Just kidding! Jesser will NOT suit up for La Familia in TBT

Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-3.27.54 PM — Photo via TBT

All my work learning who Jesser is, why he has 31 million subscribers on YouTube, and if he’s any good at basketball — at least as a serviceable piece in The Basketball Tournament — has been for naught. Initially announced as La Familia’s final roster addition on July 1, he will actually not be suiting up for Kentucky’s alumni squad over the next several weeks.

The content creator’s departure comes due to a scheduling conflict, Jesser unable to stick around for the entirety of the event, leading to the most recent pivot toward Lexington’s own Marques Warrick — a former NKU star who finished his eligibility at Missouri this past season.

Jesser was thought to be a massive exposure boost for La Familia and TBT, bringing one of the most famous sports-specific YouTubers in the world to promote the brand, event and Kentucky basketball overall. The downside to his addition, though, was that the on-court impact would have been minimal, at best. He played in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game and hits trick shots when the cameras are rolling, but competitive five-on-five production against pros? That’s just not why you add Jesser to your roster.

Instead, La Familia added a three-time All-Horizon League hooper with five years of college experience — including one in the SEC. In fact, Warrick dropped 17 points in 14 minutes against Kentucky last year, averaging 6.6 points and 1.3 assists in 13.5 minutes per contest at Mizzou. Before that, he started in 121 of 125 games at NKU while averaging 18.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists on shooting splits of 43/36/83.

If La Familia is looking to take home the million-dollar prize by winning The Basketball Tournament, Warrick is a massive upgrade, even if it means the digital content will be taking a hit.

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We’ll take the trade by keeping it in the Lexington family.

The fun begins now with La Familia, the No. 1 seed in the Lexington Regional, set to begin their TBT journey against Stroh’s Squad on Friday, July 18 at 9 PM ET on FS1. Should they win that one, they’d take on the winner of War Ready (Auburn Alumni) and X-Rayted on Sunday, July 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports.

The Lexington Regional championship game is Tuesday, July 22, at 6 p.m. ET on FS2. Tickets for the Lexington Regional are now on sale at TBTHoops.com/tickets.

The winner of the Lexington Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional in the quarterfinals on Monday, July 28, at 6 p.m. on FS1. The semifinals and $1 million winner-take-all championship game will be July 31 and Aug. 3.