Ryan Blackwell to Coach Boeheim's Army in The Basketball Tournament

Boeheim's Army continues to add to its arsenal for this summer's The Basketball Tournament. Donna Ditota broke the news that former Syracuse Orange basketball forward Ryan Blackwell will be the head coach of Boeheim's Army, supplanting Lawrence Moten.

Blackwell is coming off his first campaign as head coach of the Liverpool Warriors who finished runner up in the Section III championship. The Warriors rebounded in the 2015-2016 season under Blackwell by posting an overall record of 18-5. Prior to coaching at Liverpool, Blackwell coached and played in Japan.

The Basketball Tournament has expanded since last year from a one million to two million prize and the talent has reflected that. "It's bigger this year, a lot more good players, a lot more competition," Blackwell said. "I thought this would be a good opportunity. And these guys are like family to me."

The team will officially get underway on July 16 in Philadelphia where Boeheim's Army has unofficially earned the No. 1 seed will play in the Northeast region. The team currently sits at just under 3,000 fan votes.

When prompted on what defense we can expect to see from Boeheim's Army, Blackwell noted that the team will mix it up between man and 2-3 zone. The jury is still out on what defense Jim Boeheim would deploy if he were head coach of the Army but the smart money is on 1-3-1 (kidding).

Fans looking to attend TBT can head over to thetournament.com to purchase tickets. For fans unable to travel to Philadelphia, the first round games will be available for streaming on the TBT website. Should Boeheim's Army advance to the Super 16, ESPN2 and ESPNU will pick up the coverage from there.