Sparty it is

I think Payne will fit in well here. DDN breaking another story, I'm telling you they got their stuff together over there!

Rumor has it that BG played a big part in coaxing the big man to his buddy Izzo after UD was out of the picture. I'm sure we'll learn more about that as time goes on.

Best of luck to AP. Glad he didn't fall for UK or WVU's shananigans.

Payne saga finally ends...

Adreian Payne is holding a press conference tomorrow at 6:00 to announce his college destination. For those of us who can't make it out to Jefferson HS, have no fear, Secaur will be making the trip to live blog the announcement; he thinks AP will choose the Flyers. Actually neither of those statements are true but you can tune in to ESPNU and watch it for yourself. Seriously.

One of the more peculiar recruiting processes in Flyer memory will finally come to an end. We have heard everything and nothing at the same time from his Jefferson coach Art Winston about where Payne will lace it up for the next four years.

My guess is he heads for the glitz and glamor of Kentucky. My hope (outside of UD) is that he heads to MSU. While WVU went a little overboard for Payne's official visit, I don't think he pulls the trigger on Huggy Bear. And by the way, WVU is in some hot water over that whole fiasco while hosting Payne. If I'm Payne, do I really want to go to the school and coach that may have vioated NCAA rules on my visit? Then again, I've never had grown adults make signs and t-shirts with my name on them, especially when I was 17. My decision to attend UD was based on a weekend party visit. Just kidding, my Dad reads this.

To be honest, I still had a little hope for UD until we offered D. Oliver. I think Gregory knew Payne was gone for good and pulled the trigger elsewhere, before it was too late. Others still hold out hope, especially after the reports that AP was spotted with some current Flyers at BWW taking in some NBA action last night.

It's amazing to me the attention that 17 year old KIDS garner these days and that grown men make a living off of following them around the country and reporting on their thoughts. Tomorrow, we see it come to an end. But as of today, no one has a clue.

We're all Flyers

Could it be?

Could UD Athletics have actually hired someone to make real videos to promote our top 25 team?

I was kind of getting used to finding my Flyer highlights through grainy youtube videos. Hopefully whoever did this keeps it up during the season. It's not easy to get people all buttered up from the Red and Blue game highlights but put one of these together after we beat GaTech and I'm watching.

I'm on the border line as to whether I really like this or I want to make fun of it. Someone be the voice of reason...

Live from Red and Blue game

Bear with me now as this is my first ever attempt at “live blogging” not to mention my 5th or so blog post ever.

Also, to make sure you get the sweetest live action available, I will be typing directly into to the blog. What does that mean? I am absolutely terrible at spelling; as we speak I’m typing this into Microsoft Word so that the spell check works. All bets are off when I type directly into the blog, especially when Secaur isn’t around to edit it (yes, Secaur has to edit all of my posts).

10:15 The women's Red and Blue game was like Chinese water torture. We should make terrorists sit in the UD Arena and watch that game over and over for punishment. They'd tell us everything.

10:25 The men are out for warmups. A few nasty throwdowns from Wright and M. Johnson. I personally witnessed Kurt Huelsman dunk - so he can.

10:29 Luke Hendrick can (in my best Bill Walton) THROW DOWN.

10:31 Guys ran some 3-man weave full court layup drills and if I hadn't already known he was hurt, Rob Lowrey looks fine. He was running full court, shooting lay-ups, etc. Still don't think he'll be ready until Jan. 1 but wow I'm encouraged watching him now!

10:37 Ok, I promise this will be the last mention of Luke Hendrick, but the dark gray, XXL t-shirt that hangs below his elbows is definitely not a good look.

10:37 Interesting that when the teams separate for drills, guards go to one end and post men go to the other end - Luke Fab goes with the big men to practice. Is that one of the reasons he can't play on the outside? I'm not saying...I'm just saying.

10:40 I mean, I hate the stereotype that "Dayton fans are hicks" as much as the next guy. But when the random hillbilly stops a lady to question her about her relationship to Kurt Huelsman because he saw "Huelsman" stitched on her mommy bag, it's hard to argue against it. He told her he could "see the resemblance", she then informed him she was Kurt's sister in law - God Bless Dayton, Ohio.

10:50 Paul Williams is in warmups. And by warmups I mean a Fubu looking jump suit. He must be hurt. [edit: got hit in the chin and had a concusion]

Red Team: Parker, Perry, C. Johnson, Luke, and Kav.

