Moneyball Pro-Am begins 18th season, offers sneak peek at Michigan State players

The 18th annual Moneyball Pro-Am will kick off at 6 p.m. Thursday at Holt High School.

Every Tuesday and Thursday through Aug. 3, games will be played at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The Moneyball Pro-Am is a summer basketball league consisting of college and professional basketball players created in 2004 by founder Desmond Ferguson. To participate you must have graduated high school and currently play, have played, or about to play college basketball. Admission is free to the public.

Lansing is Ferguson's hometown, and he felt the city needed something like the Moneyball Pro-Am to thrive.

"The pro-ams that existed when I was younger in Detroit and Flint had a lot of professional NBA players, whereas Lansing didn't have as many, but we had Michigan State right here," Ferguson said. "I sat down with Tom Izzo at the time, and he agreed to have his players play in the Moneyball Pro-Am. From there we kind of built it around having college players."

The Moneyball Pro-Am 2023 roster includes 11 Michigan State men's basketball players, along with other current and former college players. The MSU players include AJ Hoggard, Xavier Booker, Jeremy Fears, Jaden Akins, Mady Sissoko, Tre Holloman, Jaxon Kohler, Gehrig Normand, Coen Carr, Tyson Walker and Carson Cooper.

Ferguson said the response to the Moneyball Pro-Am has been great over the last 18 years, and there is more to look forward to.

"Last year was the first time we played at Holt High School which has a great venue and atmosphere," Ferguson said. "There has always been a packed house and really big crowd with good energy.

"It's always good to see new faces and see how some of the young players that may have played last year have developed over the last year," Ferguson said.

jclowers@detroitnews.com