Ansley Almonor (Vicky Graff Photo)
La Familia general manager Twany Beckham felt that the UK alumni team playing in The Basketball Tournament needed to be a bit younger than it was last summer when La Familia made the Final Four.
Beckham certainly added a “young” addition with Ansley Almonor, who played 36 games for Kentucky last season with seven starts. He was third on the team with 39 made 3-pointers and became the first Kentucky men’s basketball player to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent at the free-throw line in a single season (with a minimum of 100 field goal attempts, 50 3’s attempted and 25 free throw tries).
He averaged 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game with 11 double -figure scoring games. He had a season-high 15 points on Senior Night against LSU and 13 points in a home win over Tennessee and with 12 points on four 3’s in a win at Tennessee.
“That was a huge pickup for us. When we lost last year in the Final Four in Philadelphia, one of the things I wanted to do with the roster was getting a little bit younger and also to add a little bit more shooting and toughness,” Beckham said. “Not that we weren’t tough last year, but defensively just getting a little bit tougher and stronger.
“I think we were able to do that with the guys we’ve added this year, and so having Ansley Almonor who shot 42 percent from 3 last year … and him being the first coach (Mark) Pope player to transition over to playing for La Familia was a huge get.”
Beckham said he was excited overall about the roster that includes several returning players who still have a “bad taste” from not winning TBT’s $1 million prize that goes to the winning team.
“We take this thing seriously. We’re gonna prepare and we’re gonna put the best players on the floor and try to win that championship this year,” Beckham said.
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La Familia plays its first game July 18 at Memorial Coliseum.
