Jerel McNeal, one of the members of the Marquette alumni team, played for the Golden Eagles from 2005-’09 and is the team’s all-time points leader. Credit: Associated Press

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After playing three seasons of basketball at Marquette and graduating in 2008, Daniel Fitzgerald embarked on a seven-year pro career that took him to Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Argentina and Spain.

He hung up his sneakers in 2015, taking a job at Jacobus Wealth Management Inc. in Wauwatosa as the vice president of business development heading up professional athlete services.

But he hasn't been able to stay away from basketball for too long.

That's because the Marquette athletics department asked him if he would put together an alumni team for The Basketball Tournament, an open-application, single-elimination tournament that will be played for the third time this summer. The winning team gets $2 million.

Fitzgerald jumped at the opportunity to be the team's general manager, creating the Golden Eagles Alumni team and starting social media pages. He always thought the concept of the tournament was cool and saw how much fun his younger brother, Mike, had playing in it last year as part of a team of Air Force Academy alums called the Bomb Squad.

"I was happy to do it," Fitzgerald said. "I thought it would be a lot of fun. Any excuse to get back together with the guys is always fun."

While Fitzgerald was aware of the tournament before being asked to get involved, it's still very new on the basketball landscape.

The concept is simple. Anyone can play, though participants give up their amateur status by doing so. In the two previous tournaments, teams have run the gamut from former NBA players and current professionals to a team built by a trio of friends who grew up on the same cul-de-sac.

Making a team is the easy part. Being one of the 64 teams that makes it into the tournament takes marketing, since 48 of the 64 berths are determined by fan vote.

The 12 teams receiving the most fan votes in each of the four regions as of June 1 will get automatic berths, while four others per region will be added by the tournament committee as at-large selections. As of Monday afternoon, the Golden Eagles Alumni team headed by Fitzgerald ranked 9th in the Midwest.

Last year, Bad Boys, a group of predominantly Wisconsin alums; Sconnie Legends, a collection of players from around the state; and the Kenosha Ballers all competed in the tournament. None of those teams advanced out of the Midwest regional.

A squad made up of Notre Dame alumni won the inaugural tournament in 2014, pocketing $500,000, and a team named Overseas Elite took home the $1 million prize in 2015. The stakes have doubled again this year.

How the prize money gets split is determined ahead of time. The general manager, coach and players are allotted variable salaries equaling $1.8 million. The other $200,000 is shared among the top 100 fans who vote. Fans move up the rankings based on how many new fans they recruit to vote for their team.

Fitzgerald has been working with Marquette director of player personnel Travis Diener to connect with past players and put together a roster. Jerel McNeal (2005-'09), Dwight Burke (2005-'09) and Trent Lockett (2012-'13) are the first three on board of a maximum of 11, but Fitzgerald says there's been strong interest.

"The trick is getting people that are available," Fitzgerald said. "We've got a number of other players that have expressed that they want to play, but they haven't gotten around to committing to it because they're in playoffs either in the D-League or overseas.

"The other thing is the Vegas Summer League that might conflict. Right now it's obviously not the highest priority for all players, they're focused on playoffs, so that makes it a little tricky for me to get guys on the roster."

If you were hoping the roster would include former Marquette stars who are currently in the NBA — such as Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Wesley Matthews, Jae Crowder or Steve Novak — you'll be out of luck. While they would be eligible to play, it's not worth the risk for current NBA players.

As for Diener, he's helping Fitzgerald with roster creation, but he isn't planning to play. Fitzgerald is hoping to persuade Diener to coach the team, but it depends on his availability during the three weekends of tournament play.

The Midwest regional starts July 16 at the Shannon Center at St. Xavier University in Chicago. The Super 16 is in Philadelphia the next weekend, and the semifinals and finals will be in New York on July 30 and Aug. 2

In order for the Golden Eagles Alumni team to be eligible for an automatic berth, it will need to stay in the top 12 of the fan vote until June 1 and include at least seven players on its roster. Fitzgerald will play if needed but hopes he doesn't have to.

"I haven't touched a ball in a while, so I'm really hoping I don't have to go out there," Fitzgerald said. "Hopefully we get enough players that are in game shape, otherwise I'd better go to noon ball with the coaches and get some practice in."