We are D3: what’s going well and what team needs

By Patrick Coleman
D3sports.com

Wichita, Kansas-Even after having taken a loss of 66-54 for favorite aftershocks in the place of residence for a reported 5,500 fans, there is little doubt that the Alumni Team of Division III in the basketball tournament put itself on the map in the 2025 edition of the event.

We are D3, with a number 4 seed, that the highest ever in the event ever corresponds, won four games in the six-round tournament and went on to the last four. The success of the team gave Division III basketball a moment this summer, as it may not have seen since the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA concept in 1999 Augsburg’s Veleen George.

On Thursday evening, a few hours after the semi -final with after -shocks, players went by booking books or booking flights after they had spent more time together on TBT than almost everyone was possible.

“I really feel that the boys broke some barriers for us and the brand (from Division III),” said coach Mike Rejniak after Thursday’s game. “It really helped the message of what we all try to show and contribute to.”

Some of the We Are D3 players are still looking for their next professional opportunity, others change completely competitions, and some become first-year pros, including Christian Parker (Mount Union), Hank Morgan (Hamilton), David Murray (Connecticut College) and Felix Kloman (Babson). Alex Sobel (Middlebury) literally flies on Monday to play in France, after a year in which he was given a limited playing time in the top Israeli competition.

But having a core group of boys who played together for We Are D3 is one of the reasons why this team is successful. There is something more about what is going well for the Rejniak team.

What’s going well

The core group: Four starters and a few important reserves have returned this year, because we are D3 and it helps enormously. Ty Nichols had a tournament to remember, on average 21.4 points, while Marcus Azor and Dimitrius Underwood each returned and scoring on average double digits. Having these three core boys who are getting back several times helps with coherence in an event where often teams are thrown together with little time to play together.

Self -confident game of the bank: There were 14 players who were given playing time, but minutes at the end of the bank are sometimes quite limited. And sometimes that can lead to grip and fighting between teammates, things that were sometimes visible among We are D3’s opponents. But the people at the end of the D3 rotation were supportive and positive and generally contributed when they got opportunities. Jackson Meshanic scored 29.0 points per match in Luxembourg last season, but played a total of five minutes in five games for D3, covered by a much needed bucket of an incoming game in the semi -final against after -shocks. The minutes of Thomas Quarry were up and down, Murray had all 14 of his tournament points in one match: the round of 16 against stars of Storrs. Morgan only played 31 minutes, 23 of them in one game. Eugene Campbell and Felix Kloman got even less playing time. But everyone seemed to understand their role.

The team is still young: A number of players in TBT are about to their career – for example, Darius Adams, whose 44 points almost no longer brought more difficult in the round of 8, is 36 years old. But Nichols is 28, Underwood is 27, Azor is 25 and a couple of boys are even younger. There are no Jeff Gibbses in this team, although we would like to have D3 more often in the selection over the years. If this core group stays together, D3 will be better for it.

The cause: In addition to the cause of Hardy Strong, the team strives to win in the right way and win as a real Division III teams. It was probably tempting to recruit players without any D-III background to try to achieve a number of victories, but we have remained D3 at the D-III cause in the core.

What is successful: A year with so much exposure and success brings more legitimacy for the program. It will make it easier to find sponsorship and compensate for everyone involved for their time. It will also make it easier to recruit and get players to come to the cutterpower of next spring in Boston. The annual mowing porter is huge for recruiting people to the team and having more candidates can only make the last schedule better. There is nothing like four victories to strengthen the status of a team in this event.

What we are D3 needs

It is clearly not all perfect, or the team would still play minimal, or would bring the price of a million dollars home. Here are a few things that this group needs.

Respect in sowing and a home floor: We are the seed of D3 has certainly improved over the years, but only slowly. Taking Mass Street to the buzzer In 2023, D3 received a four-seed last year, and last year’s victory plus taking another one-seed to the thread got D3 … another four seed. Next season this team should have at least two seeds (teams are sown in pods with eight teams), and the team must have the chance to host. In our Postgame interview, Rejniak threw the hosting on Springfield College, the birthplace of basketball, and that should be attractive for the TBT organizers and who is the TV partner in 2026.

Another big and another guard: We are D3 still needs a big one that has size and speed, and there is a reason why we don’t have many options – those people usually play in Division I. Ben Strong played that role on the first We Are D3 team in 2018, but he had been out of his professional gaming career for two years at the time. Yet he scored 19 points in 27 minutes that year, because we are D3. If you know the former D-III player who can do that, let the team know. Moreover, a guard who can score consistently at this level would decrease the pressure of the large three.