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August 2010
UD hoop teams make Kettering appearance
Just attended a monster bar-be-cue for the Dayton men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Kettering home of Dr. Steve Levitt, a longtime backer of UD sports.
More than 500 people showed up, including the school’s administrators, support staff, selected fans, alums and ex-players. Levitt erected a 90-yard-long tent on his front lawn. Yep, 90 yards. I kept waiting for the trained elephants to appear.
A couple of newsy things:
• Junior forward Luke Fabrizius said he’s 100 percent healthy after offseason knee surgery. He’s taking part in team workouts with no restrictions.
• Junior wing Chris Johnson looks ripped, having put on about 15 pounds of muscle since last season. The 6-foot-6 Columbus native, who was named the NIT most valuable player, said he’s 205 pounds and wants to play at 215.
• The UD freshmen have already done the calculations with their eligibility clocks and the 2013 Maui Invitational. They’ll be seniors then and are looking forward to playing in that marquee event. “It’s great,” point guard Juwan Staten said.
One last note on a funny exchange between senior Chris Wright and coach Brian Gregory as the men’s team took the stage. As he was introducing his staff, Gregory said UD strength and conditioning coach Mike Bewley is the best in the nation at what he does.
“When Chris Wright came here, he couldn’t even dunk,” Gregory quipped. “Look at what coach Bewley has done with him.”
The playful Wright grabbed the microphone from Gregory and said, “Before I got here, Coach had black hair.”
The admittedly graying Gregory retorted, “Yeah, that’s right. I did have black hair before I started coaching Chris.”
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TweetFlyers’ two exhibition games set
Dayton announced its two home exhibition basketball games this season. The Flyers will host Grand Valley State on Tuesday, Nov. 2, and Findlay on Saturday, Nov. 6. The tipoff times will be determined later.
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TweetPairings set for early-season hoops event
This just in from UD Sports Information:
PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED FOR THE GLOBAL SPORTS MAIN EVENT
Tickets Are On Sale Now For The Finale In Cincinnati
Since University of Dayton head coach Brian Gregory came to UD in 2003, the Dayton men’s basketball team has participated in four exempt in-season tournaments. This season the Flyers will participate in the Global Sports Main Event Nov. 13 through Nov. 27.
The five-team event will culminate with Dayton taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats at U.S. Bank Arena.
Dayton will have three extra home games this year as UD opens the season on Saturday, Nov. 13 against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, hosts Savannah State on Monday, Nov. 22 and Florida A&M on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The Flyers will then travel down I-75 to play the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Nov. 27 at U.S. Bank Arena in the finale of the Global Sports Main Event.
Times for each of the games will be announced at a later date.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Cincinnati contest at U.S. Bank Arena by submitting the enclosed form or by calling the UD Ticket Office at (937) 229-4433.
In-season tournaments allow the Flyers to compete against top-tier programs and receive increased exposure on national television. At last season’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Dayton played against three NCAA Tournament teams on national and regional television: Villanova, Kansas State and Georgia Tech.
During coach Gregory’s tenure at Dayton, the Flyers have been successful with in-season tournaments. Dayton has won two of the four early-season basketball tournaments it has played in since Gregory took over as head coach in 2003.
The Flyers became the only team to win the EA Sports Maui invitational under the guidance of a first-year coach when UD won Maui in 2003. Five years later, Dayton defeated the No. 15 Marquette Golden Eagles in the finals of the 2008 Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Dayton returns nine letterwinners from last year’s 25-12 NIT championship team, including team MVP Chris Wright and NIT MVP Chris Johnson. The Flyers will also welcome five new faces to the program in 2010-11, led by Oak Hill Academy point guard Juwan Staten.
Season tickets are available through DaytonFlyers.com, visiting the UD Ticket Office at UD Arena or calling (937) 229-4433.
