Credit: Associated Press
Jerel McNeal had heard about The Basketball Tournament before, but he hadn't considered playing. Not when the bounty for the winning team was $500,000, when it grew to $1 million or even this year when it jumped up to $2 million.
That changed a few months ago, though, when he got an email from former Marquette guard Dan Fitzgerald, asking if he wanted to play for the Golden Eagles Alumni team in this year's tournament.
"I thought the tournament was cool and it's all good to do, but the real reason I'm doing this is because Marquette has an alumni team," said McNeal, the program's career leading scorer as it enters its 100th year.