Blue Team: London, Marcus, Wright, Searcy and Hueslman. Starting lineup preview? Interesting that C. Johnson suits up for the Red.

10:55 4-2 Blue as if you actually care what the freaking score is. Wright with a nice coast to coast, judging from that alone, his ball handling looks much improved. Luke 0-2 from 3 land, he missed his second attempt from around the Dayton Flyers half court logo.

11:05 Luke now 2-4 from the land of three. Searcy playing very solid. Wow do we need Josh Parker THIS year, he is by far a better PG then Perry. I've seen him play for 12 minutes so take that for what its worth.

Halftime: Speaking of things I've seen for 12 minutes and am willing to declare as "better by far", the backup cheerleaders fit that category. I'm sure they can't cheer as hard as the first string but they'd look better on a calendar.

11:13 Aaaaaaand halftime was about 90 seconds, literally. They switched up teams and jerseys and the score and everything. I'm not reposting the new teams. Benson with a nice oop from a white walk-on. [edit: they played 4 quarters, with the same break in between them each].

11:20 Perry looks 100% to these eyes. You know a good way to improve your PG skills? Have London Warren guard you every time you bring the ball up the floor. Perry looks good, better then last year, but not great. Luke with another 3 bomb. --- And another 3 bomb. He's 4-4 after his first 0-2.

11:30 Wright with a nice 3-ball stoke, makes him 1-2 for the afternoon.

11:33 Ok newcomers (keep in mind I'm judging from a very limited time of play) - Josh Parker looks good. I'm not seeing the "scoring machine" some have touted him to be but he is currently the 2nd best PG on the floor today. Has a good stroke but I haven't seen him create anything on his own - hard to do in the dry system BG runs. I'm not hating on it, the system just doesn't leave a lot of room for a player to create on his own.

Kav - he is ready to play Div. 1 basketball but looks a lot like a freshman. (Luke with ANOTHER bomb). I think Kevin was right on the podcast in saying about 4-6 minutes a game for Kav. His first take got glassed by Kurt, however he stuffed Kurt a few possessions later. His body is ready, he's just as thick as Kurt, but you can tell he's a freshman. The guy said he hates eggsavier though, I like him. I'd like to see more of him to make a real judgement but I think that his minutes will increase as the season goes on, especially if he can score like we've heard - haven't seen it yet today though.

Benson - Not seeing the NBA potential we heard about this summer. With that said, he definitely has some range. He's made a few outside shots and had a very athletic reverse lay-in on a bad oop pass. He looks more ready for minutes than Kav and I believe he will get more. Searcy has looked very very good today and from what I've seen, he should get the bulk of the minutes at the 4/5. Not saying that will happen, but he looks good.

10:45 On the floor currently for the Red team: Parker, white walk on, white walk on, white walk on, and Searcy. We got to see Parker create a little with that lineup on a nice take and finish.

11:47 Wright - who is on the Blue team facing the previously mentioned Red team just had a monster oop and slam.

11:50 London is making Parker's life at opposing PG a living hell - just pestering the heck out of him. Parker had to come out of the game he was so winded, but handling the pressure well.

Searcy with a few more STRONG buckets. He has been the star today. All those summer hoops over seas are really paying off. I mean, he looks really good. Rumor had it that he was on his way out with Stephen Thomas (Luke with another bomb (he missed 2 in between I didn't tell you about)) but I'm glad he's here. BG needs to give him minutes this year, major minutes.

12:00 Marcus running a little PG. He has to be the 3rd option with Paul Williams out. By the way Paul looks straight pimpin' in his jump suit.

Wright hasn't really exerted himself much today but when he has, he's looked good. It's easy to see he's the best player on the court. The few times he has taken the ball to the hoop, they've been under control. He's learning to use his athleticism to avoid contact (charging) and maneuver around it - still while bringing the ball high and strong.

12:07 Luke with another bomb. He's around 7-11 for the day from splash town. He's been shooting great but I'm seeing Secaur's point about where he fits in with the offense - more to come on that.

That's your ball game, with a final score of 65-58 Blue. Actually I just made that up. They switched jerseys every quarter and I wasn't attempting to keep you abreast - haha abreast.

Other than Searcy, I didn't see any big surprises out there. If he isn't getting at least as many minutes as Kurt something is wrong. Kurt played solid and I'll leave it at that.

London, Marcus, CJ all looked like themselves, nothing crazy. Wright didn't bring the house down but I don't think he was trying to. When it's game time, he'll shine. Btw, he's still on the floor signing autographs, what a quality kid.

