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Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > October > 12 > Entry
NCAA tourney win leaves Flyers wanting more
Don Donoher took Dayton to the NCAA finals as coach in 1967, and the Flyers made the Sweet 16 four other times under him.
But they hadn’t experienced that winning feeling in the Big Dance since 1990 until coach Brian Gregory led them to a victory over Bob Huggins and West Virginia last season.
What that 68-60 triumph did for the players was give them a hankering for more.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to go through a couple runs in the NCAA tournament (as an assistant at Michigan State), and there’s nothing like it,” Gregory said. “And you do want more. It’s a tremendous feeling. All those hours on the track in the summer or in the gym, when you walk out with a win in the NCAA tournament, it makes it all worthwhile. When these guys were young kids, that’s the stuff they were dreaming of.
“I think it will drive our guys (this year). That’s the one thing we do have is guys who are very self-motivated. Maybe through the success and maybe, more importantly, through tough times and failures, those guys have been able to stay on track and continue to move forward.”
The Flyers certainly will go into the season with a legit shot at returning to the NCAA tourney. In the USA Today college basketball edition on newsstands now, Jerry Palm of collegerpi.com fame, has the Flyers as a 5 seed in his preseason mock bracket and beating Pittsburgh to advance to the second round.
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Comments
By GermanVillage
October 12, 2009 10:08 PM | Link to this
Hello! Do you know how many mid-majors win a game in the NCAA tournament each year?
By Harry the Horse
October 12, 2009 10:28 PM | Link to this
The Flyers know this will be a tough, difficult road to get to the NCAA Tourney. No one will give them anything. The Flyers will be the hunted and not the hunter. But with teamwork, chemistry, hard work, belief in the system and each other this could a special moment in Flyer history. UD Arena will be rocking like never before. Go Flyers!!
By SwampyMeadows
October 13, 2009 8:17 AM | Link to this
Last year UD, Cleveland State, Siena, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, Memphis, and Xavier won. Usually 8 or so mid-majors win.
By FlyerOne
October 13, 2009 11:52 AM | Link to this
Greetings, so-called experts with your hate-speak of ‘mid majors.’ I challenge you to define ‘mid-major.’ Call the University of Dayton’s men’s basketball program what you will, however anyone that truly follows basketball knows this team has the ability to rip the snot out of any ‘major’ team. Ask bloated Bob Huggins. Is WVU “major” or “unprepared.” Hmmm. Go FLYERS - it’s going to be a tough year, we’re behind you 100%, always.
By UDNY
October 14, 2009 9:28 PM | Link to this
We actually are a mid-major. a mid major is defined with a certain amount of money in the athletic budget. We are in the “mid-major” classification. This usually limits what we can afford in terms of athletic facility upgrades, and thus better recruits. I agree that we are one of the top mid majors and could beat some “major” schools. But lets not get like Drew Lavender…we are clearly a mid-major. albeit a very good one.
By Travis
October 14, 2009 10:32 PM | Link to this
This is a boring blog post. Just a few comments from Gregory and no info for analysis. Cmon tell us something we don’t know. This is just plain lazy.
By SyUD
October 14, 2009 10:36 PM | Link to this
How is a program that is in the Top 25 of 300-plus schools in attendance every year a mid major?