Sports Today: Reds set rotation, UD Flyers candidates, Ohio State spring football updates, alligators, etc.

Credit: Joe Robbins

Credit: Joe Robbins

Dayton Flyers basketball's nascent coaching search gained some steam last night with the revelation former Flyer Anthony Grant is among the candidates.

That was confirmed by WHIO’s John Bedell after Jeff Goodman of ESPN shared the name of Grant along with Dayton assistant Tom Ostrom, Northern Kentucky head coach John Brannen, former Illinois and Ohio head coach John Groce.

Our Flyer Nation Facebook page's reaction was mixed for Grant, who was fired after winning 58 percent of his games and making only one NCAA tournament in six seasons at Alabama, but I find him to be an intriguing candidate.

READ MORE in Marcus Hartman's new "Cus Words Blog"

Currently an assistant for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Grant was credited with helping Billy Donovan build Florida into a national championship program in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

That’s a guy with a nice variety of experiences who can talk first-hand about what it means to suit up in front of the Flyer faithful at UD Arena and what it’s like to coach Russell Westbrook.

Here are some more names from David Jablonski to keep an eye on... 

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

The Cincinnati Reds have set their starting rotation for the seasonat least the start of it.

Joining Scott Feldman and Brandon Finnegan will be Rookie Davis, Amir Garrett and Bronson Arroyo.

If you're not excited about Davis, Charlie Sheen would like a word with you, but regardless this is an interesting mix of potential stardom and potential reliability.

Finnegan, a youngster who logged a strong 2016 after being acquired in the Johnny Cueto trade, is a mixture of both while Feldman and Arroyo are essentially being asked to eat up inning and provide mentorship to the young pitchers on the roster.

Garrett has surpassed Robert Stephenson to become the club’s top pitching prospect, and it’s hard not to get excited about a big, tall lefty with a power arm.

Said manager Bryan Price:

"He is unbelievably aggressive and poised and never stops coming at you. That made a big difference."

Stephenson will be one of eight pitchers in Price’s bullpen to start 2017.

Here are some interesting prop bets if you need a little more juice to stay interested in the season…

Our Jay Morrison has seven potential first-round draft picks by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The group includes two defensive ends and two receivers..

Meanwhile, Jay Glazer has some good news about Cedric Ogbuehi's offseason development thanks to a unique training program...

In case you didn't know, our area is home to the highest-rated college football prospect for 2018 in Jackson Carman.

The Fairfield offensive tackle is certainly a priority recruit for Urban Meyer, but Clemson appears to be trying to deal Meyer his second loss to the Tigers in one year…

Meanwhile, Meyer’s current team is in the middle of spring practice in Columbus. 

Land Of 10 is all over this with updates on two important position groups: receiver and offensive line.

While Demetrius Knox was considered the front-runner for the open right guard spot when spring began, Meyer said Malcolm Pridgeon and Matthew Burrell are pushing him.

All three came to campus as highly regarded prospects, but Pridgeon missed last season with injury and Burrell has been said to have struggled with the transition to college.

Parris Campbell has made a move at receiver, where there are perennially plenty of potential play-makers but surprisingly few have emerged as consistent threats over the past two seasons…

The Los Angeles Lakers, who are once again happy to lose games to secure yet another lofty spot in the NBA draft, blew a lead in the fourth quarter before losing to the Washington Wizards, but D'Angelo Russell more than held his own against John Wall.

Lakers coach Luke Walton said the former Ohio State phenom "was brilliant" as he scored 28 points and handed out nine assists.

Wall had 34 points, 14 assists and four steals, however…

If you thought Florida was the only place you had to worry about alligators on the golf course, think again.

With both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the Final Four, this has been a big week for South Carolina sports.

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