Via Patch: Open Tryout Gives Chicago Hoop Hopefuls Chance At Ice Cube’s Big3

Local players will vie for two all-expense-paid trips to next month’s Big3 Combine in Las Vegas during a four-hour tryout in Chicago.

By Jeff Arnold

CHICAGO — Thomas Scott likes to compare the audition process for Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league to a roundball version of America’s Got Talent.

In four cities around the country each year, talent evaluators look for potential players for the professional 3-on-3 basketball league started by Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. While there are no guarantees even the most talented players at a given open tryout will make a Big 3 team, the event — like the one that will be held Saturday in Chicago — opens plenty of doors.

Big3 scouts will choose two players from Saturday’s open tryout at the Hope Student Athletic Center (2641 W. Harrison St.) for an all-expense-paid trip to next month’s Big3 Combine in Las Vegas. Players must be 22 years of age to compete at the tryout which will begin at 11 a.m.

Friday is the final day to register and interested players may do so here.

The open tryout is part of what makes the Big 3 unique from other professional sports leagues, according to Scott, who is the Big3 Director of Basketball Operations and Player Relations. While the success stories coming out of the open audition isn’t high, it does give players who want to pursue playing at the next level an opportunity to put themselves on the league’s radar.

“We’re trying to exhaust all our options to find as much talent as we possibly can to have the best season we can have and make it the most competitive,” Scott told Patch on Friday.

Scott said the league is aware of players who are playing professionally overseas or are former NBA players looking to extend their careers. But the open tryouts open evaluators’ eyes to basketball talent that may have gotten “lost in the sauce”, Scott said, and who could have the potential to provide depth to a Big3 team.

The 3-on-3 format makes the tryout unique. While a 5-on-5 setting could possibly allow players to hide, competitors in the Big3 world are constantly in the middle of the action because of the nature of the game.

The tryout is a mix of individual skills, 1-on-1 competitions, and 3-on-3 games which quickly separates those who have a chance at success from those who don’t. Two players will be given the chance to make the cut on Saturday before going to Las Vegas, which opens the door for players to enter the league’s draft pool.

Evaluators could also select 3 to 4 additional players to attend the Combine, but the league would not cover their travel expenses, Scott said.

“There’s obviously guys who probably don’t have what it takes to play at the Big3 level, but we’re giving them a chance to showcase if they can,” Scott said Friday.

In past years, players coming out of open tryouts have gotten limited chances with Big3 teams. Players who are selected out of the Combine but who are not drafted remain on a list of available players who can then be selected by teams who are left short-handed due to injuries.

Narrowing the talent down to the Chosen Two is never easy for scouts like former NBA player Will Bynum, who will be at Saturday’s open tryout in Chicago. But to see the players who prove themselves at the open tryout and then at the Combine makes for some interesting stories, which is where the “America’s Got Talent” element comes into play.

One player, Devin Sweetney, came out of the Washington DC tryout last year, and although he didn’t get drafted, got his opportunity and ended up winning a championship with Trilogy. Another player, Cory Jefferson — who played collegiately at Baylor — came out of the Dallas tryout and ended up getting a chance to play at the Big3 level.

“They’re literally grinding from the bottom up to get to the top,” Scott told Patch. “It’s pretty amazing to see.”

Saturday’s tryout will last for three to four hours and gives competitors a chance to show that they have the talent to play at the next level. Scott said that the secret is for players to believe in themselves, to be themselves on the floor, and to make the most of what Scott says is a unique opportunity.

The longer Saturday’s tryout goes on, the more the pool of candidates shrinks, leaving talent evaluators a tough choice of who will advance to the Las Vegas candidate. But considering the opportunity that awaits, scouts take their job seriously.

“It’s a really tough decision,” Scott said. “That part is never easy.”