Today’s game
Who: Dayton (16-6, 5-3) vs. Charlotte (18-5, 8-1)
When: 7 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
The University of Dayton basketball team has won two games since juggling its starting five, replacing senior guard Marcus Johnson with sophomore Paul Williams. But the decision to give the lineup a makeover didn’t originate with coach Brian Gregory.
The change was Johnson’s idea.
“A few weeks ago, he suggested to me, ‘Hey, if you think I can provide something off the bench, I have no problem with doing that,’ ” Gregory said. “... I didn’t think about it at the time because he’s been such a permanent fixture in there, but that’s the type of person he is and how guys care. He knows he has as important a part as anybody has. He’s really done a great job giving the team a spark.”
While Williams has had a couple of solid showings as a starter, Johnson has come off the bench to average 10.5 points, making 6-of-8 field-goal tries (including his only 3-point attempt) and 8-of-11 foul shots. Before the switch, he was averaging 7.9 points while shooting 37.2 percent from the floor, 19.2 from the arc and 54.5 from the foul line.
“I’m here to do anything for the team — whatever it takes for the team to get better,” Johnson said. “I’m the type of guy to take those things and do it, whether it’s coming off the bench, helping a teammate or getting up extra shots.”
He’s one of the reasons the Flyers reserves have had such an impact this season. They outscored Xavier’s understudies 37-6 in a 90-65 win Saturday, Feb. 6, and have a 247-point advantage on the opposition’s subs overall.
Backup center Devin Searcy, who had four points and a career-high eight rebounds in the Xavier rout, pointed out that no one on the team puts much emphasis on who starts.
“We’re playing just as many minutes as the starters,” he said. “The only difference is, they get their name called (at the beginning of the game.)”
Star forward Chris Wright likes how flexible the coaches have been, too. He once waved to the bench in the second half against Xavier, indicating he wasn’t ready to come out for one of his regular breathers — and he ended up getting a longer stint on the floor.
“I was fatigued maybe once during the game,” he said. “That’s the good thing about it. The coaches will ask, ‘How are you doing?’ And they listen to you.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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