Liked Parker a lot, it's a shame we have to wait for next year's Red and Blue game to start talking about him seriously.

Good production by the Flyers. Lower arena was a little over 1/2 filled. I'll say 4500 showed up. Thanks for struggling through this one with me. Secaur will now spend 2 hours of his Saturday correcting my spelling and grammar errors.

FlyerNation Podcast 10.22.09

We all know Atlantic 10 Media Day is one of, if not the, most highly anticipated events of the year. Tim and I were so excited we couldn't wait to do another podcast for your listening pleasure. In part one, we talk about the starting line-up for 2009-10 and what to expect from each of the starters. Click here to listen.


In part two, we talk about UD's bench, why Matt Kavanaugh won't redshirt, and whether or not Chris Wright is headed to the League after this season. Check it out here.

Atlantic 10 Names 2009-10 Preseason All-Conference Teams

No surprises from Atlantic 10 Media Day today. Your University of Dayton Flyers are picked to win the conference.

Chris Wright was named first-team All-Conference, Marcus Johnson makes the second team, and London Warren shows up on the All-Defensive team. I don't think they pick a preseason Player of the Year, so we here at FlyerNation are gonna go ahead, with apologies to Ricky Harris, and give Wright that honor as well.

No Xavier players made the first or second teams. It's pitiful how much pleasure I take in that.

Oliver Commits

Devin Oliver has officially committed to the University of Dayton. FlyerNation learns from a source that the final scholarship has been filled.

Questions:

Do will still have an offer to Payne?

What if Payne commits to UD?

Am I crazy because I think there's any chance at all we land Payne?

More on Oliver to come....

The 5th 'ship

By most accounts, the 2010 recruiting class has been quite the success for Brian Gregory and the Dayton Flyers. With top 20 rankings from multiple recruiting services, the Flyers have put themselves in elite company, receiving verbals from some of the county’s top talent. However there is one question that has yet to be answered: what will Gregory do with the 5th and final scholarship?

Speculation from most Flyer fans indicate that BG and staff are still hoping to land Jefferson’s Adreain Payne, the local 5-star forward who carries offers from Arizona, West Virginia, Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and others. Payne and his advisors, mainly coach Art Winston have stated that UD is not a likely destination. However with the lack of a verbal commitment elsewhere and appearances at UD open gyms, many Flyer fans still hold out hope that the Jefferson stud will have a change of heart and decide to stay home. Still others say to hold the scholarship for the class of 2011.

Here’s where things get interesting….

Flyerhoops.net is reporting that Brian Gregory has offered the final ‘ship to Devin Oliver – the 6’5” wing forward from Kalamazoo Central in Michigan. It’s FlyerNation’s belief that since BG offered this late, Oliver is going to accept.

Not a lot is known about Oliver, but the Flyers extending an offer his way means one of three things:

1. The ship has sailed on Adreain Payne and UD is no longer waiting – his scholarship has been offered to Oliver.


2. Gregory knows Wright is headed to The Association after this season, opening up an additional scholarship.


3. UD will still take Payne in addition to Oliver and simply Cripe* someone off the team should we not have room.

Option 1 is extremely unlikely. Adreain Payne has an offer from UD until he signs the dotted line elsewhere.

Option 2 is the most likely as BG has a good feel for what Wright is thinking and if he’s projected as a first round pick, he goes. It’s a win/win for UD either way. Chris Wright staying for his senior year will make UD a top contender yet again but if Wright makes the dash after this year, Flyer fans will be able to cheer on the first Flyer alum to suit up in the league since Negele Knight. In addition, Wright will prove that local talent can still achieve NBA dreams by playing collegiate hoops in their own back yard – absolutely a huge step on the recruiting front.

Option 3 allows for a transfer or a Cripe. I’m not in favor of Criping anyone, but let's say Payne commits and Wright isn’t NBA bound – well wouldn’t that be a nice little problem to have, as unlikely as that may be?

The chances of landing Payne are slim but they’re still alive, and when you have a 5-star recruit in your own backyard that has yet to commit, you keep that door open no matter what his coach says he’s thinking. The most likely scenario still remains that Oliver commits and Payne goes elsewhere, making this all moot but it will certainly be interesting to see how this situations play out over the next few weeks.

Flyer Fun Facts: I love alliteration

University of Dayton Flyers men's basketball Media Day was held Monday, and we here at FlyerNation were snubbed. I, for one, am shocked and appalled that a blog which is not even a month old did not receive an invite. (Do you think the people in the UD media relations department even know what a blog is?)

