Dayton’s trip to Texas should go down as one of its favorites, though. The Flyers finally got the monkey — or the Mustang — off their back and won a non-conference road game in the regular season. The losing streak got more attention the longer it went on, just as Dayton’s repeated failures to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament get brought up every March. The only way to bury the talk was to win a game on the road, and a late 10-0 run carried Dayton a 65-63 victory.
The game will be memorable for several reasons:
* Minutes before tipoff, I was talking to Ryan Phillips, of Dayton’s digital content team, and he mentioned UD had heard former President George W. Bush would be at the game. We had barely finished talking when Bush walked to his courtside seats. I didn’t even notice until I took his photo that former First Lady Laura Bush was with him.
Anthony Grant should have been in on my conversation with Phillips because he was shocked when I asked him after the game if he noticed the Bushes. He had no idea. He laughed at the idea that he was so focused on the game he would miss such a VIP, who Dayton guard Javon Bennett almost ran into at one point while chasing a loose ball.
• The performance of Koby Brea continues to be one of the great storylines this season. He scored a career-high 22 points. He also now owns three of the biggest shots of the season. He made a game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute of a victory against LSU. He made two shots in the final 90 seconds Wednesday, a short jumper and then a 3-pointer, to break a 60-60 tie.
Who’s your favorite Flyer?
I’m working on a story for the Dec. 17 special section we publish every two weeks during the season about the Flyers. Because these stories are due two weeks before they run in the paper, they have to have a timeless quality. Thus, the story I’m putting together next week is titled “Favorite Flyers.”
I asked fans to pick their favorite Dayton men’s basketball player of all time and write about why they made their choice. You can still make your pick using our online questionnaire.
Fans have already come through with close to 100 submissions. They picked players for all sorts of reasons, too.
• One fan pointed me to this 2012 story by Doug Harris about Josh Parker helping a grieving family.
• Colleen Horan picked her dad John. She wrote, “I never saw him play, but growing up in Dayton there were a lot of ‘Are you related to John Horan?’ moments. He’s still the leading rebounder, a first-round NBA draft pick and one of the highest scorers in UD history. Also, a really great Dad.”
• A popular choice was Ryan Perryman. Courtney Deutsch wrote, “The first time I met him, he informed me that his sister’s name is Courtney, and that he’d never forget my name because of it. He hasn’t. We’ve become better acquaintances since graduation, and he continues to engage every Flyer fan that approaches him like they are important and worthy of his time. A true Flyer through and through, and an exemplary representative of the Dayton Flyers men’s basketball program.”
Dayton a second home for Grambling coach
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Dayton’s next opponent, Grambling State, has a local connection with coach Donte’ Jackson, as Tom Archdeacon wrote this week.
He spent 14 years at Central State, first as a player and then as an assistant coach and a successful head coach.
To supplement his first season as a coach, he also worked at Lowes in Beavercreek. “The lawn and garden department, slinging bags of mulch and bricks,” he said.
While he was here, he lived in Fairborn, Xenia, and Beavercreek.
His wife Shelithia is a Wright State graduate.
Although his daughter was born in Toledo, his two sons were born at Miami Valley Hospital.
“Dayton,” he said, “is a second home to me.”
The Flyers play Grambling State at 2 p.m. Saturday. It’s the first of six December non-conference games. The big one is a 7 p.m. Dec. 16 game against Cincinnati at the old Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center), but the Oakland game on Dec. 20 could be almost as tough. Oakland upset Xavier 78-76 at the Cintas Center last week.
Fast Break
Here’s other news that might interest Flyer fans:
🏀 Dayton fans gathered in Indianapolis on Monday to watch two former Flyers, Obi Toppin and Toumani Camara, play against each other in the NBA for the first time. Most of Dayton’s coaching staff also attended the game. Camara and the Blazers recorded an upset with a 114-110 victory against Toppin and the Pacers. Camara had five points in 17 minutes. Toppin had nine points in 19 minutes.
🏀 Saint Joseph’s now has the most impresive victory by an Atlantic 10 Conference team. It beat No. 18 Villanova 78-65 on Wednesday. Villanova ranks 24th in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. The Hawks also have the A-10′s worst loss: 57-54 to No. 298 Texas A&M Commerce.
The A-10 has climbed to eighth in the Pomeroy conference ratings. It was 13th last seasons.
🏀 The first NCAA Evaluation Tool ranking of the season will be released Monday.
What do you want to know about the Flyers?
I want to hear from you. Reach out to me directly at david.jablonski@coxinc.com with your questions and feedback on the team or this newsletter.
Also be sure to follow our Flyer Nation Facebook page for the latest news on the team. I’ll have updates, photos and videos on Twitter, as well.
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