Upper Hudson Valley locals lead 2 teams playing for $1M prize in The Basketball Tournament
Mike Rejniak is all too familiar with the tepid reactions and even the exasperated looks he gets in response to the mention of Division III athletics.
The Milton resident works for a company that helps high school athletes with college recruitment and there often is a visible, or audible, disappointment when the possibility of attending a smaller college is broached.
Division III, of course, is two tiers beneath the level most scholastic athletes hope to reach and a common perception is that playing there is an indication of failure or the lack of talent.
That’s not so, insists Rejniak, who coached collegiately for almost two decades.
“People don’t realize how good Division III basketball is,” said Rejniak, whose coaching tenure included stints at SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College. “When I was at Amherst (College), we excelled and had players win national awards. Some of them were absolutely good enough to play Division I.”
Several of his former standouts went on to play professionally overseas, and some reached the NBA’s G League. It’s proof, he believes, that there are gems hidden in lesser-known schools in little-known towns throughout the country.
Rejniak’s goal the last few summers has been to showcase some of that talent and to prove that a group of former Division III stars can be competitive, even against some elite athletes. His squad will again have that opportunity as We are D3 is set to compete next week in The Basketball Tournament.
The Basketball Tournament: Arlington grad organized team competing for $1 million, mental health
Early start: Sean McGee, 23, makes college hoops head coaching debut for Manhattanville
The annual competition is an open-application tournament with a 64-team bracket, broadcast by ESPN, that carries a winner-take-all $1 million prize.
Another local, Poughquag native Sean McGee, founded and organized Mental Toughness, a team competing in the tournament for a second straight year with the goal of raising awareness and funding for mental health initiatives.
“It’s an awesome experience and the exposure it got for the JCK Foundation was huge,” said McGee, whose team is partnered with the Dobbs Ferry-based nonprofit that seeks to improve mental wellness among youngsters. “We want to win games, and everyone would love that $1 million, but our greater goal is the cause.”
The teams are grouped in eight regions and will compete in the single-elimination tournament until a champion is crowned on Aug. 2, much like March Madness.
We are D3 is the eighth seed in the Wichita region. They’ll open next Friday, facing top-seeded AfterShocks at 9 p.m. in Kansas with the game airing on ESPNU.
Sixth-seeded Mental Toughness begins play in the Syracuse region on July 22, facing No. 3 Friday Beers at noon with the game being broadcast on ESPN3.
The champion last summer was Boeheim’s Army, a team of former Syracuse stars, some of whom played in the NBA, including Pine Plains product Tyler Lydon. The favorites in this, of course, are the squads that feature players who made it to the NBA or at least excelled at major colleges. So, a team like We are D3 always will be an underdog. But, that’s the point.
“Getting on this platform is a big deal for us,” said Rejniak, who founded the team in 2018 and is the general manager and head coach. Their rosters consist mostly of players signed to foreign teams. “We started it to show how good ‘D3’ can be, but it’s also providing exposure for some underrated players. It’s a chance for them to showcase themselves to agents and scouts for better opportunities in their careers.”
Although the team lost in the opening round last summer, guard Eric Demers scored 25 points, flashing his handle and perimeter prowess in a performance that helped the former Gordon College star get signed by the Boston Celtics’ G League team.
Mental Toughness was seeded 13th in its inaugural run. But a 76-73 loss to a fourth seed was somewhat encouraging for them, McGee said.
“The long-term plan is to participate every year and build a competitive team,” said McGee, who recently was hired as an assistant coach for the Wesleyan University men’s basketball team. “We want to improve steadily and eventually be able to contend for that title.”
We are D3
Rejniak played at Springfield College and coached for 17 years before joining Next College Student Athlete, a recruitment assistance company. He uses his coaching contacts and reaches out to former players of his to fill out the 10-man roster.
“The criteria for playing with us,” Rejniak said, “is you had to have played D3 in college and play professionally now or are on your way to being a pro.”
Scheduling and logistics typically are the biggest challenges, he said, with players living in different states and some employed by leagues as far away as Japan. But they’ve made it work for four years, the exception being when they withdrew in 2020 amid the pandemic.
Demers rejoined them and likely will again be the offensive focal point. Other key players include DaQuan Brooks, a former Western Connecticut State standout who played in the G League, and 6-foot-10 post Bobby Hawkinson, who earned Division III All-American honors as a senior last winter at NYU.
The group will meet in Wichita for a one-week training camp leading up to the opener.
Teams, essentially, must prove themselves worthy to enter the tournament, with executives having to demonstrate their ability to successfully promote the squad and fundraise to cover expenses.
David Clark, D3’s director of basketball operations, has procured for them sponsorships from local businesses. Each of the players pays a $400 entry fee that goes toward travel costs, Rejniak said, and some of that money is recouped with merchandise sales and through donations on their WeAreD3.net website.
Mental Toughness
McGee, 23, became one of the youngest people ever to coach a college basketball game last winter when he, then an assistant at Manhattanville College, filled in for a game as the head coach was quarantined with COVID-19.
Coaching is the chosen career path for the Arlington High School and Marist College graduate, but operating a team in The Basketball Tournament has become an offseason passion. He organized Mental Toughness in short time last year, built a roster that included several former Division I players, fundraised and earned them a nod from the selection committee. The team is accepting donations via GoFundMe.
That process essentially had to be restarted this spring, he said, as teams must re-earn their spot in the tournament against a slew of groups seeking entry. As well, only one player has rejoined them from last summer, as several others signed overseas professionally. Jehyve Floyd, who starred for them last year, now is playing for the Phoenix Suns summer-league team.
“Our coach last year, Josh King, got a job coaching in Germany,” McGee said. “A lot of the guys got opportunities elsewhere, but that’s a good thing. If this tournament can help springboard a player’s career at all, that’s another positive out of this.”
Mental Toughness this summer will be helmed by Bryan Weber, the associate head coach of the Stony Brook University men's basketball team.
The team will be led by point guard Quincy Diggs and 6-foot-10 forward Isaiah Johnson, both of whom starred at Akron. Former Wake Forest player Ian DuBose and VCU’s Isaac Vann, both of whom now play in the Czech Republic, also will be key. Jeff Coby, who plays in Luxembourg, is the lone returning player.
“It’s really exciting to be back in it,” McGee said. “The first time, you’re dealing with hiccups and not knowing what to expect, learning everything on the fly.
“Now, we know where and who to go to, how to handle travel arrangements more efficiently, and we’ve made some connections with other teams. We’ve built a bigger staff and I can delegate responsibilities. Organizationally, it was much easier this time around. Now, it’s just a matter of having more success on the court.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: The Basketball Tournament: Locals lead teams playing for $1M
