Greg Oden Hopes to Play with Ohio State Alumni in The Basketball Tournament 2017

Former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Greg Oden announced Wednesday that he will attempt to play in this summer's The Basketball Tournament as part of a team that features primarily former Ohio State players.

Oden revealed the news in the following tweet courtesy of TBT's official Twitter account:

In order to play in The Basketball Tournament, Scarlet & Gray must qualify.

According to Alysha Tsuji of USA Today, Scarlet & Gray must be among the top nine teams in the Midwest region in terms of fan votes or be selected as an at-large team to compete for a TBT spot in the TBT Jamboree.

While Scarlet & Gray's entry into the tournament is far from guaranteed, the name recognition Oden brings to the table is likely to help its cause.

Former OSU standout Scoonie Penn is the general manager of the team, and he believes it is talented enough to win it all, per The Basketball Tournament's official website: "We think we're a team that can win it. We look at the talent we've had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We're called Scarlet & Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state."

Among the players set to join Oden on Scarlet & Gray is popular former Buckeyes point guard Aaron Craft.

The Basketball Tournament has been in existence since 2014, and this year the winner of the 64-team tournament will receive $2 million, according to the event's website.

The 29-year-old Oden was taken No. 1 overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, but injuries limited him to just 105 career NBA regular-season games.

Although the 7-footer played professionally in China last year, he is currently without a team.

In one season at Ohio State, Oden averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game en route to leading the Buckeyes to the national championship game.