That season was an aberration for Hunter, whose team got help from Ohio State transfer Shaun Stonerook and Wyoming transfer Ladrell Whitehead the next season and won 18 games in my second and final season on the beat.
I remember Hunter, who died in 2018, had the 1977 national championship ring he won at Wittenberg encased in glass on his desk. I later played thousands of games of pickup basketball at Wittenberg under his national championship banner. I still often address Anthony Grant as “Coach Grant” because I remember Hunter liked to be called “Coach Hunter.”
I mention the 1997-98 Bobcats now because I’ve often said you have to cover many bad teams to get to the good ones — anyone covering the Cleveland Browns right now will agree. I haven’t suffered much on the Dayton beat — one losing season in the last 10 — but there were bad vibes around the program at the end of last season because of the disappointment of coming so close to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season and falling short. The sting of the abrupt ending to the 2020 season and the stink of the 2021 season, played in empty or mostly-empty arenas, still lingered, too.
I often felt like a psychiatrist as fans emailed me looking for answers. I always told them their loyalty would be rewarded at some point. That has happened this year — or will happen as long as the current team keeps winning.
The Flyers are 12-2 after nine straight victories and are on the verge of returning to the top 25 — don’t blame me for them being No. 26; I had them at No. 19. They’ve reached the point where they aren’t being judged only by whether they win but by how they won. A 64-60 victory Sunday against Massachusetts provided an example of how difficult it will be to keep this winning streak going.
My favorite UD fan on X (Twitter), Felix Alvarez, summed it up Sunday.
“The Flyers didn’t have a great game, but they did what they had to do to get the win,” Alvarez wrote. “Being challenged on the basketball court is inevitable, being defeated is optional. Overcoming challenges is what makes the game meaningful. Winners always find a way to win. … Go Flyers!”
The Flyers go on the road for the second time in the A-10 for a game at 7 p.m. Friday at Duquesne. It’s the one A-10 game I’ll drive to this season. My dad Jeff will make the trip with me as he usually does for this game.
I expect UD fans to have a big presence at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The game is sold out, probably in a large part because of Dayton fans. It’s also Duquesne’s first A-10 home game and the biggest A-10 home game on its shcedule. That’ll go for all of Dayton’s A-10 opponents as long as the Flyers keep winning.
A fan favorite gets his chance
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Dayton fans love Zimi Nwokeji. When he missed the Troy game with an illness, I received a number of emails and messages asking why he wasn’t on the bench. When he returned to the bench but wasn’t playing, fans reached out to ask why. Dayton fans care about everyone on the roster. Even if that player isn’t getting any action, they want to know why he missed a game.
Nwokeji has stuck with the program for five seasons now when so many other players have transferred to find more playing time. Now he’s getting his chance and making the most of it.
***
“It’s just his character,” Grant said. “It’s his commitment to his teammates. That’s the quality of guys that we have in this group. You never know when an opportunity is going to present yourself, and I’m proud of Zimi for staying ready.”
This week, I wrote about Nwokeji’s nine-point performance against UMass. One Dayton fan, who has written me a couple of times about Nwokeji read the story and wrote this about Nwokeji in an email, “A class act and a tribute to his parents and family. He’s not acting either (in my opinion). He genuinely understands the need to sacrifice his goals and his wants for those of the team.”
Where are they now
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
A newsletter read asked for updates on former Flyers are doing at their schools. Here’s a quick glimpse at the five players who left the program last season or after last season.
• Mike Sharavjamts is averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 assists for San Franscisco (12-4). He has started all 16 games and is averaging 26.8 minutes after averaging 23.1 last season as a freshman at Dayton.
• Mustapha Amzil has seen a drop in playing time from last season at Dayton in his first season at New Mexico (13-3). He’s averaging 4.7 points in 16.4 minutes. He averaged 9.3 points in 29.5 minutes last season.
• R.J. Blakney is putting up similar numbers and playing a similar role in his first season at Old Dominion (4-11) after three seasons at Dayton. He’s averaging 6.8 points in 21.7 minutes. He averaged 6.0 points in 21.1 minutes in his Dayton career.
• Kaleb Washington is averaging 11.5 points in 11 games for Butler Community College (11-3), a junior college in Kansas. He left Dayton last season in December of his sophomore season.
• Tyrone Baker is averaging 8.5 points in 13 games for Florida Southwestern State College, a junior college in his hometown, Fort Myers, Fla.
Fast Break
Here’s other news that might interest Flyer fans:
🏀 CJ Moore, of The Athletic, ranked Dayton 22nd in his top 25 this week. He wrote, “Dayton has offensive numbers comparable to the 2019-2020 Obi Toppin season, and it once again revolves around a playmaking big man who could end up being a lottery pick. DaRon Holmes II is the centerpiece, and Anthony Grant uses smart spacing to allow Holmes and a guard to play a lot of two-man games.”
🏀 Matt Norlander, of CBSSports.com, wrote a piece titled, “Why programs should follow Baylor, downsize arenas for better college basketball experience.” Obviously, Dayton is not one of those programs.
🏀 Saint Louis picked up a big win this week against Saint Joseph’s after an 0-2 start in A-10 play, briefly silencing the critics who forced coach Travis Ford’s son to create an anonymous account on X (Twitter) to defend his dad. The story made headlines in St. Louis.
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.
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