“We’re just going to lock in every day,” Holmes said Oct. 29 after an 80-42 exhibition game victory against Capital. “We’ll get back to practice with ten does down, practicing good habits, looking back at film where we could have done better, and as the days go by, we’re just going to keep adding one little detail by detail.”
Veteran NBA guard Mike Conley used the phrase in October.
“I signed here to compete and to have a chance to win a championship,” Conley said. “I’m 10 toes down here with the Utah Jazz.”
In short, “10 toes down” means focus and commitment. No. 24 Dayton will need all of that it can get in the next four months as it plays 31 regular-season games. The first comes at 7 p.m. Monday. Dayton plays Division I newcomer Lindenwood University, of St. Charles, Mo., at UD Arena.
Dayton looked sharp and dominant against Capital, as it should have against a Division III opponent, though there was at least one negative stat. Dayton committed 15 turnovers.
Turnovers have been a weak spot for Dayton the last two seasons. It ranked 232nd in the nation in turnover percentage (with turnovers on 19.1% of its possessions) last season and 292nd (21.2) in 2020-21. The national average was 18.4 last season and 18.9 two years ago. By comparison, the 29-2 team of 2019-20 ranked 109th (18.0) when the national average was again 18.9.
Dayton had a week of practice to look at those numbers and to analyze other stats from their exhibition game.
“We’ve got a lot more to install and a lot to get better at as a team,” coach Anthony Grant said after the game. “I think we’re close, but we’re not there yet. There are a lot of things that we need to fine tune as we prepare because once you get going and the games come at a rapid pace, it’s harder to do that. So we’ll use this next week or so to get done what we need to get done.”
Dayton’s rotation will be another thing to watch early this season. With Malachi Smith, Koby Brea and Richard Amaefule sidelined for an undetermined amount of time and Kaleb Washington also suspended, UD has nine scholarship players available.
Walk-on Brady Uhl, who played 20 minutes against Capital, could be an option off the bench. Grant has used walk-ons in previous seasons. Christian Wilson played 12 minutes in the season opener two years ago. Uhl, a redshirt sophomore guard from Alter High School, played a total of two minutes in four appearances last season
“He’s done a really good job,” Grant said. “He competes every day. He knows his assignments. He knows what he’s got to do. He earned the opportunity.”
MONDAY’S GAME
Lindenwood at Dayton, 7 p.m., Spectrum News 1, 1290, 95.7
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