What's going to happen at UD Arena this Saturday?

Well, for starters, Xavier, Tu Holloway, and all the gangsters will be visiting. But hopefully you already knew that. What's going to happen in the game?

Last year when Xavier came to Dayton, partially because of the type of team Dayton had last year and partially due to that being the second game between the two teams, I hoped UD would beat XU just for the sake of having a win over them on the year. UD was 7-6 in the A-10 at the time and it was clear the team wasn't going anywhere. Beating Xavier would have just felt good and assuaged some of the pain of the season, kind of like scoring a garbage-time touchdown to avoid a shutout feels. That didn't happen (it would later in an Atlantic 10 Tournament game, which was sweet), but regardless, that is not the atmosphere this year. Aside from the rivalry between the schools, aside from the rivalry between these players (Chris Johnson will be playing his ninth game against Tu Holloway and Kenny Frease), this game is important because of where the two teams stand at the moment. Despite getting there in two different ways (The Flyers by surprising a bit, the Musketeers by having a disappointing stretch), each team sits at 13-5. They are sitting 1-2 in the Atlantic 10 (Xavier a 4-1, UD 3-1). Most importantly, due to Xaviers midseason struggles, both teams' NCAA Tournament chances are delicate, to say the least. In his most recent Bracketology, Joe Lunardi has four Atlantic 10 teams in the tournament (UD, Xavier, Saint Louis, Temple). All four are 10 or 11 seeds, meaning they are among the last to get in. So while this game is not going to be a win-and-you're-in type situation for either team, it would be a great help as far as positioning goes.

Last year, Dayton lost two five-point games to Xavier and won one by a point. There is no reason to expect that this game will not also be close, but then again, there is no reason to expect anything from this game. Dayton is a completely different team than it was last year, in terms of who its coach is, who its starting five is and the style of basketball it plays. Whereas the Brian Gregory-era Flyers made their mark on playing defense, grabbing rebounds and dunking in transition, this year's Dayton team relies a lot more on shooting well and scoring points. They are not nearly as good on defense. Xavier still relies on Holloway and Mark Lyons to do pretty much everything for them, with other guys taking advantage of their guards' excellent play.

So what's going to happen in this game? A very interesting set of matchups. In last year's matchup, Dayton fans felt they finally had a set of guards good enough to compete with Holloway and Lyons with Juwan Staten, Josh Parker and Paul Williams. That wasn't the case. Holloway especially was still the dominant player in those games in crunch time. This year, Dayton fans feel like they've got another point guard to contend with Holloway. This year, I am among that group. Kevin Dillard has been very good this season, and would definitely appear to be capable of going step-for-step with Holloway. Dillard has had his best games in important ones, and this game qualifies. In addition, Dillard has made the other guards on this team better. Even Josh Parker, who I have disliked as a player since he came to UD, has been much improved this season, especially against Saint Bonaventure, when even in a loss, he kept UD in the game by making good basketball plays, not just having a good shooting night.

What really interests me for this game though is the Kenny Frease-Matt Kavanaugh matchup. In years past Xavier games made Kav's eyes light up because it meant he might get some playing time against the equally inept and slow Frease. This year, though, it's no secret that Kavanaugh has made a giant leap from close-your-eyes-when-he-gets-the-ball to quite serviceable. I have the insane thought that this may be a matchup Kavanaugh can win on the interior.

Beyond that, Dayton has the best forward on either team in Chris Johnson. While he may still be a bit limited from suffering a head injury, CJ has also typically had a knack for strong play in big games.

What's going to happen in this game, though? Well, considering every game I've been able to attend or watch on TV (Miami, Buffalo, Murray State, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure--seriously, those are the only five I've caught in their entirety. I saw the last five minutes of the Minnesota game, but that was well in-hand) has resulted in a loss, and I'm going to be able to watch the game on TV this Saturday, it will probably be a loss.

I sure hope I'm wrong.

Dayton vs. Alabama

Fitting that while I'm at work Dayton will be playing the most important game of its non-conference season. So instead of doing a recap, I'm going to try and capture this game before it happens.

First, to make one thing clear. This game wouldn't be the most important for UD if it were not for recent events. Dayton comes into its home contest against Alabama the losers of a surprising two consecutive (bad) games. After an 84-55 loss against Buffalo and a 75-58 loss at Murray State, UD will be playing its marquee non-conference game with its season looking tenuous at best. A win over a top 15 opponent and maybe the Flyers have stopped the bleeding and are getting back on track. A loss? Well, that would mean UD has lost three straight, fallen to 5-4 and officially qualify for "reeling" status. At 5-4 nine games in, nothing short of a spectacular performance in the Atlantic 10 regular season and A-10 Tournament would have Dayton playing in any sort of postseason.

