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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. �����Ƶ� Many participants in The Basketball Tournament have long chased their professional hoop careers to all corners of the globe. They�����Ƶ�ve planned to do so since they first picked up a basketball, and they are lifers in the sport.

Then, there�����Ƶ�s Buckhannon native Tanner McGrew.

The West Virginia Wesleyan graduate had no designs on a pro hoop career during his time as a Bobcat. He entered school as a walk-on with more accomplishments as a trombone player and a guitarist than as a performer on the hardcourt.

Then, as sometimes happens, the stars aligned and circumstances combined to push him down an entirely different path.

�����Ƶ�My first (professional) contract was more just like an adventure,�����Ƶ� McGrew recounted. �����Ƶ�I wasn�����Ƶ�t supposed to be a professional basketball player. I was good my last year, but that was never a part of the plan. But with a couple of months left somebody reached out to me from Australia, and I told my (girlfriend) Abby that it was possible for her to go with me if she wanted to do it.

�����Ƶ�We came to the agreement that we weren�����Ƶ�t going to pursue this if we weren�����Ƶ�t married, because if you have a wife, they treat you differently overseas. Not that they treat girlfriends badly, but they treat you as a package deal if you are married, and pay for flights and housing for both of us. So we ended up getting married the day of my graduation in my back yard and left the next week when she graduated from �����ƵU.�����Ƶ�

McGrew is underselling his talent somewhat �����Ƶ� as a first-team Division II All-American as a senior, it wasn�����Ƶ�t like he was barely hanging on to a collegiate roster spot. Still, there were a lot of adjustments to make, first going to Australia and then moving on for stops in Denmark, France, Portugal and most recently, Romania. Abby has been with him every step of the way, making for what has to be some unique, and certainly interesting, life experiences for the young couple.

�����Ƶ�The schedule has just kind of worked out,�����Ƶ� McGrew detailed. �����Ƶ�My wife travels everywhere with me, so the family we don�����Ƶ�t see is our parents. It�����Ƶ�s much more difficult for guys that go overseas alone and don�����Ƶ�t have anyone with them. So I can structure my summers how I want.�����Ƶ�

That flexibility allowed McGrew to join Best Virginia this year, where he is expected to provide a flexible, all-around game.

�����Ƶ�I�����Ƶ�ve spoken to (head coach) James (Long) a little bit, and they know who I am. I am more of a facilitating big. I like it when the ball goes through me, and I can create for others really well,�����Ƶ� McGrew said in describing his game. �����Ƶ�Dribble handoffs, pick and pop, I do well with that. I can work in the high post well, maybe a little bit like Marc Gasol played with Memphis. That�����Ƶ�s great with me.�����Ƶ�

�����Ƶ McGrew has continued his pro career, he was worked to develop different aspects of his skillset. Rebounding was his calling card at Wesleyan, where he stuck more to the blocks and the lane while leading the nation in rebounding in D-II his senior year, but he�����Ƶ�s added perimeter shooting and the ball distribution and creation abilities to his repertoire.

This past year in Romania, playing for CSU Sibiu, he averaged 10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 51% from the field and 39% from three. That came on the heels of a recovery from a broken leg that sidelined him for some 11 months, which he admitted limited him somewhat in his first season back from the injury.

�����Ƶ�I liked it there, the league is solid, but it was different,�����Ƶ� he said of playing in Romania. �����Ƶ�It was more Eastern European, and I�����Ƶ�ve mostly been in Western European countries and Australia. The club was very accommodating and took care of us, and our management was very good.�����Ƶ�

With his summer free, McGrew was available for Best Virginia, which went through some drama with one of its intended players right before last year�����Ƶ�s tournament. McGrew is the antithesis of that and is eager to take on whatever role he is assigned to help his team win. He likes the Elam Ending that defines the TBT, and although he has not yet played in an official TBT game, has some good thoughts on how it can play out.

�����Ƶ�The game shifts when you get to the Elam Ending,�����Ƶ� he said, noting that he was on the Mountain East Conference All-Star team that scrimmaged Best Virginia prior to last year�����Ƶ�s TBT. �����Ƶ�It can get out of control, and I think we need to be intentional on doing what we have done to get us to that point. If we are going to have success as a team, we have to work together and not go one-on-one. If all of us commit to that, I think we will be tough to beat.�����Ƶ�

McGrew has built a good resume of playing experience with and against West Virginia alumni and TBT members over the years, working out and playing pickup with a number of them. Juwan Staten, Tarik Phillip, Jevon Carter, Kevin Jones, Jamel Morris and John Flowers are among those.

�����Ƶ�I do everything I can to go up against Kevin as often as I can, because he�����Ƶ�s so talented. It�����Ƶ�s good practice for me to test myself and get better. �����Ƶ often as I can, I�����Ƶ�m in the gym with them,�����Ƶ� the versatile forward said.

�����Ƶ�It�����Ƶ�s gotten to the point that it�����Ƶ�s commonplace, because I see these guys around,�����Ƶ� he continued. �����Ƶ�But growing up, I watched Kevin play, I watched Da�����Ƶ�Sean (Butler) play. It was really special. At first it was hard to see myself as their equal. Just to play on the same team as them, and knowing how everyone idolized these guys, it means a lot to me.�����Ƶ�

McGrew and his Best Virginia teammates will play in the TBT West Virginia Regional from July 24-27 at the Charleston Convention Center and Coliseum.