Former Louisville basketball star Montrezl Harrell had so much fun watching some of his ex-teammates play last summer for The Ville in The Basketball Tournament that he decided to suit up this year.

For the second year in a row, Freedom Hall will host a regional round of TBT, a 64-team competition with $1 million on the line.

Besides Harrell, ex-Cardinals star Peyton Siva announced he plans to play for The Ville. Siva and Harrell were teammates during U of L's run to a Final Four in 2012 and a national championship in 2013.

"I built a lot of friends there (Louisville). l built a lot of memories there," said Harrell, an eight-year NBA veteran who underwent surgery last August to repair a torn ACL and a meniscus tear in his right knee. He hasn't played since the Philadelphia 76ers waived him before the start of the 2023-24 season.

"I didn't leave the city of Louisville without them knowing that I left my all there for the time that I was there, and I think the city felt that, and they knew that," Harrell said.

The Freedom Hall regional is scheduled July 19-24. Its winner will play the winner of a regional at Rupp Arena — hosted by a Kentucky alumni team, LaFamilia — in a July 30 quarterfinal.

This is the first time UK will have a TBT team.

Harrell recently spoke with Eric Bledsoe, the first former Wildcat who committed to LaFamilia.

They agreed fans of both college programs would enjoy seeing the teams play in the event and likened it to a rivalry between the Lakers and Clippers.

"It's either you bleed blue, or you bleed red," Harrell said.

"I know that love-hate thing between these two teams is definitely real. But like Eric and I said, it will be a lot of fun. And if we can match up to continue to advance later on down the road, then I think that's going to be something, like I said, record-breaking for this league," Harrell said.

Harrell hopes The Ville has as many players from the Cardinals' 2013 national championship team as possible.

"It would be one of the best reunions in the world," said Harrell, whose goal is to return to the NBA.

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville MBB: Montrezl Harrell plans to play in TBT for The Ville