The Flyer Connection newsletter is back. I’ll do these occasionally throughout the offseason as opposed to the once-a-week schedule I followed during the season.
As always, there’s plenty of news regarding Dayton men’s basketball. I talked to Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan on a wide range of topics Thursday. We spent about 31 minutes on the phone. I had not talked to Sullivan since Dayton’s season ended in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game on March 12. I had been working for a few weeks to set something up. Obviously, I want to talk to Anthony Grant, too, about the offseason developments. He usually grants me an interview before summer practices start in June.
One thing I wanted to know is what Sullivan and Grant were talking about immediately after Grant’s postgame press conference after the loss to Virginia Commonwealth. They met in the hallway at the Barclays Center and then headed to the locker room. I assumed they were talking about the NIT decision. That’s what I wanted to talk to Sullivan about at the arena that day, but he got to the bus before I could get to him. Sullivan confirmed Thursday the NIT was the immediate topic that day. It wasn’t something they wanted to discuss before the final game because the hope was they would beat VCU.
There will be more on that decision in a story coming Sunday. I also asked Sullivan to evaluate the program’s performance last season and the performance over the first six years of Grant’s tenure. He had his most pointed comments about the transfer portal in a story that will run in the paper Saturday and went online today, specifically the tampering issue that has become a hot topic across college sports.
“It’s outrageous and out of control,” Sullivan said. “That’s the best way I can say it. I guess I’ll be really blunt about it. There are very few NIL rules and regulations, but to the NCAA’s credit — if there is much credit to give — there are a couple clear rules that are written in what I call fifth-grade plain English. One of those is that recruiting conversations between boosters, collectives and prospects are just not allowed. Coaches can’t coordinate to have a kid in the portal talk to a collective. It’s just flat not allowed.”
Camara putting up big numbers in Portsmouth Invitational
Toumani Camara’s decision to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament didn’t necessarily mean he had closed the door on his college career. One of the 64 players who appeared in the P.I.T. last season returned to college. However, his play in the first two games makes it increasingly career he will enter his name in the NBA Draft and take his game to the next level.
Camara scored 27 points in his first game Wednesday and 21 games in his second game Thursday. His team will play one more game on Saturday.
People have raved about Camara’s play on Twitter:
• “If anyone was to get drafted here, it’s Toumani Camara,” wrote the Global Scouting account. “He has been ridiculously good.”
• “Has been the standout performer of the PIT so far,” wrote ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “Just too quick and explosive for any big man to handle and has shown some nice versatility on both ends of the floor.”
A-10 transfer tracker: Who’s leaving, who’s coming?
Joe Lunardi already has shared his prediction for the 2024 NCAA tournament field. He had to pick someone from the A-10 to get an automatic bid, though roster turnover at Dayton, Saint Louis, Virginia Commonwealth, etc., makes doing so very difficult. For what it’s worth, he picked Dayton to make the field.
Who knows what the Dayton rotation will look like next season?
It’s too early to tell if Malachi Smith and Koby Brea will have recovered from their offseason surgeries in time to be ready in November. Malachi’s dad, Elliot Rosado, sent me an update of him this week complete with X-rays of his repaired ankles and photos of the incision. Smith has progressed well since the March 30 surgery. The doctor gave Smith instructions this week to move the ankle and use it even if it feels stiff. The right ankle has to be healthy so they can operate on the left ankle in May.
Meanwhile, across the A-10, programs are rebuilding rosters hit hard by the transfer portal. VCU would have been an easy pick to win the A-10 next season if coach Mike Rhoades had not left for Penn State. New coach Ryan Odom has a lot of work to do before anyone can judge his roster. I put together an A-10 transfer tracker story in March, and it’s been a lot of work for me updating it in recent weeks. I don’t think we’ll see many more players enter the portal from the A-10, but there will be many players transferring into the A-10 in the weeks ahead.
Fast Break
Each week, I’ll spotlight news from around the A-10 or other news that might interest Flyer fans.
🏀 VCU’s AD, Ed McLaughlin, had a bold statement after hiring Odom earlier this month.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to win a national championship here, and I believe Ryan Odom is the guy to get it done,” McLaughlin said.
🏀 Saint Louis coach Travis Ford talked about his approach to rebuilding his roster with Stu Durando, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“We have to get better athletically. It was one of the more unathletic teams we’ve had,” Ford said. “A lot is reflected in defensive and rebounding numbers. We were pretty small overall last year. We want more versatility with length at the fours and fives. You’ll see it with some of the recruiting we’re doing and a commitment to toughness.”
🏀 George Mason hired a former Patriots player, Tony Skinn, who was on its Final Four team in 2006 to replace Kim English, who left for Providence.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to step back on campus,” Skinn said. “I’ve had some of my greatest memories here and I’m looking forward to making new ones with our fans and our community.”
What do you want to know about the Flyers?
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