James Young added to Kentucky’s TBT alumni team, La Familia

It’s been over a decade since James Young represented Kentucky inside Rupp Arena. That will change this summer.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the former Wildcat will participate in the 2024 edition of The Basketball Tournament, which begins in July. Young will sign up for the Kentucky alumni team, La Familia. The 6-foot-6 guard played one season at Kentucky in 2013-14, helping the Wildcats make the national championship game along the way (do you remember his dunk?).

During his one-and-done season in Lexington, Young averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game on shooting splits of 40.7/34.9/70.6. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and also cracked the All-SEC Second Team. Young was then taken in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft with the 17th overall pick by the Boston Celtics.

After leaving Kentucky, Young spent several years going back and forth between the NBA and the G League. From 2019-20 he played for Maccabi Haifa in Israel before jumping back to the G League for a season. Young returned to Israel in 2021 before making stops in Greece and Italy.

Young is the ninth former Wildcat to join La Familia, which also includes…

The remaining three roster pieces (and head coach) will be announced over the coming weeks. Twany Beckham, who played for UK from 2011-13, will serve as the team’s general manager. Kentucky is shaping up to have one of the most talented rosters in the entire tournament.

More information on The Basketball Tournament

Looking ahead to TBT this summer, eight regional sites will host the 64 teams in this year’s bracket. For the fifth straight summer, a winner-takes-all grand prize of $1 million will go to the championship team. Lexington hosted a regional site back in 2019 at Frederick Douglass High School, but this will be the first time it’s held at Rupp Arena (July 19-24).

Since TBT began in 2014, it has awarded more than $13M in prize money and has been viewed in more than 180 countries around the world. Alumni teams have won TBT’s championship in four of the past five summers, with teams representing Ohio State, Marquette, Syracuse, and the University of Buffalo taking home the $1M prize between 2019-2022.

TBT is also the home of the Elam Ending, the alternate ending to games where teams play to a target score.

Tickets for the 2024 Lexington Regional are on sale now and can be purchased through the link here.

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