Camara on Flyers: ‘Everybody’s really humble; everybody knows what we’re capable of’

The team’s appearance excited the estimated 435 people in attendance, many of whom posed for photos with the players, and there will be even more hype and excitement in the months ahead as anticipation builds for the upcoming season. Maybe no one will predict another 29-win regular season — something Dayton accomplished with an entirely different team in 2019-20 — but coach Anthony Grant’s sixth Dayton team will likely be his first to start the season in the top 25.

Associate head coach Ricardo Greer spoke for Grant and the program Wednesday as he thanked Levitt for his gift and addressed the crowd.

“I’m excited about this group,” Greer said. “We have a special group here, and I think we’re going to do some special things this year.”

One player’s journey

The story of a team starts in the offseason — really as soon as the previous season ends — and the first Dayton player to talk to the Dayton Daily News and to start to tell that story since a 70-68 overtime loss to Vanderbilt in the second round of the NIT in March was forward Toumani Camara. He sat down at the Cronin Center, where Dayton’s coaches’ offices and practice court are located, on Friday for an interview.

Camara, the team’s second-leading returning scorer and the most experienced player on the roster, declared for the NBA Draft in April but never made his own announcement about that decision. When he withdrew from the draft on May 20, he approached it the same way. He never had any doubts he would return Dayton for the 2022-23 season.

“That was no surprise,” he said.

Camara kept his intentions secret, though, because he didn’t want NBA scouts to think he was not committed to the process. They still knew he planned to return to college, however, and he said that’s why he didn’t get any workouts with NBA teams in the spring.

Camara declared for the draft so he could get feedback from scouts about his potential at the next level, and he did get that.

“There are just small things I need to get better at,” Camara said. “I would say I need to be more consistent and, of course, limit my turnovers and show what I’m capable of doing and be more confident and show that I can win more and be more of a leader on the team.”

After classes ended in early May, Camara traveled to Florida to train at the Miami Hoop School, which bills itself as a “premiere elite basketball training academy and basketball camp in South Florida.” Although he’s from Belgium, Camara has connections to the area. He attended Chaminade-Madonna Prep School in Hollywood, Fla., for three years before starting his college career with the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2019-20 season.

Camara has trained at the Miami Hoop School in the offseason throughout his college career. This time, he worked out for about three weeks with several players preparing for pro careers. Nikola Jovic, who was drafted 27th overall, as was Ousmane Dieng, the 11th pick, and Duke center Mark Williams, the 15th pick.

“I think it was a good experience for me to be able to compare myself to them because (playing pro basketball) that’s the end goal,” Camara said. “Being able to see where they are and to be able to see where they ended up in the draft and where I’m at, that was good.”

Camara, an All-Atlantic 10 Conference third-team selection, averaged 10.9 points and 6.9 rebounds in his first season at Dayton after two seasons at Georgia. He improved his field-goal percentage (48.6 to 51.0) and 3-point percentage (26.3 to 33.8) from his second to third season, though his free-throw percentage dropped (62.1 to 59.1) and turnover average climbed (2.4 to 2.6).

Asked to evaluate his play, Camara said, “I think I had to adjust to the system. At first, I was kind of struggling, trying to find my place. Towards the end of the year, especially when conference play started, that’s when I felt more comfortable and was able to play my game and not really overthink it as much as I did. Now I know the system, so I can just play.”

A humble group

Camara started 34 of 35 games, missing only a game at La Salle with an injury, for a team that finished 24-11. The Flyers return Camara and the other four starters: A-10 Rookie of the Year DaRon Holmes II; Malachi Smith; R.J. Blakney; and Kobe Elvis. They also return A-10 Sixth Man of the Year Koby Brea and one other key member of the rotation, Amzil, the hero of the victory against eventual national champion Kansas last November.

Off the bench, Zimi Nwokeji, Kaleb Washington and Richard Amaefule, who redshirted last season, return.

Playing with almost the same team Dayton had last season was a great option for Camara and one reason he never planned to leave.

“No regrets,” he said. “I love these guys, and I don’t want to leave college without having the experience of playing in March. That’s for sure. That’s one of my biggest goals at the moment.”

Dayton was the first team left out of the NCAA tournament. If the Flyers had beat Richmond in the semifinals of the A-10 tournament, they would returned to March Madness for the first time since 2017. If Richmond had lost to Davidson in the A-10 championship, the Flyers would have heard their name called on Selection Sunday. That disappointment hurt, but at least it can serve as motivation for the season ahead.

“That’s the chip on our shoulder,” Camara said. “So many things happened. That motivates us even more. I feel like we can do it. We’re capable. Everybody got better. Everybody got bigger. Everybody has the same goal in mind. We’re all working really hard together right now. It’s all going to be really exciting.”

Camara saw the early predictions of Dayton being a top-25 team next season. He’s not worried about the team thinking too much of itself before it has accomplished anything.

“I feel like everybody’s really humble,” Camara said. “Everybody knows what we’re capable of. Nobody’s really bragging about the team or what we can do. We’re really confident in our potential and really confident about what we can accomplish. But nobody’s overthinking it. Everybody’s feet are on the ground. We take it as motivation, too, because even if we’re top 25, we believe we should be higher. It’s the competitive mindset and the belief we have in each other.”

Dayton players met with the coaches after the season. Camara said Grant was proud of the way the team fought after a 1-3 start.

“The way we started the season was pretty bad,” Camara said, “and the way we responded to that and how young we were, I think we had a pretty good result. But, of course, we were not satisfied with it. We have a lot of areas that we have to get better as a team and individually.”

Go time for the Flyers

Dayton players spent the weeks after the season in April working on individual skills, Camara said. He worked on a little bit of everything. The offseason is a time to add elements to your game, he said. The Flyers also often played pickup basketball together — not running plays as they would in the Dayton system during the season but in a freer style.

“We were trying to do new things and trying to just touch the basketball and stay in contact,” Camara said.

The team workouts will take place this summer now that everyone is on campus. When the whole group got together for the first time this month, Camara said, “It felt like it was go time. It was time to really start working on what’s coming for the fall.”

Greer has led the team in recent weeks, Camara said, since the death of Grant’s daughter, Jayda, 20, and spoke to the team at the first June practice.

“He played basketball for so long,” Camara said. “He knew exactly what to say. He knows exactly what position we’re in. He does a great job of motivating us and keeps us having a positive mindset. He’s been a great leader for us right now.”

Grant has taken time away from the team, Camara said, but he has seen him from time to time on campus, and Grant did attend a scouting event Friday, Midwest Live at Cedar Point Sports Park in Sandusky, according to one Twitter report.

“He’s a really strong man,” Camara said. “I have a lot of respect for him, for sure. We are a big family. When something like that happens, it motivates us to make him and his family proud.”