2024 Maui Invitational diary, Day 3: Covering the Flyers in Hawaii

We’re about 25 minutes away from the start of the Maui Invitational. I’ve been at the arena since 7:30 a.m. I continue to be on Ohio time and was asleep by 8 last night and up at 4. I can’t blame my dog Fergus for waking me up, as he usually does before sunrise back home.

Memphis and Connecticut tip off at 9:30 a.m. One of UConn’s assistant coaches is Luke Murray, son of Bill Murray. I shot a photo of Bill at the Advocare Invitational in 2015 when Luke was an assistant coach on Chris Mack’s staff at Xavier. That photo is now on our Staircase of Fame, along with dozens of other photos of politicians, athletes, entertainers, etc., at home. Half the photos were taken by me, half by my wife Barbara.

Dayton lost 90-61 to Xavier in that tournament in Orlando. It took Archie Miller nine years to get his revenge against Mack. On Sunday, Miller and Rhode Island beat Mack, who’s in his first season at Charleston, 91-53. It was a good result for the Atlantic 10 Conference, which has been hit and miss in its big games.

No A-10 team has a bigger opportunity than Dayton, which will play two top-10 teams (No. 10 North Carolina and then No. 4 Auburn or No. 5 Iowa State) on the first day of the tournament. It hasn’t done that in back-to-back games since the 2000 Maui Invitational (No. 1 Arizona and No. 6 Maryland).

5:21 a.m. (Maui time) — My brother Adam, who lives in Seymour, Ind., sent me a photo Sunday of Obi Toppin checking into a game for the Indiana Pacers. I texted him back, “I was just on Obi’s Cliff.”

Yes, I’ve changed the name of the Black Rock Beach cliffs in Maui to Obi’s Cliff. He jumped off the cliff five years ago, along with Ibi Watson and Ryan Mikesell. before playing three games in the Maui Invitational. I did the same then, but no one was there to film my jump. This time, I brought a waterproof case for my iPhone and documented the journey to the top of the cliff and then off it.

The only real danger is in the climb up the sharp, slippery volcanic rocks. It would be easier in shoes, but who wants to swim out to the cliffs in shoes? Just before I made the leap, which is somewhere between 20 and 30 feet, a large sea turtle swam past. I didn’t want to make front-page news for landing on a turtle, so I paused before jumping. A strap allowed me to hang on to the phone. The recording stopped when I hit the water.

I did not see any players up there. The Dayton Flyers, who play North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. Monday (11:30 p.m. in Ohio), stuck to safer activities. Malachi Smith won a Maui Invitational dance competition, according to UD’s official social media account. The whole team was up on stage dancing at one point.

I visited more dangerous spots later in the day: the Nakalele Blowhole and Olivine Pools, two spots on the remote northwest side of Maui. People have died at both spots. Signs warn tourists of the dangers. I didn’t get close enough to the blowhole to get swept inside, as has happened to others. I limited my chances of being swept out to sea with a quick dip on the pools, which are swimmable tidepools on the lava coastline.

I drove until the spot where the road maintenance ceases and then a bit farther, braving some hairpin turns with no guardrails to protect me from driving off the side of the cliffs. At the end of my drive, I was surprised to find a food truck that served up a tasty if odd-looking chili dog.

I had all that fun after covering the Maui Invitational press conferences in the morning. There will be more fun had today but all inside the Lahaina Civic Center. This morning, I’ll head over to watch UConn vs. Memphis, the first of four games.