Several former UConn players will be involved in The Basketball Tournament this summer, an ESPN-created, winner-take-all tourney.

Rudy Gay is a booster for the Untouchables, while Clyde Vaughan (or Clive Vaughan), is a coach.

Meanwhile, Josh Boone is playing for  the Tri State Titans. Marcus Williams will play on Team Maryland, and Gavin Edwards will play on Team 23.

The winning team will pocket $2 million. The tourney's format is just like March Madness, with 64 teams in four regions: Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Charlotte. The 12 teams with the most votes as of June 1 automatically get into the tourney, so if you'd like to see the UConn guys get a chance to play, open those team links and give them a vote.

The presidents of the Catholic 7 formally approve breaking away from the Big East, the ACC officially accepts Notre Dame for next season, blah, blah, blah. Here's a pretty good piece from the ProJo's Kevin McNamara on how special the Big East tournament has been through the years. It will never be the same. Not even close.

UConn should have been allowed to play in this final version of the Big East tournament, despite its postseason ban. Syracuse was banned from the postseason 20 years earlier, but was still allowed to go to Manhattan.

Then again, some people apparently feel UConn still has a shot at winning this week's tourney. According to bovada.lv, the Huskies have 22-to-1 odds of winning this year's Big East tourney. That's better odds than Villanova, Cincinnati, PC, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF and DePaul are getting. And they're all allowed to actually play in the tourney.

Odds to Win the Big East Post Season Tournament

Louisville 7/5

Georgetown 17/4

Pittsburgh 19/4

Syracuse 5/1

Marquette 10/1

Notre Dame 18/1

Connecticut 22/1

Villanova 25/1

Cincinnati 28/1

Providence 60/1

St. John's 75/1

Rutgers 250/1

Seton Hall 350/1

South Florida 250/1

DePaul 750/1

*** My own Big East tournament memories aren't as wide-ranging, since I had never attended one before covering my first in 2000 as the Providence College beat writer for the Pawtucket Times. Over the next four years, PC would win just one BET game, so my stays in Manhattan (usually at the "lovely" Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from the Garden) were always short.

Then, when I took over as the Register's UConn beat writer in 2008, my stays were equally short -- first-round exits in '08, '09 (extended by a whole mess of overtimes) and '10.

Then came 2011, and the most amazing run I've ever witnessed.

Here are a few archives of great UConn BET games over the past few years: the championship game win over Louisville in '11, capping the five wins in five nights run; the semifinal win over Syracuse in '11 that took "only" overtime period; the quarterfinal win over Pittsburgh in '11, won by Kemba Walker's buzzer-beater that forever relegated poor Gary McGhee to Craig Ehlo status; and, of course, the six-overtime thriller against Syracuse in '09, a loss Jim Calhoun is still bitter about.This one was so good, and took so long (and late in the night) to finish, perhaps things were better summed up the following day.

The vaunted Connecticut media "Horde" had nothing on the kids at the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven on Sunday during Kemba Walker's visit for a clinic.

"Who'd win 1-on-1, you or Jeremy Lamb?" one kid asked. (Lamb's beaten him twice, Walker noted. "This stays between us, right?" he asked the 200 or so people in the audience).

"Were you laughing at (Gary McGhee) in your head when he hit the floor?" asked another. ("I didn't see him fall until I watched it after the game," Walker replied.)

"Who was the most inspiring coach you've ever had?" asked another. (All of them, Kemba said, not mentioning any specifically.)

OK, they weren't all hard-hitting. "What's your favorite color?", "What's your favorite food?", "What's your shoe size?", "Who was your favorite team to play against?" and "What's your middle name?" were some others. (Answers: Red, pizza, 11 1/2, Pitt and "I can't answer that, sorry.").



It was all good fun as Walker held about a 45-minute Q&A inside the Vine Family Auditorium, then signed autographs, chatted with kids and did a little individual instruction inside the Beckerman Gymnasium afterwards.

Beforehand, I had a chance to ask Kemba a few questions of my own.

Q: Do you enjoy doing things like this?

KW: "All the time. This is my opportunity to give back to the community. Not every kid gets to be around me or other pros.”

Q: Do you try to give kids a specific message at these clinics?

KW: “I just tell them to work hard, that’s all you can do. Not everybody’s going to make it in basketball, so just work hard in whatever you do.”

Q: How tough is it to finally realize your dream of being drafted by an NBA team, only to be locked out by the league's owners?

KW: “It sucks, but it happens. I understand. At the same time, I’ve got to stay positive, just trust … the Players Association to make the best deal possible for us, so my future can be good.”

Q: Who at UConn can step up and fill the leadership void left by your early departure?

KW: “A lot of guys. Jeremy (Lamb), Shabazz (Napier) definitely. He’s a guy who’s going to take on that role. Alex (Oriakhi), he’s matured a lot. There’s a few guys that are going to step up. Those freshmen are now sophomores. They’ve been through a crazy, unbelievable season. They know what to expect. They’ve got the young guys working hard right now. It’s going to be a fun year for basketball in Connecticut.”

Q: Will there be an NBA season this year?

KW: “Me, personally, I’m staying positive. So I’m saying, ‘Yeah.’ I think we’re going to be able to put together a good deal. I hope so.”

Walker is currently living in Long Island and working out at a nearby gym with former Hofstra star Charles Jenkins.