Khalif Wyatt, the coach, leads Team Big 5 against defending champs in The Basketball Tournament

When Rob Hollomon gathered players to compete on his Team Big 5 in The Basketball Tournament last year, he first reached out to longtime friend Khalif Wyatt. However, with the recent birth of his daughter, the former Temple basketball standout was closing that chapter of his life and sought to be a coach.

So Hollomon, a West Catholic graduate, offered Wyatt the team’s head coach position in the single-elimination tournament. Wyatt took advantage of the opportunity, leading the group to a first-round win last summer and an automatic bid for this year.

“Last year I wanted to really disassociate myself as a basketball player,” said Wyatt, a Norristown native who played nearly a decade overseas. “I used last year almost like a coming out party, like I’m not playing, he’s coaching. It was good for people to see me in the light as a coach, rather than a player.”

This summer, Team Big 5 is back in the tournament, which features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. They’ll open as a No. 8 seed in the Syracuse bracket against defending champion Blue Collar U, a team of University of Buffalo alumni, on Monday (2 p.m., ESPN+).

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The winner will play The Rhody Way (Rhode Island) or The Commonwealth (UMass) in the second round.

Wyatt recently joined Temple’s coaching staff as director of player personnel following one season as an assistant coach at West Chester. He learned from last year’s TBT experience that preparation is key, and you should play out a number of scenarios.

Team Big 5 will go against the same opponent they lost to in the second round last year. When the bracket came out, Wyatt recalled what Fran Dunphy told his former Owl team if they were scheduled against tough competition: “What a tremendous opportunity we have.”

“That’s kind of the approach we’ve been taking,” Wyatt said. “A tremendous opportunity we have to go play the defending champs, probably not a lot of people have given us a chance. What a tremendous opportunity we have.”

Hollomon, the team’s general manager, recruited players with local high school ties and Big 5 alums. The talent ranges from recent college graduates to professionals, including Wyatt’s former Owls teammate Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, a Chester native, and Plymouth-Whitemarsh graduate C.J. Aiken, who played at St. Joe’s.

“We got some youth on the team this year,” said Hollomon, a former star running back at West Catholic and Central Connecticut State. “Then we have high level pros, who have been playing overseas for 10-plus years with a lot of experience, so I think it’ll be a fun group to watch. Hopefully we can get a championship.”

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The tournament’s final four and championship will be held at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, marking the first time since 2014 that the finals will take place in Philly. The goal, of course, is to remain in the tournament and represent their hometown, Wyatt said. He hopes with TBT coming to the area, it will bring awareness to the community and fans will show to support them.

This past week has been filled with practices until the team leaves Sunday for Syracuse. They worked out at Temple’s facility and even played a pick-up game against current Villanova players.

As for Wyatt, he’s soaking in the moment. While his coaching journey has just begun, he hopes one day to be a Division I head coach or work in the NBA. In the meantime, he’s focused on securing a Team Big 5 first-round victory.

“For any aspiring coach, I would just say that this is the opportunity to coach at a high level — you get to learn on the job,” Wyatt said. “I’ve never been a head coach — TBT is the highest level I’ve been a head coach, so it’s the opportunity to sharpening my skills, learn on the job, and just get reps. I’m excited about the opportunity and just trying to get better as a coach as I go through this process.”