For Rob Hollomon and Team Big 5, third time the charm as they enter The Basketball Tournament
Hollomon's attempts with True Self Entertainment and La Salle alumni were both thwarted before he finally figured it out.
Rob Hollomon dreamed of entering a team in The Basketball Tournament and refused to quit on the idea.
The pandemic quashed Hollomon’s first attempt at TBT lore as the field downsized from 64 to 24 teams in 2020, eliminating his consulting company, True Self Entertainment, from contention. He took another shot in 2021, but the La Salle alumni team he rounded up fell apart when a few players backed out for overseas deals.
In his third attempt, Hollomon tried again and widened the pool to the entire Big 5.
“I’m a huge fan of anything that’s Philadelphia and the Big 5 represents that with five elite programs,” Hollomon said. “A lot of my peers went on to play in the Big 5 and have great careers. Ultimately, doing this I wanted to showcase our talent and put on for our city.”
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The sixth-seeded Big 5 alumni team received a bid and is scheduled to play at 2 p.m. Saturday in New York at Harlem’s famous Rucker Park. It will mark the TBT’s first outdoor game in its nine-year history. It will take on the third seed, Ex-Pats, compiling Patriot League alumni.
TBT is a $1 million, winner-take-all tournament played with a single-elimination format and Elam Ending format. (The game ends when a team reaches a set target score as opposed to when the fourth quarter or overtime is over.) It’s open to anyone willing to raise funds and apply.
“I’m a former athlete,” said Hollomon, who starred in football and basketball at West Catholic. “I’ve been successful, breaking city records, All-American, NFL opportunities, and signing contracts in the Canadian League.”
Hollomon is one of two Philadelphia high school athletes to rush for more than 3,000 yards playing football and score 1,000 points in basketball, joining Archbishop Ryan’s Joe Zeglinski, who graduated in 2005. Holloman went on to star at running back at Central Connecticut State.
“But this was one of my biggest accomplishments, personally,” Hollomon said. “To see our Big 5 logo presented at the selection show, I was so happy, man. I was like a kid on Christmas. I couldn’t sleep.”
After missing out on last year’s bid, Hollomon started making calls to assemble a roster. The 31-year-old plugged into his network of Philly hoopers.
He contacted C.J. Aiken (St. Joseph’s), Ramon Galloway (La Salle), Dalton Pepper (Temple), Jordan Price (La Salle), and Marcus Kennedy (Villanova/SMU).
That group, plus former Owl and Team Big 5 coach Khalif Wyatt, helped assemble the rest of the team. Damion Moore and Quenton DeCosey both represent Temple. Devon Goodman checks off Penn. Jerrell Wright is a former La Salle Explorer. Then there’s St. Joe’s alumnus Ryan Daly, who now serves on Albany’s staff.
Hollomon also added two non-Big 5 players: Jalen Robinson, a forward from Dayton, and former Minnesota guard and Philly native Ahmad Gilbert.
Coach Wyatt
Wyatt had long been the player catching passes and shooting over defenders as he prepared to play for the TBT’s Team Brotherly Love and North Broad Street Bullies. Now he’s the passer, the rebounder, and the brains of the basketball side of Team Big 5.
“It’s a little weird preparing for [TBT] as a coach as opposed to a player,” said Wyatt, who was originally asked to play for the Big 5 team. “One thing that I’ve been consistent about saying is at the end of this process, I’ll be a better coach than I was when I started.”
Wyatt played four seasons at Temple before enjoying a nearly decade-long overseas career in China, Israel, France, and Romania. The birth of his daughter on March 23 expedited his retirement.
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The Norristown native recently joined Damien Blair’s staff at West Chester. Leading Team Big 5 will help ease that transition from player to full-time coach.
“Since I’ve gotten into coaching, I’m watching a lot more basketball with a coach’s eye,” Wyatt said. “I’ve been big on YouTube just watching more games and watching coaches.”
For Wyatt, assistant coach Andre Wilburn, and Team Big 5, this week consisted of individual skills workouts while installing basic team principles. Hollomon also organized a closed scrimmage Wednesday evening at La Salle.
Galloway thinks Team Big 5′s biggest strength is its camaraderie — knowing how to make plays for one another. Wyatt added that the team’s size paired with experienced guard play could go a long way.
“We’re going to be looking to get out and run,” Wyatt said. “It’s funny because it’s outdoors so I’m not imagining a lot of outside shots being made. Typically when you play outside, it’s more fast-paced and sort of like bully ball.”
‘It’s the Rucker’
The most highly anticipated part of TBT for much of the team is the chance to play at Rucker Park.
“It’s the Rucker. It’s Rucker Park,” Galloway said. “I think kids that don’t even like basketball know about Rucker Park.”
Wyatt called it a bucket-list item. Galloway likened it to growing up playing at parks in North Philly, only more significant. And Goodman is just excited to play on the same floor where Kevin Durant had a famous 66-point outing in 2011.
Players said if they’re fortunate to get a cut of the $1 million prize, they would give some back to their communities, organize camps, invest it, or even pay off a mortgage.
“We’re just super excited and I think we’re going to shock the TBT world, making our debut,” Hollomon said. “There are a lot of great teams and players. I think ultimately we’re going to bring that Philadelphia brand of basketball. Our main goal is to bring that TBT championship to Philadelphia.”