COLUMBUS, Ohio – By now, most sports fans have heard of and embraced The Basketball Tournament (TBT); a summer basketball bracket aired on ESPN with a $1 Million winner-take-all prize at the end. The tournament is always in good fun, even if viewers don't have a particular team to root for. Of course, having one always makes things more interesting and now Laker Nation has a reason to back one team in particular.
 
Grand Valley State assistant men's basketball coach Taylor Johnson is taking his coaching prowess to the TBT for Wolf Blood; a team comprised of former North Carolina State basketball players. Johnson, a graduate assistant coach for NC State from 2013-16, will serve as Assistant GM and assistant coach for the team.
 
"I'm really excited for the opportunity to be around a great group of guys that love the game of basketball," Johnson said. "This is such a cool experience to get to do what I love in a unique setting and I'm honored to be a part of it. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
 
Wolf Blood are the 7-seed in the Columbus Regional and will play in an ACC showdown with 10-seeded Category 5, a team of alumni from the University of Miami, on Saturday, July 24, at 1:00 PM. The game can be streamed live on ESPN3 (TOURNAMENT BRACKET). The tournament runs through August 3.
 
This is the first season in TBT for Wolf Blood, who amasses some of the best Pack players from the past decade. C.J. Williams, a 2012 graduate who has played professionally for the last nine seasons, including parts of two seasons in the NBA, headlines the roster with other big-name alums like Scott Wood, Terry Henderson, Trevor Lacey and others.
 
Johnson is set to begin his sixth season with the Lakers this fall, helping the team to an NCAA Tournament appearance and GLIAC Tournament title in 2019. That season the Lakers were the 7-seed in the GLIAC Tournament.
 
He hopes to take another 7-seed to the mountain top this week.