James Long will return as head coach of Best Virginia for The Basketball Tournament’s summer 2023 season in its new host city of Wheeling, West Virginia.

“I am beyond excited to be back as coach,” Long said. “Selfishly, it has been the highlight of my summers. More importantly, we get to all spend time together, put the work in, and compete together. We left last year with a lot of excitement for what was next. We had a good run and know that more can be done. I appreciate everyone in Best Virginia trusting me and giving me the opportunity to coach again. This year’s location in Wheeling will be fun to start a different journey. Hopefully we can get some more people over to Wesbanco Arena. There is a lot of momentum from last year, and we are hoping to keep moving forward!”

The competition is scheduled for late July, with a date TBD at the Wesbanco Arena.

Long coached Best Virginia to a 3-1 record in the 2022 TBT, reaching the Elite-8 in Dayton. It was the first time Best Virginia played out of the Charleston region. 

Best Virginia is led by General Manager and player John Flowers and represents men’s basketball alumni from West Virginia University. Further team announcements will follow through the summer ahead of the Wheeling regional.