2023 Las Vegas National Tournament Preview
The 2023 Super Bowl event of Ultimate Hoops has arrived. We have 16 teams from all over the country coming to take home Ultimate Hoops most coveted trophy of the year.
Will anyone be able to stop Ball So Hard from winning their 10th National Title this year? Find out who Ultimate Hoops National Manager Donald Dangmuk thinks has the best chance to upset the champs…
Vegas odds to win National Championship:
Until someone beats them, they will always be the clear favorite. Star forward Andrew Kelly is not making the trip which could hurt a little but they are still the deepest team in the tournament. Looking forward to seeing if this aging roster has slowed down at all in the past year but probably not. Even Dillon Brooks said these guys were way too old! Haha
Added arguably the 2 best guards from Arizona in Christian Bower and Tanner Waldrip. I was told Tanner was the best pound for pound basketball player in UH Arizona by my sources from Arizona. I smell tournament breakout by my man Tanner and possibly the team with the best chance to upset the defending champs. It’s now or never for Final Chaptr.
This final 4 team from last year just added former NBA center Johan Petro to the roster. Did I mention he’s also 7 feet tall? I’m not a basketball genius by any means but adding a 7-foot center typically will help your chances in basketball. Will Johan be enough to put them over the top though?
Captain Jose Zaragoza said this is Roseville’s best team they ever had and already guaranteed they will go 3-0 in pool play this year. I’m not sure how I feel about that because Jose is my plug for all the Vegas clubs and that means he might actually need to get some rest this year for Sunday. I should probably mention this team also added NBA guard Kent Bazemore to the roster. We’ve had NBA guys in the past but most of them were way past their prime. Kent is still only 33 and literally just played for the Lakers last year.
5. Baseline (TX): +950
This team came out of nowhere and almost won the NYC tournament with just 6 players last year. I could easily put this team in the top 4 this year but right now Boca and Nor Cal have the flashy shiny NBA names. I would not be surprised though if Baseline made the final again this year with a much deeper team they had in NYC.
6. Ultimate Oops (TX): +1000
I’m excited to see this team finally make the trip out west for their Vegas National Tournament debut. Ball So Hard has only lost 3 times in their storied history and one of them was to this team in NYC. They obviously can play but still a lot to prove to UH Nation. Will we see the 2021 version or the 2022 version?
7. Impact (CO): +1350
Never seen this team not make Super Sunday so not about to write them off now. The roster looks almost identical to last year’s team so not sure how much better they will be. They should easily make Sunday just based on their strength of schedule.
8. Da Guys (MO): +1500
Jackie Moon and the Tropics are back for another run in the tournament. Rumor has it the wigs may stay home this year and they are coming for everyone’s heads. I have them making Super Sunday right now mainly because I feel they might be in one of the weaker brackets. Regardless they are one of the most entertaining teams in the tournament.
9. CTE (MD): +1600
Team captain and league coordinator Kenny Zeigler has Columbia rockin with 12 teams in their first season back since the pandemic. I bring that up because they now actually have a program to help retool their aging roster. They also added Vegas legends Jordan Cannon and high flyer Josh McCarver to the roster which should help tremendously. However they may be in the toughest bracket in the tournament and not sure they will make it past Baseline and Final Chaptr unfortunately.
10. PTB (TX): +1750
Is this Baseline’s G-League team or is this the Houston team we should be worried about? Former MLB pitcher Jarred Cosart has put together a very nice team on paper but that doesn’t always translate to success in the tournament. They will be my surprise pick to make Super Sunday just because I feel they have the weakest pool.
11. Showtime (AZ): +2000
Hate to put my AZ guys this low but they are arguably in the 2nd best pool in the tournament in my opinion. It’s going to be tough to get past BSH and Oops to make Sunday but I’ve seen Fred the Freak Dudley do crazier things in this tournament.
12. Morning Crew (IL): +2500
Team added a little more depth to this year’s team but with a team PPV payroll of under 100 million not sure successful they will be. Sources just confirmed their best player Malcohm Hill is no longer making the trip which could be a disaster.
13. R&D Ballers (NC): +2500
Just happy to see my man Thomas Hunt finally be able to play on a team from his own program. This will be North Carolina’s first ever tournament so looking forward to seeing them play. Luckily for them they are in the easiest bracket so anything can happen.
These guys play in my home league at Sky so I know a thing or two about them. Matt Thomas and Nigel Williams will probably form one of the quickest backcourts in the tournament. The lack of depth obviously will hurt. They were picked 1st in the tournament pool draft today so hopefully they were offended by that and prove all the doubters wrong.
15. Rudedogs (LV): +3500
They were a waitlist team that was added last minute this past weekend. This is the wild card team of the tournament since its literally their home court we are playing on.
16. Oakdale Gamblers (MN): +5000
At this time of writing there is still no roster so I can only assume it’s going to be another disaster.
Good luck to every team coming out this year! Please click here for the full tournament schedule.
Schedule of Events:
Friday 7:00pm-9:00pm: National Tournament Kick Off Party at the Green Valley Pool Deck.
Saturday 10:00pm - 4:00am: National Tournament Party at Hakkasan
Watch now to see where your team was picked in this years National Tournament Pool Draft!