Sharavjamts, Dayton’s only freshman, has many eyeballs from his home country following his every move on the court. A Dayton Daily News photo of Sharavjamts warming up Tuesday in Las Vegas received 222 likes on Twitter, while a DDN photo gallery from the SMU game became the most-viewed UD-related gallery of the year after the link was posted to a Facebook group consisting of Mongolian fans of the Flyers. The group has 24,000 members.
Plenty of people outside Dayton and Mongolia are taking notice as well.
Adam Spinella, of The Box and One account on Twitter, wrote Sharavjamts has “Size, IQ and a good amount of mobility. Looks natural, looks the part. Firmly on NBA long-term radars.”
Jon Rothstein, of CBS Sports, wrote simply, “Mike Sharavjamts. BUY STOCK IMMEDIATELY.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Sharavjamts had plenty of hype entering the season and has more now after his performance in the first three games. He scored 10 points against Lindenwood, 10 again against Southern Methodist and then 14 points in a 60-52 loss at UNLV on Tuesday. He has made 8 of 16 3-pointers and 6 of 6 free throws.
“I think the big thing is he’s taking good shots,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Thursday. “He’s taking ones he knows he can make, ones his teammates expect him to take.”
Sharavjamts should make his fourth start Saturday when Dayton (2-1) plays Robert Morris (2-1) at 1 p.m. at UD Arena, though the UD coaches will have a decision to make about the lineup when injured point guard Malachi Smith returns, which guard Kobe Elvis said Thursday will be sooner than later.
Sharavjamts made three of his four 3-pointers Tuesday in the first half as Dayton built a 32-22 halftime lead.
“I think Mike’s been really confident,” Elvis said. “I think he just needs to continue being himself. He does a great job. He has a great feel for the game. His 3-point shot has been going really well for him. I feel like he’s been able to get into paint, make plays, and help facilitate and do other things, too.”
Sharavjamts has started the first three games and averaged 29.7 minutes. Foul trouble has limited his minutes at times. He picked up his third foul in the second minute of the second half in the opener and sat out the next seven minutes. Against UNLV, he committed his second foul with 6:54 left in the first half and sat out the rest of the half. He picked up his fourth foul with 9:54 to play and didn’t return until the 3:53 mark.
“He’s got to learn how to how to put himself in a position where he’s aware of what’s going on,” Grant said. “There are habits that you have to have in college basketball in order to keep yourself from getting those cheap ones.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Robert Morris at Dayton, 1 p.m., Spectrum News 1; 1290, 95.7
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