Former Ohio State basketball stars Jon Diebler and William Buford will be back for Carmen’s Crew in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) this summer, and they’re hoping to bring a couple friends along with them.

A regional round of the annual 64-team tournament will take place on Ohio State campus for the first time at the Covelli Center beginning on July 23, and Diebler and Buford said Wednesday that they’re working on recruiting a former All-American to take the court with them, and holding out hope for another recently “retired” former Buckeye.

“That’s the main one, we’re working on Sully to play,” Diebler, who played for Ohio State from 2007-11, told the media.

Jared Sullinger, a two-time consensus All-American in his two seasons with the Buckeyes from 2010-12, has served as the general manager and head coach of Carmen’s Crew for the past couple years, and helped lead the Ohio State alumni team to the million-dollar prize for winning the tournament in 2019.

A Columbus native and five-star prospect out of Northland High School, Sullinger was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and played five seasons in the NBA through 2016-17. After his NBA career, Sullinger played two seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Sullinger has suited up to play for Carmen’s Crew before but not since 2018. However, Diebler said a comeback in 2021 is not out of the realm of possibility.

“He’s doing really well right now. Outside of TBT, it’s just awesome to see him playing again. He’s been through a lot injury-wise,” Diebler said. We all know how good of a player Sully is, so to see him playing again –– everyone knew he was gonna play well. So we’re working on it.”

Former Buckeyes David Lighty and Evan Ravenel have also committed to playing for Carmen’s Crew in 2021 after an unceremonious exit in their first tournament matchup this past year, but Diebler and Buford also said they hope former Buckeye point guard Aaron Craft does not stay retired from the sport of basketball.

Craft said last year’s TBT run would be his last, as he began medical school at Ohio State thereafter.

“I haven’t talked to him personally about basketball, just how his second career’s going after ball, but I hope that Craft does play with us," Buford said. "I love playing with Craft, he makes the game so much easier for everybody. You know what type of effort he’s gonna give night in and night out, so hopefully we can get him to play this year, that’ll be great for us.”

After last year’s spectator-less tournament at a Columbus bubble site, a return for Craft and Sullinger could mean not only another deep run for Carmen’s Crew, but a shot to play in front of Buckeye fans on campus together for the first time in quite a while.

“It’s always just a joy to play in Columbus in front of family and friends and share the court with my brothers again,” Buford said. “That’s all I look forward to is just sharing the court with those guys, hopefully we can get as much guys that we played with in college to play with us this year.”