BENNINGTON, Vt. — For many coaches through the varying levels of athletics—from the pros down to youth leagues—there never really is an "offseason." For Southern Vermont College head men's basketball coach Dan Engelstad, this was exemplified by his second-straight summer of participation in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) which saw him make another appearance on the ESPN network as his 2016 squad made a run into the Super 16.

Engelstad returned to The Tournament to once again lead Armored Athlete, a crew consisting of players who had great collegiate careers which resulted in them going on to play professionally in international leagues. He was joined in operating the team by general manager AJ Mahar, a former assistant coach at SVC who served under Engelstad for the past three Mountaineer seasons.

"I love basketball, and I love to learn new things about the game," Engelstad commented about the chance to be involved with TBT. "That is the best part about coaching new players at any level: they teach you new things, especially when it is at this talent level and IQ."

Mahar gathered players to form Armored Athlete, most of whom he had already known through personal training or second-hand connections. Included in this year's squad were Will Sheehey, Jordan Hulls, and Christin Watford—all guys who played at Indiana University before going overseas; all three also played for Armored Athlete in 2015.

"When AJ approached me about the opportunity, I knew it was one I could not turn down," said Engelstad. "The chance to coach and work with players of this caliber has been priceless… although the potential $2,000,000 prize didn't hurt."

Mahar and Engelstad also brought in Florida State University alum Isaiah Swann- who currently plays professionally in France- and College of the Holy Cross alum Malcom Miller who now plays in Germany after being with the Boston Celtics' Development League affiliates through this past winter. They also procured Roosevelt Jones- who had played at Butler University- and Dave Dudzinski, another Holy Cross alum who now plays professionally in Romania.

"The first person I thought of for the team was Isaiah Swann," mentioned Engelstad. "Isaiah and I played against each other in high school, and I always followed his career from afar. He was unable to play with us last year, but we were very glad to have his talent this year; he is an offensive force." Engelstad's three years as an assistant at Holy Cross helped establish the relationship that also brought Dudzinski and Miller to Armored Athlete. "Dave and Malcom were not only elite talent in the Patriot League, but they are also two of the hardest-working and best teammates that I have been around."

Unfortunately, Armored Athlete was knocked out of the 2016 Tournament in the Super 16 by Golden Eagles Alumni, a team comprised of past Marquette University players. That game was broadcasted on ESPN2, marking the second time in as many years that Engelstad and his squad were nationally featured on the popular sports and entertainment network; in 2015, Armored Athlete made a run into the quarterfinals of TBT with that contest being aired on ESPNU.

"Coaching on ESPN2 was a great opportunity," said Engelstad. "I was honored by the support that our team had… especially the support from the SVC and Bennington communities that followed our team and reached out to congratulate us."

The experience on ESPN was the third for Engelstad since coming to Southern Vermont, his first being in February of 2013 when he was interviewed on Washington D.C.'s ESPN 980 during his opening season with the Mountaineers.

"We had a great run last year making it to the quarters," Englestad continued. "But we knew that if we wanted to make a run at the whole thing again this year, that we would need to up the talent on the roster. Our core team stayed in touch in the TBT offseason, eager to play again this summer. Everyone from the GM, to players, to our manager- Jess Reinhardt- was working hard. The connections from the players started to come together: Jordy to Vernon, CWat to John... and AJ always working hard to get us the best players. Jess handled our social media; she was a big help with the fan voting, and she was on top of all of the behind-the-scenes tasks for game day."

2016 was just the third year for The Basketball Tournament with the event gaining popularity in every running. It is an open-application, single-elimination, winner-take-all style tournament that requires registered teams to garner enough fan votes to qualify for the 64-team bracket. The Tournament's inaugural year saw the winning team collect a $500,000 prize which then doubled to $1,000,000 for 2015. This year, the reward doubled up once again with the 2016 champion being set to share a $2,000,000 collection.

"These past two years have been great professional development for me, and I have met great players and people that I look forward to staying in touch with," said Engelstad. "The Tournament offers a chance to coach in high-intensity, one-and-done games that simulate SVC's conference and the NCAA tournaments. There can never be enough practice for those type of games, so getting in a few more during the summer is an amazing opportunity for a coach."

– #LetsGoSVC –