DePaul transfer can’t wait to get to Dayton and bond with new teammates

One player was missing: Kobe Elvis, a 6-foot-2 guard who committed to the program May 14. He’s finishing the spring semester at DePaul this week and will head to Dayton soon.

“I just want to start bonding with the guys already,” Elvis said last week on a Facetime call from Chicago.

Like most of the players on Dayton’s 13-man roster, the 2021-22 season should be the first normal season in college basketball for Elvis. The pandemic touched every aspect of his freshman season. DePaul didn’t play its first game until Dec. 23, almost a month after most teams, because of COVID-19 issues.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to really: having that full experience,” Elvis said.

Elvis appeared in all 19 games for DePaul, averaging 5.2 points. The Blue Demons played in front of fans only four times and never at home: once at Butler; once at Creighton; and twice in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

While Dayton has not announced its plans regarding attendance for the 2021-22 season, a number of college basketball programs — Duke, Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth, for example — have announced they plan to be at full capacity. There’s a good chance UD Arena will be full for the first time since March 7, 2020, when the season begins in November.

“We only had a couple games with fans, but those two experiences, you can tell the crowds do a lot,” Elvis said. “They really motivate you and change the way you play.”

With his year of experience in college basketball, Elvis should be well prepared to compete for playing time on a young team. One of the big questions for Dayton is who inherits the point guard position handled the last four season by Jalen Crutcher.

Elijah Weaver, a senior who played his first two seasons at Southern California before transferring to Dayton last year, will be the top candidate. Elvis and Smith will be in that mix.

“It’s always good to have strong guards, people to compete with internally because that makes your work a lot easier when it gets to game time. I’m very excited to get over there and work out with people and keep being motivated and working toward our goal, which is winning the A-10 and getting into the tournament.”

In his last season of high school basketball, Elvis averaged 26.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game for Bill Crothers Prep in Unionville, Ont.

“I like to play with pace,” Elvis said. “I’m really motivated to win, and I work hard. I’ll bring some characteristics like that. I like to motivate guys and talk to people and make sure we’re not butting heads.”

Elvis has communicated with his future teammates on a group chat and crossed paths with several during his high school career. The pandemic prevented Elvis from visiting the Dayton campus during the recruiting process. When he arrives at UD, it will be his first time in Dayton.

Like many recruits, the decision by Elvis to come to Dayton came down to a feeling that it was the best fit for him.

“They have a close-knit group,” Elvis said. “It seemed like a strong family-oriented atmosphere from the head coach to the the guys on the team. It was a culture that I saw, and I really enjoyed communicating with the coaches. Those connections that were being made are something that are hard to come by with every school. Sometimes you get in a situation where you feel out certain people but you don’t have a great feel for everybody, but I felt like everybody at Dayton was genuine, and it will be an environment where I can thrive.”