GLOBAL SPORTS MAIN EVENT TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
November 13 - 27, 2010
NOV. 13 MOUNT ST. MARY’S @ DAYTON
NOV. 15 MOUNT ST. MARY’S @ CINCINNATI
NOV. 18 SAVANNAH STATE @ FLORIDA A&M
NOV. 20 MOUNT ST. MARY’S @ SAVANNAH STATE
NOV. 22 SAVANNAH STATE @ DAYTON
FLORIDA A&M @ CINCINNATI
NOV. 24 FLORIDA A&M @ DAYTON
SAVANNAH STATE @ CINCINNATI
NOV. 27 FLORIDA A&M @ MOUNT ST. MARY’S
DAYTON vs. CINCINNATI (U.S. Bank Arena)
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TweetOliver named MVP at all-star game
Dayton freshman Devin Oliver has looked impressive this summer while working out with the Flyers — in fact, one veteran UD player said he thought the Michigan native could end up being the best player in the freshman class — and the 6-foot-7 wing returned home recently for an all-star game and took home the MVP trophy.
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TweetFlyers picked first in PFL
The University of Dayton was picked to finish first in the Pioneer Football League in a narrow vote of the coaches today.
The Flyers received four of the 10 possible first-place votes and 76 points overall, followed by Butler with 69 points and Jacksonville with 68.
The Flyers, who shared the title last season with Butler, return nearly their entire offense and three all-league players on defense.
“That’s an honor, that people would think of you that way,” UD coach Rick Chamberlin said. “But we’ve been preaching this to our team since the winter: On paper, we look good, and I’m sure that’s what the coaches are looking at. But paper has never won a game.
“It’s all what we do out on the field and seeing how the season goes with chemistry and how people are playing. Injuries are part of it, too. Things look good, but you have to be ready.”
Coaches weren’t allowed to vote for their team. Chamberlin said his first-place nod went to Jacksonville, which tied the Flyers for most top votes with four.
“We didn’t have an opportunity to play Jacksonville last year, but they have a number of players back and just made some mistakes in some games,” Chamberlin said. “They have a great quarterback back and running back, and their defense is always tough.”
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TweetHenton wants to be part of UD atmosphere
LaDontae Henton wasn’t sold on Dayton after watching the Flyers play in person. But he certainly moved UD up the list of schools pursuing him after sitting among a crowd of 13,000 at UD Arena last season.
“I love the atmosphere,” Henton said. “I love the fans. They’re crazy for the Dayton Flyers.”
Henton, a 6-foot-6 forward from Lansing Eastern High School, made a decision today that could eventually make them even more crazed.
He became the second (and final) member of the Flyers’ 2011 recruiting class, joining Detroit product Percy Gibson.
“That’s my guy,” Henton said of the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Gibson. “It’s going to be fun playing with a big, strong athletic guy like him.”
Lansing Eastern coach Rod Watts talked about Henton’s struggles academically as a sophomore and said how some schools backed away because of concerns about whether he’d qualify. Not Dayton.
“He wanted to be a Flyer,” Watts said.
Asked why, Watts mentioned UD coach Brian Gregory and assistant Cornell Mann: “It was just the relationships he had with coach Gregory and coach Mann. And guys like Chris Wright. LaDontae knows he won’t be there to play with Chris, but they have a special relationship. Devin Oliver also was on the same AAU team.
“But what really, really tipped it was Dayton just hung in there and recruited him very hard. He had a stretch of bad grades, and some schools didn’t think he would pull it together. But Dayton hung in there, and LaDontae made it.”
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TweetFlyers land another Michigan recruit
LaDontae Henton, a 6-foot-6 wing from Lansing, Mich., has made a verbal commitment to Dayton, filling out the two-player 2011 recruiting class.
Henton had more than a dozen scholarship offers and picked the Flyers over Penn State, Utah and others. He’s a three-time Michigan Class A (big school) all-state player and averaged 26.8 points and 15 rebounds per game last season for Lansing Eastern High School.
He joins 6-8 post player Percy Gibson of Detroit in the ‘11 class.
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TweetWright gets another invite from USA Basketball
Dayton’s Chris Wright will get another crack at facing Kevin Durant and other members of the U.S. national team, having been one of 10 college players invited back to practice against the NBA stars in New York City on Aug. 9-13.
The rest of the USA Basketball select team, which will be coached by Villanova’s Jay Wright, includes Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith (Duke), JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Jon Leuer (Wisconsin), Shelvin Mack (Butler), Chris Singleton (Florida State), Howard Thompkins (Georgia), Mike Tisdale (Illinois) and Kemba Walker (Connecticut).