But don't be dismayed Flyer Fans, the university did put out a 23-page booklet of Flyer Fun Facts. Find it hard to believe that anyone could actually compile 23 pages of Flyer Fun Anything? Me too, but click here for the whole thing. Let's review some of the highlights with my own thoughts added in italics.

• Senior Kurt Huelsman has started all 100 games of his Flyer career. Remember the kid on your grade school basketball team who got the Most Improved Player award every season? That's pretty much Kurt as this point.

• Senior London Warren finished last season among the NCAA’s Top 50 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.33. If you'd have told me this during London's freshman year at UD, I wouldn't even have laughed at you. It was so absurd a notion so as to not even be funny. I'm still not entirely sure I believe it.

Pronunciation Guide
Luke Fabrizius - Fah-BREEZ-ee-us
Kurt Huelsman - Hills-MUN
Matt Kavanaugh - Cah-van-AUGH
Logan Nourse - Nurse
Devin Searcy - SEAR-see

I can't even tell you how many conversations I've had recently where I called him "Logan Norse."

• And when Dayton was ranked again during the 2008-09 season en route to a 27-8 record that included a first-round win in the NCAA tournament, Gregory became the first UD coach since Don Donoher to have the Flyers ranked in back-to-back seasons. First thought, this is a little disturbing. Second thought, OP never had his teams ranked in back-to-back years? Yikes. I don't even wanna know when the last time the Flyers were ranked in three consecutive seasons was.

Headlines about Chris Wright
The Wright Stuff
Wright to Know
The Price is Wright
Fight for your Wright
Taking Flight with Wright
Wright named first team NABC All-District

Whoever wrote that last one needs to be fired immediately.

• A versatile player that can play either the two guard or the wing, Luke Fabrizius is a strong scorer with good range from the outside. And whoever wrote that has never seen a single second of Luke Fab in game action.

• The University of Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men’s basketball attendance for the 11th straight season in 2007-08. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 12th straight season. UD averaged more than 2,400 fans a game better than any other team in the conference. This is either really impressive, or it underscores the fact that there is absolutely nothing to do in the city of Dayton, Ohio. I'm going with impressive.

2008-'09 Record by Uniform
White............................................20-1
Red...............................................7-6
Blue..............................................1-0
Black.........................................0-1

Simple solution: Wear white on the road.



New podcast coming early next week. Plus, follow us on twitter under the name UDFlyers.

I Believe

Many won’t believe it until he officially suits up in the Red and Blue, but according to Bill Staten, father of Flyers prized recruit Juwan Staten, he is committed and not looking elsewhere.

Doug Harris reports this in another solid recruiting article from the DDN this (late) summer. On that topic, how about the DDN this offseason? If Doogie keeps up this kind of recruiting info, he’s going to put pay sites like Flyerhoops.net out of business. I say this in jest; Matt Schwade does a great job over there, but the point stands that the DDN has provided better recruiting info then I ever remember. From being the first to report on most things Adrien Payne, who was visiting Sean Miller’s Arizona Wildcats this weekend, to pretty solid coverage of the Jesse Berry and Brandon Spearman recruiting process, I’ve been impressed.

Anyway, good news out of the Juwan Staten camp that he seems steadfast on his commitment to UD. Whether it’s report after report he is not looking elsewhere, proudly sporting Dayton warm-up clothes while playing for his AAU team this summer, or the name on his facebook page reading “Juwan DaytonFlyer Staten,” we’ve heard all the right things out of Juwan and his Dad.

It is worrisome to me that many Flyer fans are as paranoid as they are about the Staten recruitment. As Juwan announced he was attending Oak Hill Academy for his senior year of high school, some feared he was looking for his ticket to the bigger stage. Lots of big time schools sniff around the Oak Hill campus on a daily basis, some of which do not see Juwan’s verbal as" binding" (see Matta and OSU). After all, it’s just UD. He can be swayed elsewhere, right?

But why? We are a tournament team! We are a pre-season top 25 team! When you start playing with the big boys, they are going to be talking to your recruit. When your wife is the 5'11 blonde bombshell at the bar, other men will look at her – whether she’s got a rock on her finger or not. That’s the game you play when you lock up the hot wife. Don't want guys looking at her? Get an ugly wife. Wanna be a top 25 team on a yearly basis? Scum bag coaches from OSU will recruit players who have verbally committed to you – especially since they haven't had a stud point guard since Conley.

