Dayton’s depth could get boost with NCAA decision on transfers

Some transfers have been denied waivers, but even those players may soon become eligible. The NCAA Division I Council will vote Wednesday on the issue, and according to reports by Jeff Goodman, of WatchStadium.com, and Nicole Auerbach, of The Athletic, it’s expected to issue a blanket waiver to make all transfers immediately eligible.

Grant, whose team improved to 3-1 with an 85-82 double-overtime victory Saturday against Mississippi State, was asked again about what the vote would mean for Weaver on Monday by Hansgen.

“From what I understand, there will be a vote on Wednesday to determine whether or or not first-time transfers can become eligible,” Grant said. “Obviously, some first-time transfers are already playing. They were able to request and be granted waivers. Some guys requested and weren’t granted waivers. In our situation, we did not request a waiver for Elijah, but with the rule, certainly if it passes, we hope to have him available. Don’t know when his availability would happen, but certainly if the rule does pass, we’d be pretty thrilled if we could get him available.”

Weaver averaged 5.1 points in 28 games as a freshman at USC and 6.6 points in 30 games last season as a sophomore. He shot 34 percent from 3-point range (48 of 141) over the two seasons. The chance to play point guard, his natural position, next season once Jalen Crutcher graduates was one reason Weaver chose Dayton.

If Weaver can play this season, he could provide needed depth for the Flyers, who have two players — Crutcher (40.8) and Ibi Watson (40.3) — averaging more than 40 minutes per game.

Two other starters average more than 30 minutes. Chase Johnson (38.3) has already played more minutes this season (152) than he did in his first three injury-plagued seasons (134) in college basketball. Rodney Chatman averages 33.0 minutes. Jordy Tshimanga (26.0) is the only starter averaging fewer than 30 minutes.

While freshman R.J. Blakney has seen his minutes increase in the last last two games, Dayton’s other reserves are not getting much playing time. Moulaye Sissoko received 10 minutes Saturday and is averaging 9.8 minutes. Zimi Nwokeji played a total of 16 minutes in the first three games and did not play against Mississippi State. Walk-on Christian Wilson averaged 8.0 minutes in the first three games but also did not play Saturday.

Dayton’s other newcomers have been sidelined with injuries and illnesses. Freshman Koby Brea has not dressed in uniform this season, though he did participate in early warmups before the game against Northern Kentucky on Dec. 8. Grant said he has been out with an upper body injury.

Freshman Luke Frazier was in uniform for the first three games but did not play. Then on Saturday, Dayton announced he underwent surgery Thursday to remove his appendix. He did not travel with the team to Atlanta. Grant provided some insight into Frazier’s situation and gave the first clues as to why he didn’t play in the first three games when he talked to Hansgen on Monday.

“He’s doing OK,” Grant said. “He’s had some stuff that you don’t wish on any freshman to start his career in terms of different illnesses that date back to a month or two ago that’s kind of slowed him. But he’s got a positive attitude about it. Thankfully, we were able to get this taken care of probably earlier than it could have been in terms of it being an emergency situation.

“He’s in a good frame of mind. But it’s just unfortunate that he had kind of a string of things that have popped up that have kept him out for some extended periods of time. The first month, we were all shut down just with the situation around campus with COVID. Luke’s probably missed another month just with different things that have come up. He’s in good spirits. He’ll bounce back.”

The good news for Dayton is it doesn’t have to make any decision about redshirting players like Brea and Frazier. They can play this year and will still have four seasons of eligibility remaining. That goes for every player across the country.

Even Dayton’s seniors could choose to return next year. They would not count against the 13-player scholarship limit, though in subsequent seasons, athletes taking advantage of the extra year would count against the scholarship limit.

Grant said it would be a “win-win” decision if the NCAA allows all transfers to play this season. He said Weaver would be a good addition, though he has not said if Weaver would play right away if he became immediately eligible. Dayton has exams this week and returns to action at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Mississippi at UD Arena. That’s the last non-conference game unless Dayton adds to its schedule.

“We’ll wait and see,” Grant said. “I won’t count our chickens before they’re hatched. We’ll see what the ruling is, see how it turns out and then we’ll go from there.”