John Harrar to Lead Penn State Alumni at $1 Million Basketball Tournament

After his first season playing professional basketball in Japan, former Penn State basketball standout John Harrar returns to lead a team of Nittany Lions in pursuit of a $1 million purse. Harrar will take the Happy Valley Hoopers into The Basketball Tournament, a $1 million, winner-take-all open event that begins July 19.

The Basketball Tournament is a 64-team, single-elimination event featuring eight regionals nationwide. Harrar’s Happy Valley Hoopers will begin competition July 20 in the Pittsburgh Regional against the Dubois Dream. The Happy Valley Hoopers are seeded fifth in the eight-team regional, which includes alumni teams from Connecticut, Pitt and West Virginia.

Harrar’s Happy Valley Hoopers will compete in The Basketball Tournament for the second year. The team includes former Nittany Lions Jamari Wheeler, Qudus Wahab, Sam Sessoms, Izaiah Brockington, Josh Reaves, Trent Buttrick and Taylor Nussbaum. Former Penn State assistant coach Ross Condon is head coach of the team. Myles Dread, Harrar’s former teammate is the assistant coach.

The TBT semifinals and final will be played at Drexel University. The $1 million championship game is scheduled for Aug. 4 on FOX.

Harrar recently completed his first season in Japan’s B2 League. He played Shizuoka Veltex, averaging 14.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Harrar finished his career at Penn State as the program’s leader in games played (146), second in field-goal percentage (59.6 percent) and fifth in career rebounds (854). He is one of six Nittany Lions to record 800 career points and 800 career rebounds.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.