“You’ve got a point guard like Javon that can kind of get into the paint and make things happen,” Dauster said, “and you’ve got shooters and versatile guys from the two to the four spot and you got a big fella inside. You throw it to the top of the square, he’s going to go up there and get it. It just feels like this is the kind of team that one is built like a modern basketball team, but two is kind of in the Anthony Grant wheelhouse a little bit.”
Grant, who never likes to make grand predictions for his team and is not known for hyperbole, responded by saying, “Rob, I‘m going to caution you. When you start throwing out stuff like that to our fan base, they can get a little excited.”
Grant doesn’t have to worry. Dayton fans will be wary of getting excited this season after their team started 10-2 last season and then lost four of their next five games. Three straight losses early in A-10 play destroyed the Flyers’ NCAA tournament resume.
There are many unknowns with Dayton’s roster, but the two returning starters, the 5-11 guard Bennett, and 7-foot-1 sophomore center Amaël L’Etang are known quantities. Grant talked about both at Media Day.
Bennett, who played his freshman season at Merrimack, averaged 11.6 points, 2.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 31 minutes per game last season as a junior. He improved his 3-point shooting percentage from 31.6 to 39.0.
With 61 starts over the last two seasons at Dayton, Bennett has the most experience as a Flyer on the current roster.
“I had a chance to watch him on film when he was at Merrimack, and then you meet him in person, and he’s a competitor,” Grant said. “That’s the biggest thing that stood out to me — meeting him — is he had a fire in his eyes. He believed in himself, and he wanted to be a part of something — a program that he fit and that believed in him.
“With the two years that he’s played, I think he’s really established himself as one of the premier players in this league. We’ve asked him to play a variety of roles for us, from point guard to off the ball to everything in between, and he’s done that. I think he’s poised to have a great year this year for us with the work that he’s put in.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Bennett made the A-10 preseason first team. Five of the six players on that first team — everyone except Loyola Chicago guard Miles Rubin — have transferred in their career.
Everyone on the A-10 preseason second team has transferred at least once, except L’Etang, who averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 block in 16.8 minutes per game.
“For Amael, the biggest thing is walking in the door as a freshman,” Grant said, “you really don’t know what he’s prepared to do. Over the course of last year, he really improved from the beginning of the year all the way through to the point we inserted him in the starting lineup early in conference play. He certainly showed the potential that he has.
“Like most freshmen, he had to make that adjustment to college basketball. There’ll be another adjustment now because he’s more familiar to our opponents as well. I think he’s worked extremely hard in the offseason. He’s had a good summer. He played for his national team over the summer, and then he was back working with us. So I’m looking forward to his progress and the next step for his career.”
Credit: David Jablonski
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