David Johnson Returning to The Ville, Two Additional UofL Alumni Joining

The Louisville men's basketball alumni team now has nine players for their fourth year in the TBT.

The Ville guard David Johnson | Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - "The Ville" has taken another step forward towards completing their playing roster for their latest run in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).

TBT announced Wednesday that the Louisville men's basketball alumni team has signed three more players: David Johnson, Trey Lewis and Ray Spalding. Johnson is set to play in his third straight TBT with The Ville, while Lewis and Spalding will make their TBT debuts.

The Ville now has nine former Cardinals that are participating in the 2026 iteration of the event. Jaylen Johnson, Angel Nunez, Russ Smith, Edgar Sosa, Jae'Lyn Withers and Malik Williams will also be suiting up this summer.

A two-year player with the Cardinals from 2019-21 before declaring for the NBA Draft, Johnson averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore. Lewis played the 2015-16 season at UofL after transferring in from Cleveland State, putting up 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Spalding spent the 2015-18 seasons with the Cards, finishing his junior season with 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game before declaring for the draft.

The Ville will get this year's TBT started against the Kentucky alumni team "La Familia." With the first round of the now 16-team tournament shifting to a best-of-three series, game one will be played on Saturday, July 18 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., while game two will be on Monday, July 20 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. The "if necessary" game three will be on Wednesday, July 22 back at Memorial Coliseum.

The eight remaining teams following the firwst round will then play a standard single-elimination format, with the grand prize upped to $2 million. The bracket will have two separate sides: eight alumni teams (such as The Ville) and eight non-alumni teams (such as Sideline Cancer, Eberlein Drive, etc.).

First established in 2014, TBT is an exhibition tournament that has seen its popularity rise over the last few years. While anyone over 18 years old and not currently on an NBA roster can play, teams typically have consisted of former collegiate and professional basketball players.

TBT 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.

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(Photo of David Johnson: Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)