Dayton sold out its exhibition game against Penn State on Sunday, though not all the seats were filled. There were plenty of empty seats in the upper corners, and at least one Flyer noticed, though of course Dayton had more fans at an exhibition game than most programs will have at regular-season games this season.
“I thought there’d be a little more people,” Dayton guard Keonte Jones said. “I know it’s just an exhibition game, but I’m ready for the first real game. I heard the floor shakes when they jump, so I’m ready for that. There was a lot of love here. It was definitely a good experience.”
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Jones, one of six newcomers who played at UD Arena with the Flyers for the first time, scored 17 points in a 78-62 victory against Penn State. He won’t have to wait for long for the first game that counts.
Dayton plays one more exhibition game against Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Monday at UD Arena and then plays Canisius one week later in the first regular-season game.
On Nov. 2, one day before the season opener, I’ll have my annual season preview featuring quotes about the team from four UD basketball experts: Larry Hansgen, the voice of the Flyers on WHIO; former Flyers Brooks Hall and Keith Waleskowski, who split time with Hansgen on the radio broadcasts; and Matthew Schwade, a UD graduate who covered the team for Rivals.com for 20-plus years and whose coverage can now be found on 247Sports.com.
I first did this story before the 2019-20 season. The headline was “Dayton basketball experts see ‘ton of potential’ with 2019-20 roster.”
In 2022, the headline was “UD basketball experts expect big things in 2022-23 season.”
Two years ago, the headline read, “Dayton fans ‘cautiously optimistic’ entering 2023-24 season.”
Last year, it was “Predicting Flyers’ fate harder than ever for experts.”
This year, the headline is a simple “Experts optimistic about Flyers.”
I talked to all four of the experts Monday, one day after the Penn State game, and they were feeling good about what they saw. If they were optimistic before the game, they were more optimistic after it.
“I understand it’s an exhibition,” Hall said. “I’m not getting ahead of myself. But the things that I look for that can tell me early on how successful they’ll be showed yesterday.”
“These are guys I think that have a little chip on their shoulder,” Hansgen said. “Either they felt that they were under-recruited someplace or underused someplace. I think they want to come here and prove to the world — some of them — that they can play on a bigger stage. They appear to be very cohesive. I don’t really think you can fake joy, and I saw a lot of joy yesterday. And not just personal joy but the joy of seeing teammates succeed.”
“I think the energy and enthusiasm and certainly the connectivity between players was there last night,” Waleskowski said. “Hopefully, that type of stuff continues.”
“I think that we got used to a skilled, perimeter-oriented team the last couple of years,” Schwade said, “and I think that this team is almost built completely differently. They’re going to be relying this year on defense to offense for more consistent scoring, and I think the ability to attack the rim is pretty evident on this roster.”
Oldest Flyer stands out in exhibition game
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Brooks Hall thinks Javon Bennett will be Dayton’s best player this season, and he may be right, but Jones looked like that guy Sunday.
Jones, who is 23 years old and in his sixth season of college basketball, scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes against Penn State.
Tom Archdeacon did an excellent job writing about Jones after the game. I knew he would use the most entertaining part of the postgame press conference in his story, so I didn’t use it in mine.
Here’s what he wrote:
Jones was asked if the goggles were his trademark or some kind of hoops armament that raised his play to another level.
No on all counts, he said.
He nodded over at Amaël L’Etang, the 7-foot-1 French forward who sat next to him in the postgame media room:
“Actually, Frenchie elbowed me in the face, and I had six stitches put in my face.”
He explained later it had happened underneath the basket during practice. He was trying to block a shot and instead ended up with a Gallic gash on his upper right eyelid.
“I just kept playing, but it was bleeding and they had me stop,” he said with a grin and a slight turn of the head so you could better see the threaded repair job.
NBA season begins with four Flyers in league
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
I stayed up to watch the end of the Pacers-Thunder game on Thursday night. Former Flyer Obi Toppin, now in his sixth season in the NBA, played a big role for the Pacers, scoring 20 points in a 141-135 double-overtime loss.
Toppin didn’t start but played the third-most minutes (40) on the team. It was the fifth time in his career he has played 40 or more minutes in a game.
Toppin made 8 of 10 2-point shots but missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
While Toppin and his former Dayton teammate Toumani Camara, who’s in his third season with the Portland Trail Blazers, will see plenty of action this season, the other two Flyers who are on NBA rosters at the beginning of the season, likely will spend most of their seasons in the NBA G League.
As I wrote this morning, DaRon Holmes II did not see action for the Denver Nuggets in their opener Thursday, and Koby Brea also earned a “Did Not Play: Coach’s Decision” for the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
When or if Holmes and Brea appear in a game, they will be the 26th and 27th former Flyers to play in the league. Jalen Crutcher was the last Dayton alum to debut in 2024.
Here’s the list of Flyers who have played in the NBA: Don Meineke (1952-57); Chuck Grigsby (1954-55); Chris Harris (1955-56); John Horan (1955-56); Jim Paxson Sr. (1956-58); Jim Palmer (1958-61); Bucky Bockhorn (1958-65); Henry Finkel (1966-75); Roger Brown (1967-75); Bobby Joe Hooper (1968-69); Don May (1968-75); Donald Smith (1974-75); Johnny Davis (1976-86); Jim Paxson Jr. (1979-90); Sedric Toney (1985-90); Negele Knight (1990-99); Chris Wright (2011-14); Chris Johnson (2012-16); Brian Roberts (2012-17); Charles Cooke (2017-18); Jordan Sibert (2019); Kostas Antetokounmpo (2018-21); Obi Toppin (2020-present); Toumani Camara (2023-present); and Jalen Crutcher (2024).
Fast Break
Here’s other news that might interest Flyer fans:
🏀 A-10 preseason favorite Virginia Commonwealth did not have as much success as Dayton its first exhibition game, losing 70-51 at Villanova on Sunday.
“Our fans might not like this,” new VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said, “but part of me likes getting punched in the mouth. You need to get punched in the mouth sometimes.”
🏀 There have been discussions about the NCAA giving athletes five years of eligibility instead of four. That won’t happen next year, the NCAA announced Thursday.
“During its October meeting, the Division I Cabinet determined that, for the remainder of the current academic year and for rosters competing during the 2026-27 academic year, it will maintain existing eligibility rules as they pertain to student-athletes competing in no more than four seasons of athletics competition in a particular sport over a consecutive five-year period,” said Josh Whitman, the Chair of the Division I Cabinet and Illinois’ Athletic Director, via a statement.
🏀 You’ll know a lot more about the players on the 2025-26 Dayton roster after watching or listening to this Flyer Fun Facts video, in which the players talk to UD’s Alex Mikos.
🏀 What do you want to know about the Flyers?
I want to hear from you. Reach out to me directly at david.jablonski@coxinc.com with your questions and feedback on the team or this newsletter.
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