What needs to happen
Dayton's work on the glass needs to improve. Currently Dayton is 226th in the country in rebounds per game. That sits in stark contrast to what we've been accustomed to for Dayton for a long time. They have hung their hat on their rebounding for years. But that has not been the case this season. Alabama, meanwhile, is ranked 42nd in rebounding. UD is going to have to really pick up its effort on the glass if it doesn't want to get run out of the gym giving up offensive rebounds.

Chris Johnson's got to step up. CJ has been lackluster all season long. Even when he's scored, it hasn't been great. CJ has shot 36 percent for the season (34 percent from three), and he's only pulling down five boards a game. In the past, CJ has stepped up big in important games. It would be excellent if Dayton could get another 26 point, 20 rebound-type performance out of Johnson like he delivered against Duquesne two seasons ago. CJ has hit some clutch shots in big moments in the past. That hasn't been a factor this season. He has the talent to be the best player on the court tonight, but he's going to have to play a completely different game than we've seen from him this season. He's going to have be aggressive at all times: on the glass, going to the basket and occasionally hitting open shots when they are good ones to take.

Tonight's game is a huge one for the Flyers. They've got to bring their best possible game to the table. We need to see a vs. Pittsburgh-type performance. I'll be hoping to come home to some good news. I'll be rooting for Chris Johnson above all, because he's got to be dying about the way he's been playing so far. Have a good Wednesday, and go Flyers

UD at Murray State

I can remember in my freshman year of playing intramural basketball I put together a team of high school friends and a couple guys on the floor. We were not very good, but signed up for the non-competitive league and I figured we'd be a .500-ish team with a shot at winning a game or two in the tournament.

When the season started, things weren't going well. We were a decent enough defensive team (with a little trouble on the glass due to lack of size) but beyond poor offensively. It stemmed from the fact that we were shooting something like 18 percent from the field on the season (if you can believe it, we did not have a statistician on the bench keeping track of things, so I'm guessing at the exact percentage). Sometime during our third or fourth game, Big Rob came up to me and posed the question, "Nate, what can we do man, what can we change up?" To which I responded with something like, "Well, we've got to start hitting some shots, and if we can do that, we'll be okay." This answer aggravated Big Rob, because he had heard it from me more than once before. He told me that there had to be something else, I couldn't just keep blaming our inability to score on our poor shooting. I couldn't come up with anything else good for him on the spot there, because, plain and simple, in basketball, if you aren't getting good shots and just not making them, there's not much to be done about it, I thought. Later on I came up with the brilliant solution: stop shooting. Take it to the hole, try and post up some, maybe get a foul call (an excellent idea in intramurals especially, whose officials are dreadful). Did we end up winning the championship that season? No, not even close. But with an offense that scored every now and again, we were competitive in our games and enjoying ourselves. All because of a simple thought: teams that don't shoot well shouldn't shoot the ball.

I couldn't help but revisit this thought as I watched Murray State pull away from Dayton in the second half of their game Sunday. As UD put up brick after brick (with a few airballs sprinkled in for good measure), it became painfully obvious what needed to happen; Dayton needed to have been goign to the hoop all game long. By the time anyone figured that out (Josh Benson), it was too late. Thanks to another poor effort defensively, Dayton went down badly on the road, 75-58.

The Good
Josh Benson. The big man was the only positive to take away from Sunday afternoon's game. Not even the blue away jerseys could make up for what was happening on the court. But Benson played a nice game, and had an especially good second half. The redshirt junior was 8-8 from the field, 1-1 from the foul line and finished with 17 points and six boards. Benson did most of his work around the rim, but also stepped away from the basket and hit a couple mid-range jumpers. He was the only Dayton player that had an interest in going inside, which was a good thing, because Benson knew he had a mismatch in the paint. Murray State is a good team, but severely lacking in size, and Dayton needed to take better advantage of that throughout. Benson did, so he gets some kudos. UD will need Benson to be aggressive on offense like he was in this game, but to be able to do it against better big men as well.

