BUCKHANNON — Best Virginia, a basketball team made up primarily of former WVU basketball players, will appear in Buckhannon for a free exhibition game on Friday, July 12, at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Best Virginia is set to play in The Basketball Tournament this summer, a $1 million winner-take-all event, and this year they have chosen Buckhannon as their warm-up exhibition location.

This exhibition game will be free to the public thanks in large part to the efforts of Mitchell Shaw, president of the Board of Directors for the Upshur County Recreation Complex. He was able to secure event sponsorships from Jenkins Automotive, Mountain V Oil & Gas, Country Roads Physical Therapy and Elkins Motorsports.

So far, Best Virginia has announced that Jon Holton, Teyvon Myers, Taz Sherman, and Esa Ahmad will be playing this summer. Kevin Jones, who has been a standout player for many years with Best Virginia, will be stepping into an assistant coaching role to help out head coach James Long.

First-year general manager Chase Harler said, “We are so excited to travel to a new town for our annual exhibition game. (The) Buckhannon community will really enjoy it! This year’s team is our youngest team in years, so we plan on playing fast. Our roster compliments that very well.”

Shaw has been working with local (and overseas) basketball star, B-UHS and WVWC alumnus Tanner McGrew, to assemble a team of mostly former Mountain East Conference basketball players to play against the Best Virginia team.

The exhibition team features McGrew along with former Glenville State standout Brett Morris, current WVWC Men’s Basketball coach and former Cleveland State player Derek Sloan, former Glenville and Fairmont State star Jamel Morris and a host of other players who spent time at schools like Salem, WV Wesleyan, Shepherd and other regional colleges.

The game will take place on Friday, July 12, at Buckhannon-Upshur High School, in conjunction with the Upshur County Recreation Complex’s Annual Summer Basketball League. There will be games starting at 6 p.m., and those who wish to see the exhibition game should plan to be there by 7 p.m. There will be photo opportunities and autograph signings as well.