HAMPTON, VA … The men's basketball team at Hampton has been invited to participate in the 2023 U.S. Virginia Islands Paradise Jam. The prestigious tournament, slated for Nov. 17-20, 2023, will be played in St. Thomas, V.I. at the Sports and Fitness Center (2,500 capacity) on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.

The men's tournament began in 2001 as a six-team affair with Miami (Fla.) topping Clemson in the championship game. Drake is the tournament's defending champion.

Coach Edward Joyner's team posted a 8-24 record a year ago. The Pirates return seven lettermen from last year's squad including 6-6 junior guard Jordan Nesbitt, who averaged 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2022-23, and 6-8 forward Kyrese Mullin, the team's leading rebounder with 7.7 boards a year ago as a freshman. The Pirates finished 5-13 in conference play their first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.