“One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA select team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “It worked so well we’ve decided to bring a smaller group of players from that select team to New York to do the same thing. They were very valuable to us and it’s a great experience for them,”
Wright is 32nd in career scoring at UD with 1,127 points and was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team as a junior last season. The Flyers have averaged 25 wins per season since Wright’s freshman year.
The roster for the U.S. national team, which will compete in the FIBA World Championships in Turkey on Aug. 12-Sept. 28, has been trimmed to 15. The group includes Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green (Oklahoma City); Chauncey Billups (Denver); Tyson Chandler (Dallas); Stephen Curry (Golden State); Rudy Gay (Memphis); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia); Brook Lopez (New Jersey); Kevin Love (Minnesota); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Rajon Rondo (Boston); and Derrick Rose (Chicago).
The team, which is coached by Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, will need to be cut down to 12 for the championships.
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TweetRelationships with coaches swayed Gibson
Percy Gibson came back from an AAU tournament in Los Angeles and discussed the pros and cons about Dayton with his mother this weekend before making a decision.
“There wasn’t really any cons as I thought about it. It was time to do it,” he said.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior-to-be at Detroit Southeastern High School gave the Flyers a verbal commitment today, becoming the first member of UD’s 2011 recruiting class.
The biggest draw for Gibson was the bonds he built with the Flyer coaching staff. Assistant Cornell Mann has deep roots in Michigan, and Gibson connected with head coach Brian Gregory, too.
“Corn is just a cool guy. He’s from my way. We’ve always had a good relationship. We talked to each other a lot,” Gibson said. “And coach Gregory is just a player’s coach. He’s easy to get along with.”
Southeastern High School coach George Ward certainly was impressed with the recruiting job done by the UD staff.
“Corn was very instrumental in the recruiting of Percy. Not only that, BG is just a personable guy. He makes everyone feel welcome, he makes everyone feel at home,” Ward said. “The city of Dayton is one hell of a community. It’s something a lot of kids would want to be a part of.
“I’m excited just to know I’ll spend three or four years in the city of Dayton, and I’m looking forward to it myself - not just from a personal standpoint, but being able to see my kid fulfill one of his goals and dreams. It’s fulfilling.”
Gibson was believed to be the Flyers’ top target in the 2011 class. They have just two scholarships to give and needed a big man after not landing one with five scholarships in the ’10 class.
Gibson said the attention shown by the UD coaches “was also a big factor in choosing Dayton. It seemed like they really wanted me.”
He had scholarship offers from Southern Cal, Providence and Minnesota, according to Ward. Temple also had shown much interest.
“The Dayton Flyer program is really, really on the rise,” Ward said. “You won an NIT championship, which is great. You’ve got a possible first-round lottery pick (Chris Wright) coming back next year. And you’ve got one of the top 5 to 10 coaches in the country, without question. And it’s only three hours away from home. It turned out to be a great deal.
“I couldn’t be happier for Percy. I know it’s going to be something good for him and his family.”
Though skilled, the knock on Gibson is that he doesn’t always go hard. But Ward said that rap doesn’t appy anymore.
“The funny thing about that is his improvement over the last 10 calendar months has just been outstanding,” Ward said. “He’s taken it to another level. His habits have gotten better as far as working during the course of the game. … We’re looking forward to his senior year, I know that.”
Gibson averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds last season.
“Really, I’m trying to become as dominant as possible,” Gibson said. “I’ve extended my game more toward the perimeter and can knock down 3’s more than last year, but I’m still trying to perfect that. And I’m running the floor more.
“I just want to win. I’m doing whatever it takes to win.”
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TweetFlyers get commitment from post player
Percy Gibson, considered Dayton’s top big-man target among seniors-to-be, made a verbal commitment to the Flyers today.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Detroit native averaged about 17 points and 11 rebounds as a junior last season and had scholarship offers from Southern Cal, Providence and Minnesota, according to his coach.
“In the end, the kid had to feel totally comfortable with the situation, and it was Dayton all the way,” Detroit Southeastern coach George Ward said.
The Flyers had two scholarships for the 2011 class and needed to land at least one post player. They identified Gibson as their No.1 priority.
“From the beginning, they were one of the first schools to recruit me, and ever since then it’s been like family,” Gibson said.
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