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UD and WSU meet on the basketball court, really

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer 12:00 AM Friday, July 10, 2009

DAYTON — The Dayton Flyers and Wright State Raiders don't play each other in men's basketball. Or do they?

WSU's Todd Brown and new Raider big man Paul Darkwa ventured to UD Arena on Wednesday night, July 8, to play in a pickup game with some Flyers.

The connection: Brown grew up playing with UD's Marcus Johnson on a northeast Ohio AAU team.

Players from both teams offered positive reviews after the summer get-together.

"They're real athletic," Brown said of the Flyers.

"His game has developed a lot," Johnson said, talking about Brown.

The Flyers were a little short-handed because Kurt Huelsman (neck) and Paul Williams (hamstring) are nursing minor injuries and Chris Wright is working at the LeBron James camp this week, so Johnson invited Brown to join the Flyers for one of their regular shirts-and-skins nights, which are closed to the public.

“You can tell they get along well together and try to have fun on the court,” Brown said.

Darkwa, a 26-year-old Wright State recruit who spent eight years in the Navy, also participated and relished playing against the strong competition.

“That was my first time running into those cats. ... The game speed was a helluva lot different. It showed me I need to work on a few other things,” he said. “But I think I did all right, just jumping into that level of game and playing.”

Brown, a 6-foot-5 senior, has twice been a second-team All-Horizon League pick, while the 6-6, 230-pound Darkwa is a  somewhat undersized  low-post player, but gets by on strength and savvy.

“I’ve been playing with (Brown) since almost middle school, so I’ve known him a long time,” Johnson said, “but his game has developed a lot — just becoming the scorer he is out at Wright State and the leader they need to have.

“And the other guy, he was very athletic. He was strong, he was quick on his feet, and he just played hard.”

Darkwa hasn’t seen many guards like Johnson, who was the Flyers’ second-leading scorer as a junior last season.

“I was real impressed with his game,” Darkwa said. “I was like, ‘Hey, Todd, we have to come back here for some games.’ ”

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

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