Former Flyer star supports Gregory

Surprising Flyers surge into NIT semis

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer 11:37 PM Wednesday, March 24, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kevin Conrad, the University of Dayton Hall of Fame basketball player, was a couple of hours early for the UD game against Illinois, and he and his kids were allowed to avoid the chilly night air and wait inside the doors until his tickets from his alma mater arrived.

If the Assembly Hall staff knew anything about the heartache he once caused the Illini, though, they may not have shown him so much courtesy.

Conrad was one of the “villains” on UD who upset host Illinois, 61-58, in an NIT second-round game in 1982 before 16,275 fans.

“That’s one of the top-five wins in my four years at UD,” Conrad said.

A father of six from St. Charles, Ill. (about three hours from Champaign), Conrad has suffered along with other Flyer followers during a season rife with close losses. But he’s a fan of coach Brian Gregory.

“I think Gregory is doing a tremendous job with the program,” Conrad said. “He’s caught a lot of flak, I know. But I’ve watched a lot of college basketball, and I’ve never seen a group work as hard at the defensive end as these guys.”

Conrad saw a future Flyer in action a couple of weeks ago when his alma mater, Benet Academy, was knocked off in the Class 4A (big school) state quarterfinals by Brandon Spearman and Chicago Simeon.

Spearman, part of a balanced squad with several Division I recruits, led Simeon in scoring in all seven tournament games en route to a state crown. He averaged 14.7 points and shot 47 percent from 3-point land.

“He’s a perfect Gregory recruit,” said Conrad, whose daughter, Anna, is a freshman at UD. “A great athlete, great strength, great speed. He’s a great defender. ... He’s going to have a nice career there.

“He sacrificed a lot in his personal stats. On any other high school team, he would have averaged 30.”

Tidbits

• The Flyer pep band attended the game and made enough of a ruckus to support the seriously outnumbered UD fans. About 200 made the trip here and were scattered around Assembly Hall.

• The Flyers’ athleticism was on display with seven dunks in the game, three by Chris Wright, two each by Marcus Johnson and Chris Johnson and one by Devin Searcy.

Contact this reporter  at (937) 225-2125 or  dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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