Green knows what challenges await Flyers near, far on recruiting trail

That means protecting the recruiting niche Jabir carved out for the Flyers in a talent-rich state recruited heavily by powerhouse programs from across the country.

Of course, that wasn’t news to Green the day she was hired.

“The thing when I was here what we really talk about all the time was relationship-driven,” said Green, who was an assistant to Jabir for three seasons before going to Northwestern last year.

“We’re not ‘The Ohio State,’ and that’s OK. We are who we are, and we’re proud of that. We sold it. We didn’t try to be something different.

“The biggest thing is relationships early and then getting then to campus. When we get kids to campus now with these facilities, we have everything they need. And especially now with the tradition and the success we’ve had, but it’s always come back to relationships. We worked extremely hard to build those early on.”

She pointed out the Flyers’ rise under Jabir was fueled by (among others) local high school stars Justine Raterman (Versailles), Andrea Hoover (Spring Valley Academy) and McDonald’s All-American Aly Mallot (Madison), but Jabir’s recruiting successes weren’t limited to the Miami Valley.

He signed highly regarded point guard Jenna Burdette from Coolville in southeast Ohio in 2014, and his last recruiting class included two ESPN top 100 players from out of state – point guard Jenna Giacone of Delmar, N.Y., and shooting guard Jayla Scaife of Muncie, Ind. – so the process of making Dayton a national name in women’s basketball is already well underway.

Before going to Evanston, Green said she had already seen the Flyers’ trip to the 2015 Elite Eight start to pay off on the recruiting trail.

“They listened because they saw us,” she said. “Now we can say we’ve been to the tournament how many years and we did this, so there’s no question that success opens up more doors.”

But Green might not have to travel too far to build a championship roster because the next three recruiting classes in the state are generally regarded as being strong and deep.

“The ‘18, ‘19, ‘20 classes are loaded in Ohio so we’re in already,” Green said. “And our staff this past year has done a good job and actually some of the kids they are recruiting now I was recruiting before I left.”

If history is any guide, the Flyers will have to compete against not just a rising Ohio State but also major conference programs such as Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Louisville, Syracuse, Kentucky, Georgia, Northwestern, Florida State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Penn State, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan – all of which have signed Ohioans in the past few years.

“We’re just going to keep getting to know these kids, get them here, sell them on our style and atmosphere and let the facilities speak for themselves,” Green said.