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.