COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four months ago, Bryce Brown was lighting up the NBA's G-League. After leaving Auburn as the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers made, he made a smooth transition to the next level where he averaged 16.1 points per game in his first season with the Maine Red Claws and led the team with 125 made 3s, shooting at a 42.4 percent clip from deep.
In Argentina, on the opposite side of the equator from Maine, Horace Spencer was busy making his mark on the Liga Nacional de Básquet. Spencer led his team, Atenas, in both points (13.7) and rebounds (11.6) per game this past season in what was his first taste of professional basketball.
Fellow Auburn alum Desean Murray was stateside like Brown and though he wasn't playing basketball at the time, he too was looking for his next opportunity. Not ready to give up on his dream.
This week, the trio reunited in Ohio for The Basketball Tournament or TBT. On Saturday, they will take the court as teammates on War Tampa for the first time since they played together for Auburn in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, more than two years ago.
"I wasn't really sure if I'd ever get the opportunity to play with these guys again," Murray said. "But to be able to have this opportunity to play with my guys and be able to get back on the court and win some games is definitely amazing."
"To be honest with you, I think anything is possible," Spencer said. "When I was in Argentina, I played with my teammate, LaRon Smith, from back when I was a sophomore in college. So I feel like me playing with Bryce and Desean right now is probably just meant to happen. It already started with LaRon, and LaRon just brought everybody together again."
On Friday, Smith announced on Twitter that he will not participate in this year's TBT.
The others can thank Smith, though, for helping put the team together and bringing old teammates together. But more than that, TBT is an opportunity. Not only does the winning team take home $1 million, but there's an opportunity to be seen. The sports world, including key basketball personnel, will be paying close attention.
Brown is the closest of the Auburn trio to making an NBA roster. There was some speculation that he might have gotten a call from an NBA team last month when rosters began to fill out for the league's return later this month. Though that call never came, he still believes his time is coming.
"I feel pretty confident that I put myself in a good position," he said. "I'm definitely going to use this (TBT) as an opportunity to showcase my talents just like everybody else is, but for the most part I feel comfortable with where I'm at and I'm just going to try to go out here and win and try to get this million."
There's a little more urgency for Spencer and Murray as they seek out what's next.
Murray has already agreed to play professionally for a team in Luxembourg after TBT wraps up while Spencer put off going back overseas this summer to play for War Tampa. He wants to be patient and make the move that's best for him and his family wherever that might take him.
"Everybody's going to be watching this like a magnifying glass," Spencer said. "This is the tournament to see what the old college prospects and now potential pro prospects have and to see who is coming out of this quarantine the best in shape, who is coming out of the quarantine ready to play. That's what this whole tournament is going to show. Who's really been working in the gym?"
For Brown, Spencer, Murray and the rest of War Tampa, the quest for $1 million begins Saturday night at 7 CT when they face House of 'Paign (Illinois alumni). The game will be televised on ESPN.
Tipoff can not come soon enough for Auburn fans, who are eagerly awaiting the chance to see three former players take the court together again in orange and blue. So what should those fans expect to see from this War Tampa team come Saturday?
"Look out for a show," Brown said. "We're going to shoot a lot of 3s, so it's going to be very similar to Auburn basketball. We're going to play hard – 1 through 5, guys play hard. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't play hard, you're not going to win. Look forward to us playing hard and making a lot of shots."
"It's definitely going to be a show out there," added Murray. "You guys are going to love it."