So from FlyerNation to you, Doug Harris – thank you for helping calm The Faithful’s paranoia on this one. Although pretty soon the season will start and you’ll have to get back to reporting on more important things ... like why UD and Wright State don’t play.

Five reasons UD will (not) make the 2010 NCAA tournament

Flyer nation has to be feeling pretty good after the success of 2009. Not only an NCAA tourney berth but a win, the program's first since 1990, has the Faithful in high spirits.

Tim is a glass-half-full kind of guy, and he sees no reason why Brian Gregory's boys won't piggyback off of last year's success in the 2009-'10 season. He gives you five reasons Dayton will be in the field of 65 come March 2010. Secaur is, predictably, the eternal pessimist. Last year was a fun one to be a Flyers fan, but last year is just that. And it guarantees nothing for the one upcoming. He lays out five reasons the Flyers could be NIT-bound this spring.

UD will not be dancing in 2010 because:

5. Lack of a third scoring option
My mild dislike for the coaching of one Brian Gregory is fairly well known at this point; it's also an extreme understatement. Because of those feelings I almost made BG's in-game coaching my #5 reason, but then I thought, "The dude won a school record 27 games last year and took UD into the round of 32 for the first time in two decades. Maybe I ought to cut him some slack." It's the first, and likely last, time I'll let that thought slip into my brain.

Since BG and I are boys now, I decided to go with this as my fifth reason. Last year Chris Wright and Marcus Johnson averaged 13.3 and 11.8 points per game respectively. Charles Little was third on the team and Rob Lowery fourth with 7.3 a game, while only one other Flyer averaged more than 4.6 points per. With Little gone to graduation and Lowery likely not back to 100% until January (and who knows if he'll ever be the same player?), I have some concerns about UD's offensive output.

Many will point to Chris Johnson, who managed 6.3 ppg in only about 16 minutes of play per contest. C. Johnson is the likely candidate to pick up the slack and become a viable third scoring option. Others will say that a consistent third scoring threat is not necessary. UD didn't really have it last season, as it relied on stingy defense and different players stepping up on different nights, and that seemed to work out okay.

In my mind, a legit top 25 team needs to have a third guy it can count on on a regular basis. A guy who will step up when Chris Wright is being hounded by the opposition's best athlete and most capable defender. A guy to shoulder some of the burden when Marcus Johnson's jumper just isn't falling. A player you can pencil in for 8-12 points a game no matter what. A few players have this potential, but as the season nears, none has proven himself as that third scorer just yet.

4. Kurt Huelsman

3. Bad Luck
You may see this and think that predicting bad luck sounds like the most ludicrous thing you've ever read. To that I say, read on friends. This blog is only a few weeks old; I can come up with stuff that's far more absurd.

Here's my point, though. The Flyers were something like 10-1 in games decided by five points or fewer last season. (I'm too lazy to look up the actual stat.) A lot of fans saw that as the mark of a gritty, hard-nosed team. One that knew how to get the job done by any means necessary and come out on top in a close one. Others saw that stat in a less positive light. They said the Flyers don't seem to be able to pull away and beat teams by large margins. That squad after all wasn't built to blow out its opponents.

I, on the other hand, saw the 10-1 record in close games as this: an incredible run of good luck. If you played out the 2008-'09 season again, there's no way UD would rack up a 10-1 record in those games. These things even out over time, especially when you have a team that far too often let inferior teams hang around deep into games. Play with fire enough times, and you're bound to get burnt, which leads me to...

2. A razor thin margin for error
This has been chronicled throughout the offseason basically since the non-conference schedule was released. It's a problem that is very easy to identify and far more difficult to solve.

Outside of Puerto Rico, the Flyers really have no chance to pick-up a marquee OOC victory. Match-ups with fellow mid-majors Creighton, George Mason and New Mexico have their benefits but aren't exactly head turners come Selection Sunday. If UD goes 1-2 in Puerto Rico or even if the team loses to Ga Tech and wins its next two, the chance for a resume padding non-conference W (a la Marquette last season and Pitt and Louisville two years ago) has slipped through its fingers.

And let's face it, the A10 itself is always a crapshoot. Other than Xavier, which team can you really rely on to be good? You could have a situation where Dayton's "signature" OOC wins are Creighton and George Mason, and that means the Flyers would have to be almost flawless in the A10 to secure an at-large bid.

