Toledo native William Buford to play in The Basketball Tournament

William Buford, who scored the third-most points in Ohio State history, will make another run with the Scarlet & Grey team this summer.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS — William Buford will return to the The Basketball Tournament as part of the Ohio State alumni team.

William Buford, the former Libbey and Ohio State star, most recently played in Germany.

The Toledo native and Libbey High School graduate once again will play as part of the Scarlet & Gray team, which will compete for The Tournament championship and the $2 million prize that comes with it.

Buford, who played in Germany this season, will join former Buckeyes Aaron Craft, David Lighty, and Evan Ravenel on the team.

As a prep player, Buford was a standout for the Cowboys. He was named All-Ohio, won the state’s Mr. Basketball, and was a McDonald’s All-American, then played four seasons for the Buckeyes and finished third in program history in career scoring.

He returns to a Scarlet & Gray team that was among the best teams in The Tournament last year, winning the Midwest regional and losing in double overtime in the semifinals.

The field is split into four regions (Midwest, South, West, and Northeast) of 18 teams: the nine most popular in terms of support, four at-large bids, four teams who can buy a spot, and the defending regional champion. The winning team receives $1.8 million of the prize money, with the remaining $200,000 percent paid out to the top 201 fans of their team.

The tournament will announce the field on June 6 and will begin play in July. The championship game is scheduled for Aug. 3 in Baltimore and will be televised by ESPN.

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz