Montrezl Harrell said there will be "no love lost" while his team of mostly former Louisville men's basketball standouts battles a squad representing archrival Kentucky on Monday night for a spot in The Basketball Tournament 's semifinals.
But, when it's all said and done at Freedom Hall , there will be a mutual respect between the Cardinals and the Wildcats.
"We're both fighting for the same thing on both sides," he said.
To Harrell's point, the blockbuster matchup in front of a record-breaking TBT crowd is as much a moment to celebrate the commonwealth's rich basketball history as it is to stoke the flames of one of the sport's fiercest rivalries.
Pick your side and cheer like hell, but don't forget to soak it all in.
As The Ville's Chris Jones put it: "This is for the culture."
In that spirit, the reporters covering Monday's showdown for The Courier Journal held a mock draft to assemble their teams of choice — a starting five and a sixth man — using the players from The Ville and La Familia's rosters.
It's Brooks Holton vs. Ryan Black , with newsroom bragging rights on the line.
Who picked the better squad? You be the judge. Vote in our poll at the end of the story.
BLACK: Eric Bledsoe was the first addition to La Familia's roster, and he was an easy pick at No. 1 for me. He's averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game . What's more, he's scoring efficiently, shooting 41% from the field, 35.3% from 3 and 88.2% at the free-throw line. That'll do.
HOLTON: Bledsoe would have been my first pick, but I'll happily build my team around Harrell at No. 2. The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year has been tenacious in the post, averaging 13 points and eight rebounds, while trying to prove he still belongs at the sport's highest level. He's an elite trash talker, too; which is a must for any rivalry game.
BLACK: I know what I'm getting from Kerem Kanter , the only player on La Familia's roster who never played for Kentucky: steady production. Kanter has been the squad's top scorer (22.3 points per game) and rebounder (9.7 boards per game) . I expect him to do the same for my team.
HOLTON: The Ville wouldn't have reached the quarterfinal without the youngest member of its roster, David Johnson . The 23-year-old hometown kid, who's played mostly in the G League since going pro in 2021, is averaging a team-high 16.7 points and has been the ex-Cards' top shooter from beyond the arc. In an age where most Division I programs are trying to get old and stay old, I'm taking the opposite approach in TBT.
BLACK: All I'm looking for from Willie Cauley-Stein is to anchor the defense. Specifically: patrolling the paint and making opposing ball handlers hesitate before deciding to drive to the hoop. Among players with multiple games in this year's TBT, the 7-foot Kansan is leading the way in blocks per outing (4.3 per contest). Anything he adds offensively is gravy.
HOLTON: You can never have enough 3-point shooters; and, to this point, no one on La Familia or The Ville has been better than Nate Sestina . The Pennsylvania native, who had a career 37.4% clip in college, is off to a 40.9% start in TBT. There were more notable shot-makers available, but I took the hot hand.
BLACK: Scoring. Energy. Leadership. You name it, and Russ Smith is gonna bring it. (And assuming we send Brooks' squad home with an L, maybe Smith will bring some of his Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon for us to enjoy in a victorious locker room.)
HOLTON: Peyton Siva has started every game at point guard for The Ville, but Jones has been head coach Reece Gaines ' go-to guy down the stretch. The Memphis native prides himself on being a lockdown defender, and I'm going to need his best performance yet opposite Bledsoe and Smith on the perimeter. Not to mention: He's delivered two of the ex-Cards' three walk-off buckets on their road to the quarterfinals.
BLACK: Look, I get that Derrick Walker hasn't done much in TBT so far. He's appeared in one game, playing four minutes, scoring three points and grabbing one rebound. But this is a sprint, not a marathon. I'm not asking Walker to be Superman. Get in there, give me some good minutes and show folks doubting this pick why he was a second-team All-Big Ten selection during his senior season at Nebraska.
HOLTON: Three words: underhand free throws. Just kidding; Gaines pointed to Chinanu Onuaku 's return from a sprained ankle to the starting lineup as one of the biggest reasons why The Ville got off to such a hot start in its win over Team DRC. The big man from Maryland is a former member of the ACC's All-Defensive Team and a deft passer for his size. Averaging 4.5 assists per game to this point, he's the top facilitator on both alumni squads.
BLACK: My final pick, Aaron Harrison , can be a spark offensively. But more important, he's the player my team will turn to if it needs a clutch shot in the waning moments .
HOLTON: Siva is The Ville's heartbeat but has been overshadowed thus far in his second TBT, totaling only 10 points, eight assists, four rebounds and one steal. I’m getting the floor general of U of L's 2013 national championship run at a bargain. His leadership will be invaluable on the big stage, and I really want to see him go up against Smith.
Who would win? Team Brooks or Team Ryan Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: La Familia vs The Ville: A mock draft using Louisville and Kentucky's TBT rosters
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