Former UK guard Sean Woods (front center) will coach La Familia this summer. (TBT Photo)
La Familia, a Kentucky alumni team, was a huge hit last season and will be hosting The Basketball Tournament’s (TBT) regional again this summer.
Former UK standout Tyler Ulis coached last year’s team. One of his assistants was former UK guard Sean Woods, one of Rick Pitino’s Unforgettables that lost to Duke in the 1992 NCAA Tournament, and this summer Woods will be the head coach.
La Familia won the Lexington regional championship last year and then won at Louisville to reach the TBT semifinals.
“I feel honored and privileged to be a part of La Familia for the second year,” Woods said after being named the head coach. After last year’s terrific experience, I’m grateful that (La Familia general manager)Twany Beckham has asked me to be the head coach.
“We’re looking forward to an even bigger and better experience than we did last summer. With the roster Twany has assembled, I’m very confident that we have a great chance of winning TBT and will continue to uphold Wildcat pride over the summer.”
The winning team earns a $1 million purse. Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison and Willie Cauley-Stein have all committed to play in the game again while former Cats Doron Lamb and DeAndre Liggins have accepted invitations to play in this year’s tournament.
Woods has 14 years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level at Mississippi Valley State, Morehead State, and Southern. In April he was named the head coach at Scott County High School.
The Lexington Regional will be July 18-22 at Memorial Coliseum this year instead of at Rupp Arena like it was in 2024. The regional winner will advance to TBT’s quarterfinals on July 29. The semifinals will be July 31, and TBT’s $1 million championship will be played on Aug. 3.
“We are always going to have enough good players at Kentucky not only to compete but to win this,” Woods said Thursday. “I had fun being part of this last year and I am looking forward to doing it again.”
