“(UD Arena) is a great place. And it seems like they get everybody out for every game. It’s going to be exciting to keep watching and see how they keep doing.”
O’Mara has scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, DePaul, Marquette, Iowa State and others. And while a prospect of his stature might normally be out of reach for the Flyers, Chicago-based recruiting analyst Joe Hendricksen said the Dayton coaches have been making inroads in the region and their program has gained the respect it needs to compete with schools from top conferences.
Second-year coach Archie Miller has signed 6-0 guard Kyle Davis of Morgan Park High School and 6-5 wing Kendall Pollard of Chicago Simeon. Davis is rated as the sixth-best senior in Illinois, while Pollard is ninth.
UD star Kevin Dillard is from the Chicago area, as are Luke Fabrizius, Josh Parker and Mickey Perry, all Flyers of recent vintage.
“They’ve done an outstanding job in the city of Chicago, both Archie and (assistant) Tom Ostrom,” Hendricksen said. “This is a very good class in Illinois, and Dayton has 20 percent of the top-10. That’s saying a lot.
“As these kids have more success at Dayton, it’s going to resonate with other Chicago kids. (Davis and Pollard) aren’t coming from any ol’ program. They’re coming from two of the elite programs in the state of Illinois. And Chicago takes care of their own in terms of paying attention to how they enjoy their time and how much success they’re having and their productivity.
“I just think having two kids of that caliber is going to pay dividends for Dayton both (through having them) as players as well as the future as they continue to target more kids.”
Hendricksen has no doubts Davis and Pollard will flourish as Flyers. They’ve joined New York City guard Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith to form a three-player recruiting class that is ranked 37th nationally by Basketball Times, and all are recognized as leaders for winning programs.
“What really excites me about Kyle is his energy, his toughness and his explosiveness,” Hendricksen said. “He just gets after it. He gets after it defensively. He gets after it with the ball in his hands. And he’s always in attack mode. He gets to the rim and has a scorer’s mentality. … He’s got a little bit of a good nastiness to him.
“The biggest area where he needs to improve is to become a consistent perimeter shooter. … He’ll never become a pure shooter, but he’ll be a good enough shooter to complement his explosiveness off the dribble.”
While Davis (No. 112) and Smith (No. 124) have cracked the Rivals.com list of top-150 seniors nationally, Pollard is an unsung talent for a three-time defending state champion and has been matched up daily in practice against Duke-bound Jabari Parker, the nation’s No. 2 recruit.
Parker has said Pollard is the toughest defender he’s ever faced.
“I’ve always kind of called him a ‘non-head-case’ Ron Artest,” Hendricksen said. “He brings so many different intangibles that you don’t really appreciate until you watch him. He’ll guard three different positions. He’ll guard the opposing team’s best player. He’ll bring a sense of toughness.
“He’s scrappy and will get loose balls. He’ll get a second-chance scoring opportunity off an offensive rebound. He brings this junkyard-dog mentality without any baggage. He’s a terrific kid. He’s all about winning. And sometimes with Division I players, you don’t always find that.”
Hendricksen, who has his own website called the City/Suburban Hoops Report and covers recruiting for the Chicago Sun-Times, said of the pair: “Both of those guys could have found their way into a high-major league somewhere, but it’s not always the best situation or best fit. I think they both have found that at Dayton, where they can achieve some high-level success.”
Smith, a 6-2 guard for Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, made the New England Recruiting Report list of top-50 seniors in the Northeast at No. 8. He’s the third-highest rated guard in the region, which includes Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
“He’s definitely a high-major talent,” said ESPN recruiting analyst Adam Finkelstein, who compiles the report. “He had high-major offers when he decided to go to Dayton, and he’d certainly have more if he was uncommitted now. He’s a great value for those guys.”
Finkelstein said Smith is capable of either making plays with the ball or moving without it and scoring off his jump-shot.
“He’s got an instinctive feel for the game and is very, very smooth. With is ability to create off the dribble and shoot the ball, he’s very versatile,” Finkelstein said.
“I think at the next level, once he gets some coaching, he’ll be especially dangerous. … He’s doing a lot on natural talent without being coached at a high level. Once he learns some things about the game, with his versatility, it’s going to be open up a whole new world for his game.”
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