The Bad
Chris Johnson. One of Dayton's biggest problems as a team right now is that it only has nine scholarship players. That means that guys who are doing nothing on the court, like Luke Fabrizius, Josh Parker and yes, CJ, still have to get some playing time for sheer lack of bodies. I don't even recognize Chris Johnson anymore. He isn't shooting well, only shoots threes (1-8 from the field Sunday, 0-6 from three with an airball), does not hustle like he used to, does not rebound like he used to, isn't getting to the foul line, and when he does, not shooting them as well as he has throughout his career. It's mind-boggling. Really, it's sad, because CJ was one of my favorite Dayton players ever. Great athlete, hustles like crazy, decent scorer, makes plays all over the court that take your breath away (I never said "wow" about somebody's rebounding til I saw CJ. I imagine him at UD was like watching Rodman in the prime of his career on the glass), plays with no regard for his own body and is a quiet guy who is not looking to show the other team up when he makes a good play. Aside from the quiet part, CJ is none of those things anymore. I don't know what to do about it. I hope Archie Miller has a good idea soon.

The Defense. UD gave up 75 more points. They've now let up 75 to Murray State, 70 to Minnesota, 72 to Miami, 76 to Wake Forest and 84 to Buffalo. Part of Sunday's problems came from the fact that the Racers were on fire in the second half. But UD's defense was bad all the same. They didn't hustle to get out on shooters, and they got buried by long-range shooting in the second half. The real problem is that this seems to be the rule rather than the exception. UD's defense is just not very good, and the players aren't talented enough on offense to consistently score in the 70s and 80s. If the D doesn't improve, UD's losing streak will grow.

The Coaching. In the first half, the Flyers were a not-too-shabby 10-22 from the field. They were 2-10 from the three point line. That means they were 8-10 from inside the arc. How did Archie Miller not show that stat to his players in the locker room at halftime, circled about 1000 times, and scream, "Get the damn ball inside!"? I'll never know. What I do know, is that UD decided to take that information and shove it right in our faces, as they came out and put on a clinic in the second half, going 1-11 on three-pointers. This is a very simple concept. When you aren't shooting well, you don't keep shooting. Dayton hasn't been poor from beyond the arc this season, but its last several games have started a declining trend in shooting percentage (only against Minnesota has Dayton shot three-pointers well in its last four games).

Quitting? While watching Murray State pull away in the second half, I started rationalizing out loud with my dad. Murray State is a pretty good team, after all. They will have a great shot at an NCAA Tournament berth out of the Ohio Valley Conference, like they do every year. It was an away game, and UD is typically bad away from home. And Murray State shot well, making this a loss that was not really unexpected. It still didn't feel good, but I could understand it. Then, as Murray State scored an easy basket to make its lead 17 or 19 in a game that still had about eight minutes left, my dad muttered, "This team quits." Those words have been killing me since. Is he right? In the last two games, he has been. UD quit in the first half against Buffalo, and definitely shut it down in the second half at Murray State. In case you didn't know, that's not a quality to be excited about. It's a quality to be abhorred. The Brian Gregory/Chris Wright version of Dayton basketball had tons of flaws, but heart was never one of them. I'm not willing to say this teams lacks heart already, but that thought has entered my mind (thanks, Dad). Next time UD has a slow stretch that ends up in a big lead for its opponent, keep your eyes peeled. Dayton didn't care for the final 10 or so minutes against Murray State. That kind of shit can't ever happen again.

UD vs. Minnesota: Where did this come from?

After a disappointing loss at Miami, it has been good, good, and more good for the Dayton Flyers, who took home the Old Spice Classic championship with a relatively easy 86-70 win over Minnesota. This was a game I was expecting Dayton to lose, so what happened that they were in control? For starters, it was one of those games that UD seems to have every year where they play to their full potential and look phenomenal (think like their 28-point win over Charlotte two years ago or the 30-point victory over Pitt from four years back). But there was more to it than that. Let's look a bit deeper.

The Good
Kevin Dillard. Kevin Dillard. Kevin. Dillard. Dillard delivered the best game from a UD guard since Brian Roberts was running the show at UD, and from a pure point-guard perspective, it was probably better than what Roberts could muster (B-Rob always had to be looking to score more, so this isn't to take anything away from him). Dillard tallied 19 points, 10 assists, seven steals (SEVEN!) and three blocks, and was efficient doing it, going 6-12 from the field. What's more, is Dillard was in complete control of the game while he was on the court. It really was pretty amazing to watching him from the second portion of the first half on. He was just so calm and smooth, doing what he wanted, much in the same way Chris Paul or Steve Nash manage a game. From watching, you got the sense he was going to score or find someone for an open shot every possession. It was amazing.

