On Tuesday night, packs of college basketball players wandered the hallways of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. Some groups walked along a strip of restaurants and yachts and mingled with fans and vacationers. A wandering eye in the casino also would have spotted plenty of team-issued polos spotted darting across the casino floor or meandering past shark tanks.
Less than 24 hours later, those same players walked down the hallway from their hotel room into a converted ballroom to play in the premiere multi-team tournament in college basketball this season. NBA scouts, media and fans crammed into the venue, taking a break from the waterpark outside, and got ready for a day of basketball.
It is tough to understand why basketball is played in the Bahamas every November, but Wednesday’s tournament opener between Michigan and Iowa State felt exactly like what basketball should look like when it is played in the Bahamas.