By: Anthony Sigismond
When you think of The Money Team, fans’ first thoughts probably turn towards owner Floyd Mayweather and how he added another sports team to his portfolio. But there’s a lot of history behind this squad and it didn’t start with the boxing legend.
Back in 2017, EJ Gallup was nearing the end of his playing career when the idea of getting a team together for The Basketball Tournament came into his head. Gallup gave his pitch to TJ Fredette and brought TJ’s brother, Jimmer into the fold. Once they added Jimmer’s Westchester Knicks’ teammate Jordon Crawford and Co-GM Dan Britten, Team Fredette was born.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FHNujF0W1gc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Gallup, who started out as a player with Team Fredette before moving over as head coach, recently helped lead Fulton Montgomery Community College to their first Regional title in 17 years in his second year as head coach. Gallup played at Albany and Coastal Carolina and is the only four-year Division I Men’s Basketball Scholarship player from Gloversville, NY.
The former Great Dane and Chanticleer would go on to play professionally overseas and had his best season with Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany, where he finished as a top-20 scorer in the league and top-5 in 3-point field goals.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8XdqsTvpsBw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>“To be honest I wish [TBT] was coming along more when I was in my prime but needless to say I wanted to be a part of it,” Gallup said. “TJ and I are lifelong friends and we played against each other in high school so I got a hold of TJ and got the idea in his ear. We tried the first year with votes but we didn’t get in but the second year we got it together with Team Fredette.”
Through Jimmer and Crawford, Team Fredette saw early success making it to the Semifinals in their second TBT season. The success didn’t just come on one basketball court either, as the team was able to create an AAU program, forming opportunities for younger hoopers too.
In fact, Jimmer averaged 31 points per game during that tournament run. It’s the most points anyone has ever averaged during a single-tourney run in TBT history.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xBJ8BfYhRQQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>But as the TBT evolved, so did the talent level. With Team Fredette failing to make it out of Regionals in 2019 and Jimmer taking the following summer off, change felt imminent.
Gallup made the switch to head coach full-time the following offseason. On top of that, Mayweather, who is Crawford’s long-time mentor, gave the guys his blessing to represent the TMT brand and the roster was restructured to assemble The Money Team. But the rebrand isn’t possible without their floor general in Jordon Crawford.
Crawford was friends with World Champion boxer Adrian Broner and met Mayweather through him. The two are so close that Mayweather used to pull-up at Crawford’s G-Leaguegames. Now Crawford not only rocks the TMT brand but is the leader for his good friend’s squad.
“I had mentioned to J-Craw that I think it would be a really cool idea to try and get Mayweather involved in some way,” TJ Freddete said. “Even if it was just letting us use the name so we could have that brand and help bring players on. He was all for it and he talked to Floyd and his right hand man and gave us the blessing.”
Crawford, who’s been with Team Fredette/The Money Team since the beginning, has become a staple through his play on the floor as well as his work behind the scenes. Since the rebrand, he’s averaged 13.8 PPG and has led the team in assists all three years averaging 5.6 APG.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2afvovyM-JU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>In spite of the team name, it’s certainly not indicative of what Mayweather or the team stands for. He assists the team with sponsorships, gives guys opportunities, and trusts guys like TJ and Crawford to represent the brand in the right light. That mindset has spread throughout the organization.
“The outside looking may have their own perspective of [Mayweather] being the villain or bad guy but he has one of the biggest hearts,” Crawford said. “He looks out for so many people and I’ve learned so much from him…It’s not all about gaining off of somebody.
“I was always told you measure your success by how many people you bless. I think that’s the biggest thing is trying to reiterate that to each person we come in contact with.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE MONEY TEAM JUST RECEIVED A CALL 👀👀👀 <a href="https://twitter.com/FloydMayweather?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FloydMayweather</a> <a href="https://t.co/wHyqn8Mzfs">pic.twitter.com/wHyqn8Mzfs</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1420222139005693953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The first iteration of The Money Team featured former NBA vets and highly skilled overseas players. We’re talking guys like Tony Wroten, Willie Reed, Nick Johnson to name a few. Unfortunately, despite the big additions, the team blew a big lead late and lost in the second round for the 2020 TBT.
While they had a great start to their first game in the TBT Bubble, they had arguably the biggest meltdown in TBT history. Ranked as the No. 7 seed, The Money Team held an 18-point lead in regulation and an 11-point lead in the Elam Ending against No. 23 Herd That before their catastrophic collapse.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i8kPViW-tKs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Despite the down year, Gallup had a chance to reassess their strategy moving forward while establishing their core for years to come.
No longer were they seeking players but now they had guys asking if they could play with them. And rather than putting together another star-studded roster, they were looking for players who could fit in with their core rather than bringing on prominent names.
“We’re really big on having a family type style on the court,” Crawford said. “Even off the court, we still talk to each other a lot. Majority of the players have built relationships through the years where it’s more than basketball. It’s bigger than basketball. It’s about helping the next person.”
After a Quarterfinals run in 2021 and making it to the Third Round last year, The Money Team is looking to get a couple core players back, while making additions that fit their needs and culture.
We’ve seen some early results from bringing in those types of additions, too. Xavier Munford was brought in during the 2021 tournament and his dominance in the Elam Ending was a huge reason why they made it the second farthest that year in team-history.
The former Milwaukee Buck helped lead an 18-point comeback against top-seeded Carmen’s Crew in Columbus. That performance was so clutch that even Mayweather had to pop in via FaceTime to congratulate the team on its’ epic comeback.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BewBuTtq7kw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>In 2022, they added NBA veteran Trevor Booker and NBL superstar Mitch Creek who helped them to two wins in the most talented TBT pool we’ve seen. Now they’re potential mainstays for the upcoming summer because of the symmetry they formed with core guys like Jimmer, Crawford, Peyton Aldrige and Jeff Ledbetter.
“It’s really cool when you look at a guy like Jimmer or Trevor Booker, these guys have made enough money to never play basketball again,” Gallup said. “We’ve had a lot of guys that have made a lot of money playing basketball but what’s cool to me is you won’t find a guy that wants to win TBT more than Jimmer or Booker. These guys are just playing their hearts out for the love of the game.”
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3PLa7APTEuY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>The expectations are always to win a championship but along the way they’ve built this family-like environment. If they can couple a team full of hungry players with championship aspirations and strong chemistry, it may finally yield them the results they set out for all along.
“At this point we know we have the talent and we know we are established enough to win it. TJ Fredette said. “Just to be able to have a group that we can make a run with and enjoy each other’s company, that’s always the goal is to have a fun experience and do something that we’ll remember forever.”