Devin Oliver. Oliver's line from Sunday: 14 minutes, 0-1 from the field, zero points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, one turnover, four fouls. So why was he good? Because Oliver appears to understand and accept what his role on the team is currently: come in as a seventh or eighth man and hustle his ass off. Don't be a defensive liability, and grab some rebounds. And if you watched the game Sunday, you would have seen Oliver all over the place. He gave maximum effort at all times (probably why he managed the four fouls in just 14 minutes). He deferred to his teammates on offense, and it resulted in him playing good minutes in the second half. Perhaps there will come a time when UD needs Oliver to step up on offense, but for now, what he's doing is great.

The blue uniforms. I'm hoping I get to see these blue unis more over the rest of the season. I thought it was so cool to see UD playing in the school's color blue. There was nothing special about those unis as far as color scheme or design, but they looked great, and Dayton ran the table in them while in Florida. It is reminiscent of their run through the 2010 NIT wearing the black uniforms. Keep those coming back on the road, Archie.

The Bad
This is somewhat of a nit-picky bad since UD didn't really need him to be great in this game, but Paul Williams only scored eight points against Minnesota, going 2-9 from the field. So far, PW has been UD's best player (with Dillard probably taking that spot over after this tournament), but he has been inconsistent this year. Williams' scoring so far this year: 15, 20, 5, 18, 5, and 8. It should be noted that two of his single-digit performances came in games where UD didn't need him as badly, but still, it is important for the senior to be delivering in double figures just about every game. And if he doesn't score 10 or more, it needs to be because he took less shots, not because PW put up a line like 2-9.

So UD will come back to town an encouraging 5-1 to a very appreciative fan base. Things will not get any easier for Dayton, though. After a home game against Buffalo, UD has its two toughest (and therefore most important) non-conference games: at Murray State and at home against No. 12 Alabama. The nation took notice of UD after this weekend, but a 2-0 stint in those games would really turn some heads. With the fact that the A-10 is looking pretty strong in the early season, UD is going to need to keep on playing strong basketball to keep up. Still, there is plenty of reason to be excited about what Dayton has done so far. The players have bought into Miller's system, are playing hard and winning games. You can't ask for much more.

Smörgåsbord Saturday: Dayton Flyers, NFL and the NBA returns

Given my work schedule this week, there was a lot I wanted to write about today, so this will be the first Smörgåsbord Saturday, a column where I write shorter bits about a bunch of different things. If all goes according to plan, I'll produce a smörgåsbord every Saturday. There will at least be one every couple. Right, let's get to it.

Dayton survives again
First things first. The UD basketball won another game in the Old Spice Classic, advancing to the finals of the early-season tournament with a 56-49 win over Fairfield. Fairfield the winner of the MAAC last season, is a team that many casual fans have never heard of, but make no mistake. This is a good win for UD, even though it won't show up on any late-season resumes of what UD has done so far. I was unable to watch the game, much to my disappointment, but the texts I received about the proceedings indicated that UD did not play especially well. The fact that they scored just 56 points would appear to support that opinion, since it is UD's lowest offensive output so far by 11 points. Chris Johnson played another poor game, scoring just five points and attempting just two two-point shots (again). Paul Williams had his worst game so far. The bright spots for Dayton were Matt Kavanaugh (again!) grabbing double-digit rebounds and (sigh) Josh Parker. Parker (who I'm working on a nickname for) scored 13 in the first half and was the reason Dayton was in the game. This is the type of performance we'll see from Parker three to five times a year, much like Charles Little before him. A few times a year, all the bad shots he puts up will drop, and he will have an excellent game. Hopefully, those games continue to come for Parker when the other players are struggling like they were Friday.
Next up for UD is Minnesota, a game that I think will be extremely difficult for Dayton to win. Minnesota is nothing special this season, but the Gophers boast plenty of size that I believe will bother UD on defense and not be stopped on offense. Kavanaugh and Josh Benson will need to have career days defensively to keep up on the glass and in the low-post.

Turkey Day Football
There were some interesting games happening on Thanksgiving Day in the NFL, and the one that seemed the least interesting going in ended up being the most interesting. So what did we learn? The Lions are not a threat come playoff time, even though they will still probably make the postseason. They were dismantled by the Packers. The Cowboys are almost certain to win the NFC East now, but are also almost certain to lose in the Wildcard round of the playoffs to some inferior team. They just aren't that good. The 49ers are not explosive enough to win unless they win the turnover battle significantly. And the Ravens? They are my new pick to win the Super Bowl. Because despite losses to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Seattle, the Ravens have shown that those were instances of them just shutting it down because they don't care about weak opponents. When they get up for game (which they will in the playoffs) they're incredible. The defense is absolutely ravenous. I think it's good enough to beat Green Bay.

