Butler basketball alums return to Hinkle for TBT: 'I have to go wear that uniform again.'

INDIANAPOLIS – Sean McDermott could barely sleep Thursday night. The 27-year-old was about to play his first game in Hinkle Fieldhouse since March 3, 2020 as a member of All Good Dawgs, the Butler alum team playing in The Basketball Tournament .

“I was telling my wife I was nervous and excited,” McDermott said. “It’s been four years since I played here, so (I was) super excited last night, anxious. And then, once the ball was tipped up, it felt like I was playing for Butler again.”

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McDermott got going early with eight points and two made 3s in the first quarter. He finished with 26 as All Good Dawgs cruised to a 90-67 win over Fail Harder.

It was the first time the team made of former Bulldogs like McDermott (2016-20), Shelvin Mack (2008-11), Paul Jorgensen (2017-19) and Rotnei Clark (2012-13) played at Hinkle again. After a few minutes of action, it felt like old times for the guys that gave Butler national relevance in the 2010s.

“It was family,” Jorgensen said. “I heard the chants and it felt like I was back here like yesterday, so it was cool.”

For McDermott, playing in TBT provides a bit of closure. McDermott was a senior on the 2020 Butler squad that would’ve had a high seed in the NCAA tournament before COVID-19 abruptly ended the college basketball season. The Pendleton Heights grad didn’t get to see his college career end on the court, so playing in a similar environment was too good to turn down.

“I had a talk with my wife when they made this offer, it’s like ‘There’s no way I can pass this up,’” McDermott said. “Just because of how things ended at Butler, like there’s no way I can say no. I have to go wear that uniform again. Hopefully we can continue it years down the road, but there’s no way I was letting it go by.”

All Good Dawgs will play Eberlein Drive — who have played since the inaugural TBT tournament in 2014 — in the semifinal of the Butler Regional at 6 p.m. Sunday. They’ll need to win two more games in Hinkle to advance to the quarterfinal in Philadelphia for a shot at the $1 million tournament prize.

Sunday will give the squad at least one more chance to play in one of the world’s most historic basketball venues.

“Hinkle, I think, is the best venue in America,” Jorgensen claimed. “It’s super special in here. We’ve got great fans and, most importantly, great people. And I’m very happy that the TBT is here in Hinkle and it’s getting national recognition and people from all over the country are seeing it.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball alums return to Hinkle for TBT: 'I have to go wear that uniform again.'