Russ Smith 'Excited' to Rejoin Louisville Alumni TBT Team

The former All-American for the Cardinals was the leading scorer for "The Ville" last year.

Former UofL star Russ Smith smiles while warming up for The Ville before the game against Jackson TN / Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal /

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The start of the Pat Kelsey era might not be for another six months, but in the meantime, fans of the Louisville men's basketball program will get indulge in Cardinals basketball in a different form this summer.

After making their debut in The Basketball Tournament last year, the Louisville alumni team known as "The Ville" is running it back. Like last summer, The Ville will host one of TBT’s eight regional locations, with play taking place at legendary Freedom Hall.

While The Ville doesn't have a full playing roster just yet, a few former Cardinals who took part last year have already opted to return for another go. This includes former Louisville All-American shooting guard - and The Ville's leading scorer last season - Russ Smith.

"I'm very excited to get started in July again," Smith said Thursday. "Last summer, I was doing a lot of moving around for for the bourbon. A lot of tours, a lot of signings. This year, I'm trying to be a little more locked in with the tournament, with the team. So we've kind of trimmed a bunch of signings and appearances to really focus on the basketball part. So, hopefully, we can win a few more games and win the grand prize."

Smith is one of four returners from last year's inaugural The Ville squad. Point guard Peyton Siva, who recently accepted a job on Kelsey's staff at Louisville, is running it back with his former Cardinals teammate. Guard/forward Kyle Kuric and center Chinanu Onuaku are also returning for another go.

The Ville has also announced a brand new addition to this year's roster: power forward Montrezl Harrell. Smith called Harrell's addition to the roster "super beneficial" based on both his play style and his leadership.

"Not saying we didn't have any leaders last year, guys were obviously locked in and we were very close. But Trez is different." Smith said. "I think everyone will see the impact he'll have immediately. Definitely as far as an enforcer, but more so behind the scenes, in the huddle, in the locker room. ... I think it's important that your teammates make each other uncomfortable sometimes, and Trez can do that. That can raise the level of everybody on the court, so I'm very grateful that he's on the roster."

The Ville will also be hoping to make a much deeper run in the TBT this season. While they were able to take down War Ready and Jackson Tenn. Underdawgs in their first two matchups, they blew a six-point lead in the Elam Ending against Gutter Cats in the Regional Final, eventually falling 64-62.

Smith, who went 4-for-21 in that game, admits that he was not at his best in that game. Considering he had gone on an 80-day road trip tour with his bourbon label Mr. and Mrs. Bourbon before the TBT, he's also shocked that he performed as well as he did in the TBT as a whole.

But not long after that game went final, himself, and a few others on the team, immediately decided that they wanted to run it back in 2024.

"I definitely wanted to run it back, and Kyle did for sure," Smith said. "We were all pretty upset after the last game, and that feeling that we had, like we know how to lose together, because when we lost with (Rick) Pitino, you could hear mosquito land on a table. That's how quiet it was.

"That was one of the first times since then that I've been in the locker room that cohesively quiet and disappointed. (Chinanu) was upset as hell, he probably wants to kill me, but we were all pretty upset. But as competitors that's what you want. If the locker room ain't like that after a loss, and you're on the wrong team, no matter if you're winning or losing."

While The Ville's run in the TBT didn't last as long as they would have liked, Cardinals fans still showed up in droves to watch some of their favorite players take to the hardwood again. 5,463 fans attended their first round game against War Ready alone, which was good for the fourth-largest single-game attendance in TBT history.

As electric as last year's crowds were, Smith is hoping to see Freedom Hall even more packed this time around.

"I'm not gonna lie, honestly, the crowds were electric," he said. "It was so dope. I come from a crowd of 20,000, so it would be it would surely be amazing if we can really sell Freedom Hall out. I want to feel 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people of that, cause the 6000 people was crazy. I want to know what 15,000 People of the 6000 people would feel like. It was truly crazy, and the energy was amazing."

The Louisville Regional for the TBT lasts from Friday, July 19 to Wednesday, July 24. The exact schedule for "The Ville" has yet to be released.

(Photo of Russ Smith: Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal)

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