Congrats to members of the 2011 NBA Draft
Can't help but feel happy for guys like Nolan Smith, Norris Cole and Kyle Singler. They were all drafted into decent-to-good situations, and then had to sit by and do nothing while waiting for the NBA to come up with a new CBA. What were guys like Cole, a Cleveland State grad and late-first round pick, doing during all that time? He wasn't collecting any money from his contracts, we know that much. Well, Norris, you can get excited, finally. The NBA appears to have a deal set, and that means you can start collecting some big-boy checks, as well as begin your campaign for the Miami Heat starting point guard position (which you'll probably have on lockdown before season's end). Have fun throwing oops to Lebron and D-Wade. Bring back the flat top with that awesome fade, and try to get the rest of your team to employ it on their domes as well. That's just the type of thing that could get the public back on the Heat's side. How could we not root for a team that is all rocking the 80's flat top?

Happy Saturday. Ohio State is actually playing Michigan close. A nice surprise for all the Ohio people I know on a nice Saturday.

A UD In-betweener

A rough weekend work schedule kept me from being able to see Dayton play in their game against UNC-Wilmington. It also kept me from getting much writing in, so I'm not going to focus as much on that game, but more what it could mean going forward for the Flyers.

Reaction
When I got home from work on Saturday after the UD game and spoke to my mom about it (she had attended the game) all she could do was shake her head. Evidently UNCW was about as bad as can be. A look at the box score doesn't make them look much better than she indicated. They scored just 49 points, shot 35 percent from the field, attempted just nine free throws all game, and had 19 turnovers to 11 assists. All this coming against a UD defense that could be generously called a work in progress. So lets get that out of the way first: UD's two wins have been against teams that they absolutely had to beat. And they did. Badly. The encouraging aspect of this game was that Chris Johnson finally showed up, scoring 19 points. Of course, 15 of those 19 points came from beyond the arc, which is not where CJ should be spending most of his time. What was discouraging about this game is that it seems if UD had been able to play as well against Miami as they did against both UNCW and Western Illinois, they would be 3-0 right now. A team has got to be able to bring it's "A" game every time. Especially these Flyers, who are not going to be able to survive in the Atlantic 10 if they turn in lackluster performances on the road.

Looking Ahead
As Dayton moves forward, we ought to get a look at what we'll see the rest of the year. They have a neutral-site game against Wake Forest (very winnable, Wake Forest should be bad again), home against Buffalo (better be a W) and an away game at Murray State (a perennially tough mid-major school that should be a tough test) and then their premiere non-conference game of the year, at home against no. 15 Alabama.

Dayton could easily go 1-3 in that stretch; two games away from UD Arena, and one against a strong opponent they are not expected to beat. The games against Wake Forest and Murray State will be a key primer for the rest of UD's season. Will the Flyers be able to take care of business outside of Dayton? The past couple years the answer has been no, and it has meant mediocre results and disappointment for Dayton. If UD can manage to come away from this four-game stretch with a record of 5-2, then perhaps UD fans will have something to be excited about. If they play poorly like they did against Miami, then things will be set early for Dayton this year: no NCAA, no NIT, no CBI, maybe no A-10 Tournament.

Buckle up, it's going to be a big couple weeks.

Bring on the basketball

ESPN and college basketball's ridiculous, indulgent marathon of hoops is just around the corner. Just a few hours from now, 25 straight hours of college hoops will kick off starting with Washington State at Gonzaga at midnight (eastern time). It's an exciting prospect for any big college basketball fan, because despite the fact that there are timeslots filled with some less-than-exciting games consisting of teams just happy to be on TV (Morehead State at Charleston at 8 a.m. comes to mind), there are plenty of big games as well. And while Duke-Michigan State, Florida-Ohio State and Kentucky-Kansas are going to get the most attention of tomorrow's games, there are several others I'm excited about watching.

