A No. 25 jersey with "Lederer" emblazoned above the red numbers was strewn over a vacant chair along DMV's Finest's bench June 6, 2014. Zach Lederer was with the basketball team in spirit.
Before the game, Zach's father, John Lederer had given the team a speech, striking his son's iconic strongman pose while saying, "This means strength, courage and determination. And it's something that you guys have. It's something that these other teams don't have."
Zach Lederer, who served as a student manager for the Maryland men's basketball team during the 2011-12 season, lost his battle with brain cancer March 11, 2014. But during his fight, he was an inspiration. His strongman pose, dubbed "Zaching," went viral. His parents have since established a foundation in his name to help cancer patients, and their support network, in his honor.
More than a year later, DMV's Finest is returning to the court in The Basketball Tournament to play for the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation again. The tournament is a single elimination competition that started with 97 teams and awards a $1 million grand prize to the winning squad.
"[Coach] John [Auslander] and I were big about playing for Zaching Against Cancer," said Kevin Owens, DMV's Finest's general manager and one of Lederer's best friends. "Zach meant a lot to Maryland. Zach meant a lot to the community that is fighting cancer. That is kind of our drive through this whole tournament."
DMV's Finest opens play Friday morning in Philadelphia in the Northeast Regional. If the team wins its opener, it will play again Saturday and potentially Sunday to reach the "Super 17," which starts July 23 in Chicago. Zach's parents, Christine and John Lederer, have tickets to the first two games and John said, "We are going to follow them wherever they go."
Auslander, who played for the Terps basketball team when Zach Lederer was a student manager, and Owens, a former Maryland basketball student manager, participated in the tournament's inaugural showing last year and reached the quarterfinals. The previous winner-take-all prize was $500,000, but after reaching a TV deal with ESPN — the quarterfinals with be televised on ESPNU and the semifinals and finals will be on ESPN — co-founders Jon Mugar and Dan Friel were able to double the money giveaway.
The unique tournament, which is free to enter, draws many former college players and even had NBA ties this year with Mike Bibby, Jason Williams, Matt Bonner and Brian Scalabrine on a team that was eliminated in the West Regional last weekend.
"[For the tournament] to be 15 months old, to have games on ESPN, to have people involved like Matt Bonner, players playing like Mike Bibby and Jason Williams, we have come so far," Mugar said in a June interview.
Owens said he was skeptical of the tournament when he first heard about it because it seemed too good to be true. But once he noticed the caliber of players entering the field, he realized it was legitimate, and started putting together a team to compete for the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation.
While Owens had ties to the Terps, he looked beyond the school's alumni to create the team. DMV's Finest has multiple alumni from Georgetown — Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark — and George Mason, and despite not knowing Lederer, they have been passionate about playing for his cause.
"From the beginning when the players approached John, they wanted to play for Zach again," Owens said. "That really meant a lot to us because Zach is part of the Maryland community, and they showed, 'Hey, we are part of that Maryland community now too.'"
To a degree, Auslander said, it feels like the players did know him.
"They know the story," he said. "They've met the family through the tournament. I feel like it's almost to the point now where you didn't need to know Zach to know Zach just because of how far his story has gone."
The Lederer family has been a strong supporter of the team over the past two years. An addition to the team has only added to their passion. Former Terps star Juan Dixon, who is the program's all-time leader in points, will be manning the sidelines with Auslander, and the Lederers are big fans.
About once a month Owens and Lederer's parents talk, and every time they do, the family tells him they are excited for the tournament to get started. Winning the grand prize would have a major impact on helping the foundation — the team has committed $100,000 to the foundation if it wins — but just the exposure of playing and potentially having games on ESPN will be just as important.
Last year, they auctioned off their jerseys and sold T-shirts, with all the proceeds going toward the foundation. They plan on doing the same this year, but the team is hoping for a different end result in the tournament.
Still, the reason they are playing hasn't changed. Lederer's jersey, with his high school football number, will again be on the bench.
"This group is working really hard," Auslander said. "They want to do something special for Zach."
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