Christian Green, a 6-6 freshman swing man for Trinity (Texas), represented his school in an international 3x3 tournament. His Tigers teammates, as well as Colorado College players, have done the same. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com

If you stayed up late or subscribed to Peacock, you may have seen the new sport of Basketball 3x3 at the most recent Olympics in Tokyo. Don’t worry if you missed it; 3x3 (yes, you say 3-ex-3, not 3-by-3, or 3-on-3, because it translates better across languages), a rising style of basketball meant to include a more diverse range of participating countries, is scheduled for Paris 2024 as well.

If you see the US men competing there, Division III basketball had a big part to play in it. Six members of the Trinity (Texas) men’s basketball team represented the United States in the 3x3 U21 Nations League Conference Tournament in China in June, and six members of the Colorado College squad represented the US at the U23 version of the same event in Chile in July.

Trinity’s coach, Jimmy Smith, was the head coach for his squad, while CC’s Jeff Conarroe assisted Sydney Johnson, who’d been named head coach before the roster was chosen.

“There’s not a lot of coaching,” notes Smith. “Both Jimmy and I got coaching warnings,” adds Conarroe. “You sit in the stands, you can’t be in the huddle during timeouts, they call their own plays.” The minimized coaching role is just one difference from halfcourt pickup basketball, which 3x3 most closely resembles.

“The only time the ball is checked is on out-of-bounds,” says Conarroe. You don’t realize how much rest comes from checking the ball after baskets at the gym. Adds Smith, “The pace is just very fast; you have no time to relax.”

“[3x3] will highlight everything you do well and highlight everything you do poorly,” notes Jay Demmings, who heads up 3x3 (among other things) for USA Basketball. “But you don’t have time to dwell on those things. If you hit a great shot, you can’t celebrate it; if you make a bad play, you can’t bemoan it.”

A 10-minute game might seem like a breeze, but with a 12-second shot clock and almost no stops at all, it’s 10 minutes of constant hustle — each team gets just one timeout with two media breaks built in.

Three players (obviously) are on the court at a time, with one substitute (the other two members of the squad are alternates, in case of injury). The game is scored with ones and twos. 3x3 is almost always played in a tournament format, where teams play multiple games in one day, often with just an hour or less in between.

“It’s a different game,” says Conarroe. “Shooting twos is really important — just the math of it, the value of a three; two over one vs. three over two — and then the physicality is really different.”

Dinari Boykin moved into the starting lineup for the U23 men's 3x3 team this past season. Colorado College athletics photo

The necessity of athleticism and chemistry made it a natural fit for teammates to be chosen. “Traditionally they used G-League or high level Division I players,” says Conarroe, “But with the advent of NIL and everything going on — obligations — they had a hard time securing spots.”

Colorado College is just 10 blocks from the USA Basketball offices in Colorado Springs, and the two have had a long connection — asking CC to supply players (with just eight days’ notice) was a natural fit. 

Trinity came to the program in a more unique way.

“[The women’s team] had their first USA basketball training camp in San Antonio in conjunction with the women’s Final Four,” recalls Smith. “They were looking for practice players… and our guys understood the mission was to help those teams get prepared for the Olympics.”

The Trinity guys made a good impression on coach Kara Lawson, who invited them to Duke and Las Vegas to continue helping the 3x3 squad prepare for Tokyo. Colorado College has supplied practice players at Colorado Springs camps for both the men’s and women’s teams. Being available and ready to help has been extremely advantageous.

Adds Demmings, “It takes a special kind of person to do this — if you’re the kind of player who needs lots of praise or the encouragement of coaches to do your best, this is probably not the sport for you. This is why we like the Division III model going forward. Division III students know how to adjust and prioritize; the players have a lot of experience problem solving and figuring things out — balancing practice, work, class, family, jobs. This is more conducive for Division III students than professional 5 on 5.”

And there are myriad opportunities for Division III student athletes to play 3x3 on a professional level after school. It may not be “paying-the-mortgage” money, but pro tournaments hand out prize money up to $60,000, multiple times per year — at elite levels, transportation and housing are paid for as well — plus you can work another job during the week.

Nebraska Wesleyan grad and 2016 Jostens Trophy winner, Trey Bardsley, plays for a pro team in Nebraska when he’s not teaching in a local school. He’s ranked in the Top 10 of individual 3x3 players in the US, has represented the country at international tournaments and is almost certain to be among the pool of candidates from which the 2024 Olympic team is selected.

Demmings notes that Division III is an untapped resource as USA Basketball continues to grow and develop the 3x3 program in the US, which lags behind a lot of countries around the world. “In Europe and Asia,” he says, “many players start to specialize in 3x3 even before high school — it’s all they play.”

This emergence as a separate field of play from 5-on-5 is also why Division III’s contribution is so important. FIBA wants to prevent NBA players from dropping in during the Olympics and thus requires half of the roster to achieve individual rank points from participation in tournaments throughout the year.

Each nation earns points towards Olympic qualifying by hosting and participating in tournaments at every level. So while the performance of Trinity and Colorado College this summer was important, their presence was even more so.

There’s certainly a benefit to getting court time with some of your players in the offseason, especially with Division III’s rules limiting offseason contact, but the benefits — at least according to the coaches — were largely off the court.

“Four of our guys got to get passports and go abroad,” notes Conarroe. “That experience alone was tremendous. None of them would have gone to Santiago, Chile without this experience.”

Adds Smith, “Getting extra one-on-one or two-on-two time to foster relationships with your guys is great. Both of our teams traveled with high level women’s players — getting to hang out with them and meet them — the way both teams support each other and the relationships formed from that are pretty cool to see. Our guys are still friends with them — and maybe a little more than friends.”

There’s also an opportunity to meet players from around the world. All teams stay in the same hotel and eat together for each meal. Some countries, like Mongolia, recognize they’ll never be able to compete with the Dream Team, but have invested heavily in 3x3 and take advantage of its unique ability to level the playing field.

As 3x3 grows, Demmings sees a unique place for Division III in the program. “It takes a special kind of person to do this — which is why we like the Division III model going forward. Division III students know how to adjust and prioritize; the players have a lot of experience problem solving and figuring things out — balancing practice, work, class, family jobs. 3x3 is more conducive to Division III players after college than traditional five-on-five basketball.”

For Trinity, especially, it’s made a huge difference for the program. Entering 2024 at 13-0 and playing at a much faster pace than in previous years, it’s easy to see the effects of 3x3 experience on the success they’re having.

“It’s tough. You’re tied in between,” notes Smith. “You want your guys to be able to keep going, but it’s also a really cool experience for other programs. Selfishly, we want to continue to be involved in it.”

Trinity visits Colorado College in Colorado Springs this weekend and we’ll get to see the two squads face off against each other. A much younger squad, CC has been showing flashes of brilliance, but not a lot of consistency just yet. Perhaps this big conference matchup, at home, in front of Demmings and some of the USA Basketball crew will spark them to end Trinity’s undefeated start. Whatever happens, the 3x3 experience will certainly have played a role.