Northern Iowa at Saint Mary's, 2 a.m.
The prospect of staying up for this one is a bit daunting for those of us in the eastern time zone, but if you can manage it, this should be a good one. As has been the case for the last five or so years, both of these teams are going to be contenders in two of the best mid-major conferences in the country (Missouri Valley and West Coast). Both teams are likely to be the type of team in February and March for which every result is scrutinized heavily while they teeter one way or the other on the NCAA Tournament bubble. If these teams are indeed on the bubble come early March, a look back at this game (especially a road win for Northern Iowa) could be a huge resume booster. This is a perfect game for college basketball fans that don't catch all the games on CBS or ESPN's "Big Monday".

Belmont at Memphis, 12 p.m.
Memphis is coming into this season after not quite living up to expectations last year. The Tigers were almost always exciting to watch, they just weren't that great. After throwing up a few too many bricks last year, Memphis' core group of players is expected to have grown up some and produce an excellent year, which is why they started the season at No. 10. Meanwhile, Belmont went 30-5 last year in the Atlantic Sun Conference and then lost to Duke by one at Cameron Indoor. The Bruins should be extra-hungry for a resume-boosting win. The Duke and Memphis games are their only real marquee non-conference games this year. Without a win in either of them, even if they play close, Belmont's only shot at the NCAA Tournament will be through an automatic bid. While they are the favorites to win the Atlantic Sun, you can't take anything for granted in the conference tournaments.

George Mason at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m.
Like Belmont in the last game, George Mason will be looking to pick up an impressive non-conference win on the road to boost its tournament resume. Unlike Belmont above, this win wouldn't actually be that impressive. Virginia Tech loves to play down (or up) to its opponents, and I'm not expecting the team to be especially good this year, having lost its only good scorer from last season in Malcolm Delaney. That said, the committee still loves to see road wins against schools from the BCS conferences. And it would be a good one for George Mason, which lost key pieces from last year as well (leading scorer Cam Long and coach since forever Jim Larranaga). Can Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius keep the mid-major excellence going that GMU has enjoyed ever since its Final Four run? Can Va Tech make a splash in the ACC this year? This game should be a good primer for both teams.

Dayton at Miami, 7 p.m.
Full disclosure: this one isn't part of ESPN's slate of games, but it has me more interested than any other game of the day. I want to see how UD's offense looks against a good defense, and how their big men look against a team that also has big men. This one is coming at a devastating timeslot, with four games going on either ESPN or ESPN3 (including Duke-Michigan State) as well as the Florida at Ohio State game starting at 8 p.m. So I understand the bulk of the country won't be tuning in to WHIO-TV or radio, and won't be streaming this game online at daytonflyers.com. But anybody who has the opportunity to watch Chris Johnson play should. I wasn't watching the NBA when Dennis Rodman was at the height of his game, but I imagine he's the only guy ever to make rebounding more exciting than CJ. It's such a joy to watch the undersized 6-6 small forward come flying through the lane, jump over everybody else and grab the ball without any regard for what's going to happen to him when he lands. The Flyers are going to need a better game from CJ than he gave them against Western Illinois. So tune in to UD-Miami during commercial breaks or something from the ESPN games, and watch some good mid-major basketball.

Little Man in the Garden

It's been far too long since I've posted, and a lot of pretty cool stuff has happened lately. My excuse is that I've been posting like a mad man on the Flyer News blog and then it was Easter.

I'm back now though. Madison Square Garden is cool though. Sitting on press row in the Garden when you could extend your feet and be on the court is even cooler. To give you an idea of where I was sitting, just look at the basket in the picture. I was underneath that. Hanging out on the court after Dayton won while the players were going nuts is even cooler.

So I had a great time. Part of me is glad that Dayton went to the NIT, cause this might be the only two times I ever cover a game in MSG. Hopefully not, but maybe. At the same time, though, it was the NIT. I mean honestly, as great as it was to see the guys play well and win the tournament, it was the NIT. Don't go bragging to your friends or shouting it in the streets. The fact remains the season was a disappointment. The NIT Championship is a consolation prize.

Now the Flyers have to move on. London Warren, Kurt Huelsman, Rob Lowery, Mickey Perry and Marcus Johnson are not going to be here next year. The way I see it, Kurt and Marcus are the two big losses from that group. Everybody else is easily replaceable, especially since there were a lot of negatives that came with the positives London and Rob brought to the table.

It is going to be interesting to see who Dayton actually has next year. Chris Wright might go to the NBA, and rumors abound about Chris Johnson and Paul Williams both transferring. Personally, I think all three will be back next year. Wright isn't good enough, and CJ and PW are going to be starting all next year and the focal points of the offense. Them and Wright (if he comes back) could be Dayton's Singler, Scheyer and Smith.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.