UD hosts Austin Peay
The Dayton Flyers revealed the cover of the 2016-17 men?s basketball media guide Wednesday night. The four seniors ? Charles Cooke, Kendall Pollard, Scoochie Smith and Kyle Davis ? pose together with UD Arena as a backdrop.
The tattoos on the arms of Davis are really the stars of the photo. He?s front and center, holding a basketball, and you can see all the artwork he?s had done over the years. The word confidence is on his right arm. The word determination adorns the left.
All the Flyers, not only Davis, will need all the confidence and determination they can find if they?re going to live up to the hype created by three straight NCAA tournament appearances and 78 victories in the last three seasons. It?s a long season. There will be adversity.
This team knows that better than anyone, having experienced almost every form of off-the-court bad news ? dismissals, suspensions, a lawsuit, injuries ? in the last three years. Most recently, they dealt with the worst news of all, the death of their teammate Steve McElvene on May 12 of an enlarged heart.
Dayton has seen it all. That doesn?t guarantee success, but it should help it as the new season gets underway. Here are seven storylines to watch entering the season opener:
1. Seeking better starts: The Flyers trailed Findlay 21-6 less than nine minutes into the exhibition game Friday. Dayton had a habit of falling behind by double digits early in games late last season.
It trailed Rhode Island 11-0 in its second-to-last home game last season. It fell behind Virginia Commonwealth 9-0 on Senior Night.
?Last Friday was a good test for us to go out there and see where we?re at right now,? Dayton sophomore guard John Crosby said. ?We didn?t have the energy we needed in the first couple minutes. That?s something we?re going to get better at. That?s something we?re practicing all week.?
2. Season moves fast: Four days after the season opener, Dayton goes on the road to play at Alabama at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in the ESPN Tipoff Marathon. Eight days after the opener, Dayton hosts No. 17 St. Mary?s at 2 p.m. Nov. 19.
Dayton might look back on the closeness of the Findlay game ? UD rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 76-69 ? as a good thing because the schedule gets tough fast.
?I thought Findlay, like they usually do, was going to bring a tough-minded approach and do a lot of different things to challenge us and we got more than our money?s worth on that one,? Miller said Monday. ?It was as great opportunity for us to learn over over the weekend with film, and we?ve got a big week here not only as we get ready to approach our opener but a gauntlet of games that are coming at us pretty fast. It?s probably one of the most impactful weeks we?ll have.?
3. Big favorite: Dayton has a 98 percent chance of beating Austin Peay, according to KenPom.com, but don?t count out the Governors. They finished the season on a high note, winning four games as the No. 8 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to earn their first NCAA berth since 2008.
Austin Peay lost two of its top three scorers. It returns three starters.
?Austin Peay?s a team that made a heck of a run to the NCAA tournament,? Miller said. ?They got a game under their belt in the NCAA tournament against Kansas. They return some amazing shooting firepower from behind the 3-point line. As our guys know, 3-point shots can beat you. We?re going to have to be really dialed in on Friday night.?
4. New roles: Dayton returns four starters, but lost two players in senior Dyshawn Pierre and McElvene. A lot of pressure will be on junior guard Darrell Davis and the four sophomores ? Ryan Mikesell, Xeyrius Williams, Sam Miller and Crosby ? to perform.
?There are some guys who have won some games and have some experience,? Miller said. ?There?s also some guys that haven?t experienced some of those moments. What we did in the past doesn?t matter. We?ve got to be better starting. As we sub, our continued effort has to be up.?
5. Pollard?s status: Pollard suffered a thigh bruise in practice two days before the exhibition game, and Miller said Monday they are anticipating not having him against Austin Peay. His status remains questionable, as it was throughout the second half of last season because of knee trouble and all offseason.
6. McElvene?s memory: Dayton will play with McElvene?s No. 5 on their jerseys all season. The late center?s family will be in the building Friday and on the court during a pregame ceremony.
?It?s going to be very emotional,? sophomore forward Josh Cunningham said. ?It?s going to be great to have his family there. He?s always there with us in spirit.?
7. UD debut: This will be Cunningham?s first official game as a Flyer. He?s the latest transfer expected to have a big impact, following the likes of Vee Sanford, Jordan Sibert and Cooke.
Cunningham last played in a game March 6, 2016, against Northern Iowa. That was the last game of his freshman season at Bradley.
?I can?t wait,? Cunningham said. ?This one actually counts. I?m excited.?
