NEXT GAME
Dayton at Fordham, 9 p.m. Wednesday, WHIO Ch. 7, SportsNet New York, 1290, 95.7
Freshman point guard Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith was scheduled to leave Dayton after practice on Monday, heading home to Bronx, N.Y., a day earlier than the rest of the Flyers. The team will fly to New York City today for Wednesday’s 9 p.m. game at Fordham.
Smith has long looked forward to this homecoming, but it has turned bittersweet. His grandpa, George Blount, died early Friday after a long illness. Blount, 80, gave Smith his nickname when he was little, and that’s just one reason he was a special person in Smith’s life.
Smith posted a photo to Instagram on Saturday in memory of his grandpa. Smith looks to be about 5 or 6 years old in the photo. He’s holding a grapefruit-sized basketball. His grandpa stands to Smith’s right, one hand on Smith’s back.
“Still don’t believe that you left me and the fam,” Smith wrote, “but I know that you’re in a better place and watching over us. R.I.P to my grandfather that I love so much and will truly miss.”
Smith said he talked to his grandpa, the father of his dad Glenn Blount, on Facetime in recent months, but didn’t get to see him in person after he left the Bronx in August for school in Dayton. He remembers his grandpa’s support and his presence more than anything. He was always over at the house and always asking how his grandson was doing.
“I was really close to him,” Smith said. “It ain’t really hit me yet.”
Smith isn’t sure when or why he earned the nickname Scoochie. Even though his grandpa gave him the nickname, he and the rest of the family called him Dayshon. Friends used the nickname Scoochie.
“I googled the name one time before,” he said. “It means to dance a lot or be annoying. I was probably one of the two or maybe even both.”
Smith isn’t sure when his grandpa’s funeral will be. It might be Friday, and he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make it. The Flyers play at Richmond on Saturday.
Smith does know he’ll have a big cheering section at Fordham on Wednesday. The Rose Hill Gym is only three miles from where he grew up. In fact, no one on the Dayton roster will play a game closer to home, not even Centerville’s Matt Kavanaugh.
“You’ll see a lot of Dayton fans,” Smith said. “You won’t even think it’s the Fordham campus, by what I’m hearing. You’ll think you’re at a University of Dayton game.”
Smith first saw the Flyers in person two years ago when they played at Fordham. He was never a Fordham fan but did play in a high school championship game at Rose Hill Gym when he played for Rice High School in Harlem. He played there for two years before transferring to Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Ct., when Rice closed.
In that championship game, Smith’s team lost to Christ the King High School. Fordham freshman Jon Severe, who leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring, played for Christ the King. Severe also played AAU basketball with the New York Lightning with Smith.
“I know him well,” Smith said. “He’s doing good. That’s good to hear. I’m happy for him. But I can’t let it happen (on Wednesday).”
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