Jocelyn's selection continues a stretch of fruitful times for the program. It was a good fit and a good role for him, and I think it'll be good for our team and for Travis as he continues his career." Travis is a 6-6 guy who can make 3s, and those guys don't grow on trees. "Having those relationships with Randy and now Travis, and knowing what they're about, the way they can shoot the ball, they're a perfect fit. "When we're rounding out the roster, we're looking for guys with a specific skillset and with good attitudes," Goldsmith said. Jocelyn has been playing professionally in Germany since his days in Packer Hall. Another former TCNJ All-American, Randy Walko '20, competed on the inaugural squad. It includes Yale's Azar Swain, Brandon Sherrod, and Jordan Bruner Brown's Tamaneng Choh Harvard's Kyle Casey UNLV's Jelan Kendrick Fairfield's Tyler Nelson and Notre Dame's Prentiss Hubb and Paul Atkinson, who played three years at Yale before joining the Irish as a graduate transfer.Īnd, for the second time in as many years, it includes one of Goldsmith's former stars – Travis Jocelyn, the NJAC Player of the Year and a third-team All-American in 2021, will suit up for the Nerd Team. The second iteration of 'The Nerd Team' certainly fits the moniker. If you prepare the right way, they're going to respect what you bring to the table. But the big thing we learned coaching wise was that even the best players want to game plan, they want to be coached. "We were like, 'are these guys even going to listen to us?' They're very talented and make a lot of money. Would the players buy in to their vision? Goldsmith and Toomey were Division III players trying to recruit and coach high-major Division I standouts. One of the biggest hurdles was a – perhaps entirely imagined – sense of apprehension, even an inferiority complex. But, if some young player sees that 'The Nerd Team' is winning games against some of the best competition in the world not in the NBA and decides to take just as much pride in his academics as his basketball, then we did our job." We would not participate if that wasn't the case. Obviously, we want to win the whole thing. "We want to show to everyone that nerds can hoop just as well as anyone else. "Honestly, Aaron and I wanted to start this team because we wanted to prove to people that you do not have to be just an academic kid or just a stud basketball player you can be both," Goldsmith said last year. Toomey was a two-time national player of the year and currently coaches at Rochester. He started the team alongside Aaron Toomey, with whom Goldsmith won a national championship in 2013 at Amherst College while Toomey was a star player and Goldsmith an assistant coach. It has since blossomed into a staple of the summer sports scene, hosting over 400 games, partnering with ESPN for live coverage, and introducing the exhilarating 'Elam Ending' as a new way to end games.Īs general manager, Goldsmith is tasked with selecting players, managing the team, and recruiting fans via the TBT website. The Basketball Tournament started in 2014 as a 32-team event with little fanfare the inaugural contest was played in Philadelphia in front of 17 fans. Last year we were these random D3 guys asking them to play in the summer now they know about us and wanted to play a little bit more." It was easier to go find players this year. "We lost our first game, but it was a great game and it was all over ESPN that night. "The legwork in that first year was tough there was just a lot to get done," Goldsmith said. Goldsmith's squad, comprised of players from premier academic institutions who "value academic rigor while excelling on the court and in the community," made its debut a year ago. Goldsmith returns for another stint as head coach and general manager of 'The Nerd Team', which will make its second appearance in The Basketball Tournament: the 64-team, fully-open, winner-take-all tournament with a million dollars awaiting the last team standing. This summer, he's coming back for another dose of life as an executive. TCNJ men's basketball head coach Matt Goldsmith has spent the last decade in the coaching game.
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