The Dayton Flyers revealed the cover of the 2016-17 men?s basketball media guide Wednesday night. The four seniors ? Charles Cooke, Kendall Pollard, Scoochie Smith and Kyle Davis ? pose together with UD Arena as a backdrop.
The tattoos on the arms of Davis are really the stars of the photo. He?s front and center, holding a basketball, and you can see all the artwork he?s had done over the years. The word confidence is on his right arm. The word determination adorns the left.
All the Flyers, not only Davis, will need all the confidence and determination they can find if they?re going to live up to the hype created by three straight NCAA tournament appearances and 78 victories in the last three seasons. It?s a long season. There will be adversity.
This team knows that better than anyone, having experienced almost every form of off-the-court bad news ? dismissals, suspensions, a lawsuit, injuries ? in the last three years. Most recently, they dealt with the worst news of all, the death of their teammate Steve McElvene on May 12 of an enlarged heart.
Dayton has seen it all. That doesn?t guarantee success, but it should help it as the new season gets underway. Here are seven storylines to watch entering the season opener:
1. Seeking better starts: The Flyers trailed Findlay 21-6 less than nine minutes into the exhibition game Friday. Dayton had a habit of falling behind by double digits early in games late last season.
It trailed Rhode Island 11-0 in its second-to-last home game last season. It fell behind Virginia Commonwealth 9-0 on Senior Night.
?Last Friday was a good test for us to go out there and see where we?re at right now,? Dayton sophomore guard John Crosby said. ?We didn?t have the energy we needed in the first couple minutes. That?s something we?re going to get better at. That?s something we?re practicing all week.?
2. Season moves fast: Four days after the season opener, Dayton goes on the road to play at Alabama at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in the ESPN Tipoff Marathon. Eight days after the opener, Dayton hosts No. 17 St. Mary?s at 2 p.m. Nov. 19.
Dayton might look back on the closeness of the Findlay game ? UD rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 76-69 ? as a good thing because the schedule gets tough fast.
?I thought Findlay, like they usually do, was going to bring a tough-minded approach and do a lot of different things to challenge us and we got more than our money?s worth on that one,? Miller said Monday. ?It was as great opportunity for us to learn over over the weekend with film, and we?ve got a big week here not only as we get ready to approach our opener but a gauntlet of games that are coming at us pretty fast. It?s probably one of the most impactful weeks we?ll have.?
3. Big favorite: Dayton has a 98 percent chance of beating Austin Peay, according to KenPom.com, but don?t count out the Governors. They finished the season on a high note, winning four games as the No. 8 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to earn their first NCAA berth since 2008.
Austin Peay lost two of its top three scorers. It returns three starters.
?Austin Peay?s a team that made a heck of a run to the NCAA tournament,? Miller said. ?They got a game under their belt in the NCAA tournament against Kansas. They return some amazing shooting firepower from behind the 3-point line. As our guys know, 3-point shots can beat you. We?re going to have to be really dialed in on Friday night.?
4. New roles: Dayton returns four starters, but lost two players in senior Dyshawn Pierre and McElvene. A lot of pressure will be on junior guard Darrell Davis and the four sophomores ? Ryan Mikesell, Xeyrius Williams, Sam Miller and Crosby ? to perform.
?There are some guys who have won some games and have some experience,? Miller said. ?There?s also some guys that haven?t experienced some of those moments. What we did in the past doesn?t matter. We?ve got to be better starting. As we sub, our continued effort has to be up.?
5. Pollard?s status: Pollard suffered a thigh bruise in practice two days before the exhibition game, and Miller said Monday they are anticipating not having him against Austin Peay. His status remains questionable, as it was throughout the second half of last season because of knee trouble and all offseason.
6. McElvene?s memory: Dayton will play with McElvene?s No. 5 on their jerseys all season. The late center?s family will be in the building Friday and on the court during a pregame ceremony.
?It?s going to be very emotional,? sophomore forward Josh Cunningham said. ?It?s going to be great to have his family there. He?s always there with us in spirit.?
7. UD debut: This will be Cunningham?s first official game as a Flyer. He?s the latest transfer expected to have a big impact, following the likes of Vee Sanford, Jordan Sibert and Cooke.
Cunningham last played in a game March 6, 2016, against Northern Iowa. That was the last game of his freshman season at Bradley.
?I can?t wait,? Cunningham said. ?This one actually counts. I?m excited.?