UD pulled this feat off last year, I know. But even with 26 wins heading into Selection Sunday, the Flyers were on thin ice. Playing the "what if" game is pretty pointless after the fact, but one can't help but wonder: What if Fordham doesn't let Rob Lowery go coast-to-coast for a game winning lay-up? What if Karl Hobbs knows you're only allowed to play five guys at a time? That's why reasons #2 and #3 are so inter-related. A little dose of bad luck against a conference foe or two combined with such tiny room for error could spell the recipe for disaster ... or at least for an NIT bid.

1. The hunted, not the hunter
In recent memory the Dayton Flyers have never been the hunted. They've always been the hunter - hunting down some big-time BCS schools in the last few years and taking aim at Xavier which consistently sat atop the A10 standings.

Now the shoe's on the other foot. Your own Dayton Flyers are pretty much the concensus pick to win the league this season. They're in almost everyone's preseason top 25 rankings. Xavier has lost players to graduation, one left early to go to the NBA, and its coach abandoned ship for greener pastures.

Suddenly, UD is the team on top looking down at the rest of the league. It's a great spot to be in when you think about it. However, the Flyers had better be ready for a dogfight (not the Mike Vick kind) in every single conference game next year. Be ready to take your opponent's best shot game in and game out. Can the '09-'10 Flyers live up to being the hunted and not the hunter? I, for one, say this will slowly take its toll on this UD team and ultimlately cause it to miss the 2010 NCAA tournament.

The Flyers will once again be in the Field of 65 because:

5. Veteran Leadership
These guys just plain know how to win. Whether it's Marcus Johnson flushing down a dunk off a miss in the waning seconds of a road victory or London Warren straight glassing an opposing guards weak lay-in off a fast break, the senior leadership on this team has seen us go from rags to riches. Gregory gives them a lot of credit for the turning of this program they (yes, that includes Kurt) are and the #5 reason you will hear Greg Gumble announce our name on Selection Sunday.

4. Sophomore Slump?
I don't think so. It's cliche, I know, but Chris Johnson just plain has a nose for the ball. The kid can slam, he can jump, and every time we need a critical board he makes a video game-like leap across your screen to slap that ball tight. I see more of the same from CJ with a breakout year from Paul Williams to help the Flyers dance.

3. Ahhh Dee Dee Dee – D Fennnnce
When you talk about a team’s strong point, you’re talking about defense when it comes to the Flyers. If you want to log minutes in a Brian Gregory coached system, you best be playing defense. This team has shown it has what it takes to be, and I say this with a straight face, one of the best defensive teams in all of college basketball. Team defense along with spectacular individual defensive efforts from London Warren, MJ and Wright will have the Flyers blocking their way to the NCAA’s for a second straight year.

2. No clever saying here – Depth
I remember year after year of being a player away from this team self destructing. Hell, we saw what happened when a 14th ranked team lost a freshman – we missed the dance.

With the exception of the point guard position, this team has incredible depth. This depth goes two fold. 1) UD can sustain injuries should they happen. Now, I'm not talking about your ACL out for the year but the bumps and bruises that will happen over the course of a season and I'm confident our depth will be an asset. 2) While many (including myself) lost years off of our lives watching the first few years of Brian Gregory’s substitution patterns, I think we're stating to get it. He has his players, he's implementing that famous Michigan State system of depth, D and rebounding, and we have the horses to do it. Everyone will score, everyone will play, and come the tail end of the A-10 season, the Flyers will have the freshest legs in the conference.

1. Christopher Flyght Wright
Not only have we never lost a game when Flyght suits up in The Arena but the man has changed the face and attitude of Dayton Basketball as we know it. You could first see signs of it when a young (and arguably foolish) freshman from Trotwood took the ball strong to the rack at Freedom Hall years ago. He was absolutely stuffed time after time but the kid would not stop taking it strong. NEVER have I seen an attitude like that lace it up for the Flyers. Do remember, he had one of the key plays in that game with his gazelle-like striding lay-up in the final minutes to seal another W off Slick Rick and the Cards.

Wright has grown up a lot since that game, and has made this program what it is today. I love being able to out-physical a Marquette team and hear the Big East Network announcers comment that, "Wright has been the sherriff inside today." His attitude is the refuse-to-lose and scared-of-no-one type of attitude that we need.

I could type four pages about what Flyght has done for this program and maybe one of these days I will. But for now, you don't want to read it and I'm scared it might turn into a quasi-man crush love letter. The facts are that the kid is one of the best in the country and folks, he is the #1 reason why the Dayton Flyers will be dancing again in March!