Best of 2021: Top Dayton Flyers basketball stories from this year

Fans also like reading about Dayton’s success, and stories on the team’s two biggest victories in November ranked in the top 10. All in all, it was an up-and-down 2021 for the Flyers after a historic 2020 season, but as always, there’s hope for 2022.

Here’s a look at the top 10 stories from 2021 about Dayton men’s basketball..

1. Georgia transfer commits to Dayton Flyers

April 8: The Dayton Flyers added front-court experience Thursday as Georgia transfer Toumani Camara, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, committed to the program.

» PHOTOS: Toumani Camara

Camara ranked 11th on a list by The Athletic of the 50-best available players — either players who entered their name in the transfer portal or unsigned freshmen — this spring.

2. Dayton stuns No. 4 Kansas

Nov. 26: KISSIMMEE, Fla. — “A Whole New World,” from the Disney movie Aladdin played on the loudspeakers moments after the Dayton Flyers left the court at the HP Fieldhouse on Friday in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational.

It certainly is a whole new world for Dayton, which recorded one of the most improbable and impressive victories in school history, beating No. Kansas 74-73 on a shot at the buzzer by Mustapha Amzil, just six days after losing to Austin Peay at UD Arena. That was a loss that followed stunning defeats at home to UMass Lowell and Lipscomb.

» PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Kansas

Dayton came to Florida with a 1-3 record. Fans hoped they would escape with just one victory at this tournament. In two days, they turned the season around. They are now a .500 team (3-3) with one of the best victories in the country on their resume.

This is Dayton’s first victory against a top-four team since it beat No. 3 DePaul 72-71 on Feb. 18, 1984, on The Shot by Ed Young.

Amzil’s shot — his only field goal of the game — is the new Shot. After Malachi Smith had his shot blocked at the rim, the ball bounced to Amzil who dribbled into the paint and put up a shot in traffic. The ball bounced high into the air before falling through the rim. Amzil ran down the court in celebration as his teams followed, creating a memorable scene as the Flyer Faithful went crazy in the stands. One fan came onto the court to get a big hug from Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II.

3. Dayton adds guard to highly ranked 2021 recruiting class

Feb. 15: The Dayton Flyers added to one of the best recruiting classes in school history on Monday when guard Lynn Greer III, a 6-foot-3 guard in the class of 2021, announced his commitment to the program.

“It’s a GREAT Day to be a Flyer!!!” wrote Dayton assistant coach Darren Hertz on Twitter minutes before Greer’s announcement.

Greer is a 2020 graduate of Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. Before his senior year, he decided to reclassify to the 2021 class. He’s now spending a post-graduate year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. IMG Academy ranks fourth in the MaxPreps.com top-25 national rankings.

4. An early look at 2021-22 roster

April 19: The transfer portal continues to reshape college basketball rosters. The NCAA gave players the freedom to change schools one time during their careers without the penalty of sitting out a season, and they’re taking advantage.

Dayton’s 2021-22 roster was shaped by transfer decisions. The Flyers lost three players to the portal and added three players.

5. A-10 changes dates of tournaments, moves men’s championship game to UD Arena

Feb. 18: The Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball tournament championship game will be played at UD Arena at 1 p.m. March 14. That’s also Selection Sunday, the day the NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed.

The A-10 made the surprising announcement Thursday along with the news that the first four rounds of the men’s tournament will move from March 9-13 to March 3-6. As originally planned, those games will still take place in Richmond, Va., at Virginia Commonwealth’s Siegel Center and Richmond’s Robins Center. However, the semifinal winners on March 6 will then not play until March 14 in Dayton.

6. Guard from Mongolia commits to Dayton Flyers

Dec. 15: The Dayton Flyers received a commitment from Enkhiin-Od Michael Sharavjamts, a native of Mongolia who plays for the International Sports Academy in Willoughby, Ohio, on Tuesday night.

A 6-foot-8 point guard, Sharavjamts is the first member of the 2022 recruiting class to commit to Dayton. The Flyers would not have a scholarship open if every member of the 2021-22 team returned, though that’s unlikely in the age of the transfer portal.

The commitment of Sharavjamts continues a trend of foreign-born players picking the Flyers. The current roster has five international players: Mustapha Amzil (Finland); Toumani Camara (Belgium); Kobe Elvis (Canada); Moulaye Sissoko (Mali); and Richard Amaefule (England). That’s the most the program has ever had at one time.

7. Former Flyer headed to Horizon League after three years at Dayton

May 6: Dwayne Cohill announced Thursday he will transfer to Youngstown State after three years at the University of Dayton.

Cohill, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Holy Name High School in Parma Heights, Ohio, entered the transfer portal on April 16. He missed the 2020-21 season after suffering a torn ACL in October.

8. Dayton knocks off A-10 champs in regular-season finale

March 2: The Dayton Flyers still own Olean, N.Y.

They haven’t lost to St. Bonaventure in western New York since 2012, and with all signs pointing to a five-game winning streak at the Reilly Center ending Monday, Dayton pulled off a stunning victory, beating the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season champions 55-52 in the final game of the regular season.

Dayton (13-8, 9-7) bounced back from one of its worst performances, a 97-84 loss at Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday, with one of its most impressive victories of the season.

9. Two Flyers sign free-agent contracts with NBA teams

July 30: Former Dayton Flyers guards Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson did not hear their names called during the NBA Draft on Thursday but signed as undrafted free agents Friday.

Crutcher signed with the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, while Watson signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

Both players are expected to play in the NBA Summer League, which will be held from Aug. 8-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. All 30 NBA teams will play five games.

10. Dayton completes the job in Florida, beats Belmont to win ESPN Events Invitational

Nov. 28: KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Dayton Flyers claimed their first tournament victory of any kind since 2011 on Sunday, beating Belmont 63-61 in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational at HP Fieldhouse.

» PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Belmont

Dayton’s last tournament victory — be it in a November tournament, the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament or in four NCAA tournament appearances — came in this same tournament, when it was called the Old Spice Classic, and same arena 10 years ago.