2024 Maui Invitational diary, Day 2: Covering the Flyers in Hawaii

Unfortunately, for them, I had nothing to offer other than a cup of coffee, so I moved on to the Maui Invitational press conference this morning. One day before the start of the tournament, Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant and the seven other coaches answered two questions from the moderator, Andy Katz, and then talked to groups of reporters at roundtable interviews for 10-15 minutes.

It was a good opportunity for me to ask Grant for an injury update on Jacob Conner. As I expected after seeing Conner in a protective boot in a team photo UD shared on social media on Saturday, he will not be available in this tournament, Grant said.

I also asked Grant and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis about Monday’s matchup. Both have had time to dissect game film at this point.

That’s exactly what Dayton associate head coach Ricardo Greer said he was going to do after I talked to him in the lobby of the hotel after the press conference. First I asked about how his family, specifically his son, RJ, a senior at Alter. The younger Greer is not here because he has high school games back home.

Coincidentally, RJ will be in Maui next year as a freshman at North Carolina State, while his dad will be in Orlando with the Flyers, who are scheduled to play in the ESPN Events Invitational for the first time since winning that event in 2021. No official announcement has been made about that tournament, but multiple sources have told me Dayton will be there.

The other highlight of my first morning in Maui was a free-throw shooting contest featuring the eight coaches and local youths. Connecticut coach Dan Hurley and the kid he was paired with won the contest. They combined to make 5 of 6.

Grant made his practice free throw and 1 of his 3 shots in the contest. At least one player was watching. Marvel Allen shouted “Go Coach AG” just before Grant started shooting.