermont team had a 41-25 edge in rebounds, but couldn’t get separation.

On Saturday, UConn was six points ahead when the Elam Ending format began, and Boatright clinched a 90-78 win over the Brown Ballers, a team of international players, with a 30-foot shot from the TBT logo. He has scored 37 points in the Stars’ two games, including 17 despite twisting his ankle during the game on Monday.

Ryan Boatright’s bucket lifts UConn’s ‘Stars of Storrs’ to first-round TBT win

“My ankle’s killing me right now,” Boatright said. “It’s hurting me a lot, I didn’t turn it all the way. Marc and my team put so much into this. Marc put up a lot of money for us to be here. I knew I was a key part of this team and I just had to play through it.”

The 64-team field is competing for a $1 million winner-take-all first prize. The winner Wednesday will advance to the quarterfinals, the site to be determined by which hosts advance.

“Now that Boeheim‘s Army (Syracuse alums) lost, tickets will be plentiful in Syracuse,” D’Amelio said via social media. “Take the ride out Wednesday. … I know it’s a drive, but having some UConn fans in the stands would be much appreciated.”

We Are D3 is, as the name suggests, a team of distinguished former Division III players, including David Murray, who played at Connecticut College, Alex Sobel, who played at Middlebury and Sacred Heart, and Samuel Peek, who played for Wesleyan and Stetson.

The Stars of Storrs includes former Huskies Rodney Purvis, who scored 10 points in the first game and is also a well-traveled international pro, DeAndre Daniels, Terry Larrier, Daniel Hamilton and R.J. Cole, who is expected to join the team Wednesday. Isaiah Whitehead, a former Seton Hall guard, scored 19 for the Stars on Monday, Eli Thomas, a big man from Clemson, scored 22 for the Stars in the first round. Jordan Jones, formerly of CCSU, has been productive off the bench.