The Basketball Tournament brings Baltimore stars back home

For Donte Greene, the motivation wasn’t much different than it had been when he was a teenage star on the rise, developing his skills on courts around Baltimore.

“I was just looking for a good run,” the former NBA first-round draft pick said. “Just some good summer basketball.”

That quest led Greene to hook up with a team of fellow Syracuse alumni, including another former Baltimore high school standout, C.J. Fair. They dubbed themselves Boeheim’s Army as a nod to their college coach and entered a winner-take-all competition known as The Basketball Tournament. After four straight victories, including a 30-point comeback in the last 12 minutes of their quarterfinal game, Greene, Fair and Co. are coming to Baltimore for the semifinals of TBT, Tuesday night at Coppin State. They’ll be cheered on by another Syracuse alumnus and Baltimore product, Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony helped bring the four-year-old event to his hometown. The semifinals and Thursday’s final will be broadcast on ESPN, and the winning team will split $2 million.

Greene has played at the highest levels of basketball, from four seasons with the Sacramento Kings to professional stints in China and Dubai. He said fans will see an excellent product when TBT makes its Baltimore debut. Players are motivated by the money (each member of Boeheim’s Army would take home $150,000 if they win), the chance to reunite with old friends