Team 23

Team 23 is an American basketball team that competes in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all competition. They have competed since 2015, their inaugural year of existence. In that year's tournament, Team 23 were the tournament runner-up. As of 2019, the team's general manager is Rutgers alumnus Michael Illiano, the head coach is Oklahoma State alumnus Doug Gottlieb, and the assistant coaches are Ron Katich and Sunil Sahnan.[1]

Team 23
LeaguesThe Basketball Tournament
Founded2015
HistoryTeam 23
(2015–present)
LocationPhoenix, Arizona
Team colorsCrimson, Black, and Grey
              
Team managerMichael Illiano
Head coachDoug Gottlieb
WebsiteTeam page
Head coach Doug Gottlieb

History

The team is named after Michael Jordan's primary uniform number during his professional career—Team 23's general manager Michael Illiano wrote that his "basketball passion started with MJ".[1]

2015

After being accepted into TBT 2015 with 165 registered fans, Team 23 opened its tournament run by defeating the West Coast Ronin, 91–67. The team pulled off a second double-digit win in the second round, vs. Richard Roby and Colorado, behind 28 points from Davin White. White was effective once more as Team 23 routed Team BBallBreakdown in the following game, 86–72, pushing them to the Super 17 round in Chicago.

At the Super 17, Team 23 defeated 7outz, 105–64, in their first game, allowing only two of their opponents' players to score over 10 points.[2] Team 23 made the semifinal round of the tournament after they won their fifth straight game by double figures. The losers, LAUNFD, missed one of their players, Ekene Ibekwe, and allowed Team 23 to score 11 straight points to begin the second half.[3]

Team 23 entered the semifinals as the most efficient team of the tournament.[4] In New York City on August 1, they defeated Ants Alumni, 87–76, to advance to the championship game.[5] In the finals on August 2, Team 23 narrowly fell to Overseas Elite, 67–65.[6]

Later years

In TBT 2016, Team 23 was the top seed in the West Region, played in Los Angeles. After winning their first two games, they fell to Team Colorado, the eventual tournament runner-up, by a score of 78–73.[7]

In TBT 2017, Team 23 was the fifth seed in the West Region, played in Las Vegas. They defeated 12th-seeded Pedro's Posse, 107–92, then lost to fourth-seeded Armored Athlete, 84–77.

In TBT 2018, Team 23 was the eighth seed in the West Region, played in Los Angeles. They lost in the first round to the ninth-seeded CitiTeam Blazers, 82–71.

In TBT 2019, Team 23 was the sixth seed in the Greensboro Regional.[8] They lost in the first round to third-seeded Power of the Paw (Clemson alumni), 82–78.[9]

Logo and uniforms
  • Logo, 2015–current
  • Uniforms, 2015–current

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Team 23 roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
SG 0 Gaines, Frank 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) (1990-07-07) July 7, 1990 Fort Wayne
PG 3 Stokes, Kamau 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (1995-09-26) September 26, 1995 Kansas State
PF 5 Davis, Stacy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) (1994-10-11) October 11, 1994 Pepperdine
C 9 Spikes, Nigel 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) (1989-10-18) October 18, 1989 Marshall
PG 11 White, Davin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (1981-12-31) December 31, 1981 Cal State Northridge
PF 15 Garrett, Brandon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) (1990-08-30) August 30, 1990 Murray State
SF 15 Owens, Larry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) (1983-01-08) January 8, 1983 Oral Roberts
C 25 Lalanne, Cady 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) (1992-04-22) April 22, 1992 Massachusetts
SF 27 McKissic, Shaquielle 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) (1990-08-17) August 17, 1990 Arizona State
Head coach
Team manager
  • Michael Illiano
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: June 27, 2019

References
  1. "Team 23". thetournament.com. 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  2. "Official Basketball Box Score: Team 23 vs 7outz". Imageshack. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  3. "2015 Bracket". The Basketball Tournament. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  4. "The Basketball Tournament Rosters: Meet The Final 4 Teams". Heavy.com. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  5. "Overseas Elite's Semifinal Win Over Team City Of Gods (Photos)". thetournament.com. August 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  6. Connor, Desmond (August 3, 2015). "Overseas Elite Brings It Home". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C3. Retrieved July 29, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. Ronan, Patrick (2017). "TBT SPOTLIGHT: TEAM 23". Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  8. "TBT Releases 2019 Teams and Bracket" (Press release). The Basketball Tournament. June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  9. "#3 POWER OF THE PAW 82, #6 TEAM 23 78". thetournament.com. July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
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