Ansley Almonor excited to represent Kentucky again in TBT, but also has pro contract on his mind

Ansley Almonor wasn’t away from Lexington for long before making his return ahead of this year’s The Basketball Tournament.

Almonor, who finished his final college season with the Kentucky Wildcats just a few months ago, is teaming up with La Famila, UK’s alumni team in TBT. Practice began on Monday with the opening round game of the 64-team tournament set for Friday night inside Memorial Coliseum. After a semifinal finish in La Familia’s debut last summer, dreams of winning it all are on everyone’s mind.

There’s obviously plenty at stake for Almonor and the rest of La Familia in this event (a $1 million winner-takes-all grand prize, for one), but the former ‘Cat is also excited for the chance to play in front of the Big Blue Nation at least one more time.

“At this point, it felt like I never left,” Almonor told reporters during Monday’s Media Day session. “I went away for a couple of weeks and now I’m back here. Going through the practice facility, I know everything like the back of my hand. Seeing my teammates like Otega (Oweh), BG (Brandon Garrison), Collin (Chandler), and all my guys. It’s great.”

Otega Oweh sure was happy to see Ansley Almonor during La Familia's Media Day.

Almonor is back in Lexington like he never left. pic.twitter.com/Za6hJNL1Nu

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) July 14, 2025

The first thing I noticed upon entering the Joe Craft Center practice gym was Almonor chopping it up in the back corner with Oweh and Garrison. He still has group chats with his former Kentucky teammates, both the ones on the current roster and the ones currently fighting for spots in the NBA at the Las Vegas Summer League.

“It’s great seeing my guys, my teammates,” Almonor added. “It’s good being back here and just feeling love from all the community.”

Almonor spent his first three college seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, but elected to take a bit of a risk by hopping into the transfer portal last offseason. He mostly received interest from mid-major schools until Mark Pope called and took a chance on the sharpshooting forward. The move paid off for both parties — Almonor was the perfect rotational piece off the bench, averaging 5.3 points in 14.3 minutes per outing on 42.4 percent shooting from deep for Kentucky.

It wasn’t long after Almonor’s final college season came to an end that Twany Beckham, La Familia’s general manager, began recruiting him to this summer’s roster. Almonor has goals of playing professional basketball — performing well at TBT could help him get there.

“The week after we lost (to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament), he reached out pretty early,” Almonor said of Beckham. “I was kinda hesitant a little bit at first. I didn’t know what I was gonna do next or how everything was going to shape out. I was hesitant, but at the end of the day I felt like this was going to be a great opportunity, a great privilege to be able to play with these guys, and showcase my skills on this level. I definitely felt like it was a good opportunity.”

Almonor will gain valuable experience playing alongside longtime pros such as the Harrison twins, Archie Goodwin, DeAndre Liggins, Willie Cauley-Stein, and the rest of La Familia’s deep and talented roster. He even remembers watching those guys play at Kentucky when he was coming up in the basketball world on his own. But now he’s on the same team as them. Not bad for someone who was playing in the Northeast Conference during the 2023-24 season.

“A year ago we was playing them, scrimmaging them, so now I’m on the other side, which is crazy,” Almonor said. “A year ago, I didn’t even think I would be here. It’s just a great experience. Seeing how the BBN reacted last year and seeing the reception we received from the fan base and everybody in the community, it definitely makes it cool that I get to be a part of it this year.”

Almonor is one of two players on this year’s La Familia roster fresh out of college (Missouri’s Marques Warrick being the other). While he hasn’t gone up against pros in this setting, a year of battling in the SEC should help him. As one of the younger and fresher pieces, he’ll be expected to play an important role in La Familia’s hopeful run to the grand prize.

He wants to suit up in front of the Big Blue Nation again and help win games, but landing a professional contract is equally important.

“It’s about both,” Almonor said. “Representing BBN, trying to win this whole thing, prove why Kentucky is the best basketball tradition in general. But obviously I want to go out there and showcase my skills and earn myself an opportunity, wherever that may be.”

Almonor and La Familia open this year’s TBT on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET (FS1) against Stroh’s Squad.

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