{"id":12922,"date":"2025-07-16T00:40:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T00:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/12922\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T00:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T00:40:03","slug":"archie-goodwin-seeks-redemption-at-kentucky-with-la-familia-in-tbt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/12922\/","title":{"rendered":"Archie Goodwin seeks redemption at Kentucky with La Familia in TBT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Archie Goodwin<\/a> has four years of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) experience, helping perennial power Eberlein Drive reach the semifinals last summer; however, this year, he jumped at the chance to join La Familia for a second shot at Kentucky Basketball glory.<\/p>\n

Goodwin played for Eberlein Drive, one of the two remaining teams from the inaugural TBT, since 2021. Last summer, he was one of the stars of Eberlein Drive\u2019s run to the semifinals, where they lost to Forever Coogs, Houston\u2019s alumni team. Goodwin\u2019s season at Kentucky didn\u2019t go as he\u2019d hoped \u2014 after Nerlens Noel went down, the Cats failed to make the NCAA Tournament \u2014 but he is eager to reunite with Big Blue Nation and maybe get some redemption.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me. I think when I was here in 2012, we had an up-and-down year. And I think that the way that season ended left a lot of the fanbase looking at that team in a certain way, in a certain light. And so for me to be a part of that team, and then being able to come back to this, if we could win or get close to winning, it could be a way of them being able to see, like, okay, hey, these guys, maybe they didn\u2019t [win big], they weren\u2019t ready then, but they got the opportunity to come back and make it right, and do something as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the NCAA [Tournament], but it is something that\u2019s competitive in that it means something. You\u2019re playing against other pros and you want to win. So there\u2019s still a competitive edge there, and it\u2019s still something that we can win under the name of Kentucky that will mean something to the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodwin is confident that had Noel not torn his ACL in the Florida game in February 2013 that Kentucky would have made the tournament \u2014 in fact, he thinks the Cats\u2019 resume was good enough to make it regardless; however, he understands fans\u2019 frustration that the squad only made the NIT, one season after winning the national championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it for what it was,\u201d Goodwin said of his time at Kentucky. \u201cI think we had some highs, and we did have some lows. I think that everybody pretty much knows that if Nerlens [Noel] doesn\u2019t get hurt, we have a different season because of what he meant to our team, but I also understand, like, hey, it did happen, and we did have the team that we did once he went down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I kind of see both, but I try to think of it in a positive light, because I understand the frustration of a fanbase and of a crowd, knowing that they want to win certain games, and we just weren\u2019t able to, because we\u2019re missing certain players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.<\/a><\/p>\n

BBN\u2019s support: \u201cMan, it\u2019s amazing; don\u2019t find it nowhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodwin could face his former squad if La Familia and Eberlein Drive both make it to the Lexington Regional championship Tuesday night. As a TBT vet, he likes La Familia\u2019s chances and is going to focus on playing a supporting, not starring, role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was one of the top players last year. I really just helped the team with just fitting in and doing the little things. Like, I didn\u2019t have any crazy games like that. I had moments, but I think that it\u2019s about just doing the little things to help the team win that\u2019ll stand out and help us. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so many guys that it could be anybody tonight on any given day. So with me knowing that, it\u2019s just about me coming in, being a good defender, making the right plays, being a leader, vocal, and making sure we\u2019re doing the things that we need to do to help us win, staying connected with each other. And as long as we do that, we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, home-court advantage could play a huge role. Goodwin is counting on Big Blue Nation to bring it at Memorial Coliseum this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect them to come out and be strong and be supportive as they always are. I think that we have a great group. I think that we\u2019ll come out and play hard and try to win over the fans, as we always do, so we\u2019re just looking for their support, and I know they\u2019ll give it, because they always give it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since going to the pros in 2013, Goodwin has made the rounds in the NBA, G League, and overseas. He most recently played for the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association. At almost every stop, he\u2019s encountered Kentucky fans, proof of the fanbase\u2019s unique reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the difference is how passionate the fans are,\u201d Goodwin said of Kentucky fans compared to others. \u201cI think you don\u2019t have too many fanbases like this in college. Maybe Duke is the only one I can compare close to the fanbase that we have here. But there aren\u2019t many fanbases where you can go \u2014 I was in Italy one year, and there were Kentucky fans that recognized me there. You know what I mean? It doesn\u2019t happen like that. I\u2019ve been in Germany, and I\u2019ve had Kentucky fans recognize me. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you don\u2019t have that everywhere, where they\u2019re really worldwide. It\u2019s just a different impact that Kentucky basketball has had. And a large part of that, I think, is due to Coach Cal\u2019s era, from getting John Wall and those guys and starting that whole way that he did. I think a lot of the fanbase came from that era, and they\u2019re everywhere. Man, it\u2019s amazing. Don\u2019t find it nowhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeAndre Liggins, who has played professionally for 14 years all across the world, agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great fanbase. You\u2019ve got other fanbases out there, like North Carolina, Duke, but it\u2019s nothing like Kentucky. Because you hear Kentucky, it\u2019s like, even players who never played here, they know about the tradition, and they never experienced it. They just, I tell them Kentucky, they\u2019d be like, \u2018Wow,\u2019 so it\u2019s just a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Goodwin and Liggins are also enjoying being back in their own stomping grounds \u2014 even if it\u2019s sometimes hard to recognize due to all the upgrades to Kentucky\u2019s campus. Although they\u2019re among some of the older players on the team, they\u2019re enjoying getting to know their younger counterparts and swapping stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only played with the Doron, but everybody\u2019s still a family; we all bleed blue and white,\u201d Liggins said. \u201cEvery year, my family has a family reunion, like my blood family. These guys are not my blood, but we bleed blue, so to come back here and be around these guys, I haven\u2019t seen their faces for so long. We\u2019re all overseas playing, but come back and reunite, that\u2019s a great feeling. Bringing up old stories from when we were here. Just a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m just happy to be around the environment,\u201d Goodwin said. \u201cThe environment was what\u2019s most important to me. Being here, being around some of the old guys, and seeing some of the old people who were here when I was here. That\u2019s what I was looking forward to, and I got to see some people today. That\u2019s what I want to see. And I want to see the young guys, I want to see new groups. I want to see how they are, be able to meet those guys, talk to them, interact with them, and see what their mindset is.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Familia opens TBT play Friday night vs. Stroh\u2019s Squad at Memorial Coliseum (9 p.m. ET, FS1). If they win, they\u2019ll play the winner of War Ready, the Auburn alumni Team, and X-Rayted on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX). The winner of that game will advance to the Lexington Regional championship on Tuesday night (6 p.m., FS2). <\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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