Hall’s name ‘etched in the history books’ as he joins UD’s Hall of Fame

“He’s a good ball-handler and a good leader,” fourth-year Troy coach Barry Egan said then, “and he’s probably the most unselfish player on the team. His intensity level is better this season and he’s an extremely coachable young man.”

At that point, Hall was averaging 21.5 points as a sophomore.

“I feel that I’m more on top of my game (at point guard) and can do more for the team,” Hall said. “Troy is on the way back in basketball and I’m proud to be part of it.”

Hall elevated Troy basketball in the late 1990s and then did the same for the Dayton Flyers, playing a big role in helping to lead the program back to the NCAA tournament in 2000 after a 10-year drought and then starring for Dayton’s first (and so far only) A-10 tournament championship team as a senior in 2003.

Twenty years after his final season, Hall will be inducted into the University of Dayton Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. He will be honored along with Lindsay Fletemier (volleyball), Dave Jones (football) and Stephanie Weisenfeld Kerins (women’s soccer) at halftime of the men’s basketball game against George Mason at UD Arena on Saturday.

“It means a lot,” Hall said. “I still have a hard time putting it into words because anybody that knows me knows I’m not a big awards kind of guy. It actually makes me uncomfortable to a degree. I attribute that a lot to my upbringing. I was raised a certain way. I tried to stay really humble. So just getting any kind of attention, I never loved it. But this is one honor that I really was hoping to get one day. When I got the notice, I actually got a little emotional. I think the reason it meant so much to me is because it’s something that’s forever. Even when I’m gone from this earth, that’s something that my kids and their kids and their kids can see. It’s etched in the history books.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: Shiloh Crawford III

Credit: Shiloh Crawford III

Hall’s name is all over the Dayton basketball history book. He ranks 25th in scoring with 1,404 points. He owns the 10th-highest scoring average for a freshman (10.4 points per game in 1999-2000). He ranks eighth in career 3-point accuracy (39.0%) and third in 3-pointers made (286).

Hall made one of the most famous buzzer-beaters in school history, a shot to beat Villanova at UD Arena on Dec. 22, 2002. In the 79-72 victory against Temple in the A-10 final in 2003, Hall scored 14 points.

Hall played in the final four years of Oliver Purnell’s nine-year run as head coach. Dayton won at least 20 games every season and was 88-39 in that span with two NCAA tournament appearances (2000 and 2003). The Flyer

Hall picked Dayton over four Power 5 programs, all of which had won national championships in the previous 20 years: Kentucky; Michigan, Michigan State and North Carolina State. He made his final decision in July 1998 before his senior year in high school.

“I want to share my college experience with my family and friends,” Hall said then, “and therefore find it in my best interest to stay close to home.”

Hall became a legend in Troy and was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 1999 but was actually born in Piqua, which is Troy’s big rival. His parents divorced when he was 11. He attended Piqua schools through the seventh grade and then went to Troy for eighth grade. He has another strong connection to Piqua. His uncle, Terril Collier, was a star player there in the early 1980s and is a member of the school’s hall of fame.

“I have distinct memories of when I was young — and I couldn’t have been more than 4 years old — of watching him,” Hall said, “and I just loved the game and the crowd. He was the man, and I think that was kind of what planted that seed.”

Hall also drew inspiration from his dad, Chuck Hall, who played at Piqua and at Edison State.

Hall said his parents will be among his supporters at the Hall of Fame ceremony along with his three daughters: Brooklynn, 20; Aubrey, 14; and Ashlynn, 13. His fiancee, Leah Schaefer, who played basketball at Xavier, will also be there.

The decision Hall made 25 years ago to play close to home continues to pay dividends.

“It was kind of against the grain because of power five versus mid-major,” Hall said. “Dayton, we were just starting to climb again. When I committed, (Oliver) Purnell was there and they were under .500. We were in a rebuild.”

Hall came to his decision after spending time away from home with his AAU team and realizing how much he missed his family.

“There was a period of time where I was gone for like two straight months from my house over the summer,” Hall said, “and I came back home and said, ‘Dad, I’m homesick. I don’t want to be away like that.’ And that’s when I knew I’m not the kind of person that’s going to do well being away from home.”

Hall has stayed close to UD by providing analysis on the WHIO Radio broadcasts with the longtime voice of the Flyers, Larry Hansgen, since the 2014-15 season. He shares those duties with Keith Waleskowski and Josh Postorino. The job allows him to stay connected to the program and to get to know the current players and scratches the itch that comes with missing being part of the action.

Hall is also active on Twitter, engaging with fans on a variety of topics and often providing a voice of reason among the many hot takes and overreactions.

“Another big win!” Hall wrote Feb. 10 after Dayton’s victory against Saint Louis. “Proud of how they bounced back after that bad loss to the Bonnies. They used these last two games to remind people they’re still most dangerous team in this league. Don’t forget. Let’s keep that same energy I see when they lose. Show love!”

Hall has seen plenty of fans go the opposite way in this up-and-down season.

“I understand it,” Hall said. “Fans want to make quick, snap judgements and surface-level arguments, but sometimes they ignore the reality because they’re disappointed and you’ve got to blame something. The reality is there’s not a team in the country that could absorb what they was absorbed injury-wise and still have this season that they thought they’re were going to have. It’s impossible. It’s not realistic, and that whole next-man-up mentality is just not realistic.”

Dayton returned its entire starting lineup this season and started the season at No. 24 in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll.

“That top-25 ranking was purely based off of a best-case scenario,” Hall said. “It was based on the returning roster, but that roster is not what this team has had all year so you’re not going to see a top-25 caliber team when they don’t have those pieces. It just sucks that they were hit so hard with the injuries that kind of derailed their season from the beginning in terms of what could have been, but the beautiful thing is they’re getting healthy at the right time. They’re building chemistry. They’ve got a chance to win the A-10 tournament, and I’ll tell you this, if they do make it into that NCAA, I wouldn’t want to play them.”