“If we’re playing there, we’re in the championship game,” Joyce said Wednesday. “Hopefully, we’re in that spot.”
Saint Ignatius played two games at UD Arena last March, beating Delaware Hayes 55-54 in the state semifinals and then Centerville 66-56 in the championship game. Friery totaled 25 points in the two games.
With the Ohio High School Athletic Association expanding basketball from four to seven divisions, state semifinal games will now be played at different locations than the championship game, meaning Saint Ignatius would play only one game at UD Arena in future seasons if it makes to the championship game.
The return of Friery gives Saint Ignatius a chance to repeat. He’s the fourth-ranked 2025 recruit in Ohio, according to 247Sports.com. Ahead of him are: Ohio State commit Dorian Jones, a guard from Richmond Heights; North Carolina State commit RJ Greer, a guard from Alter and the son of UD associate head coach Ricardo Greer; and DePaul commit Kruz McClure, a guard from Westerville South.
Dayton offered scholarships to each of the three players ranked above Friery. It also has offered scholarships to the No. 5 Ohio recruit, guard Antione West, of Toledo Whitmer, and the No. 7 recruit Tyler Kropp, a forward from Powell Olentangy Liberty.
Friery, who is No. 190 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, is the highest-ranked Ohio native to pick Dayton since Dwayne Cohill, the No. 132 recruit in the 2018 class.
“I’m really happy for Damon and his family,” Joyce said, “and I would say the Dayton coaching staff did a really good job recruiting Damon throughout the last couple years. The relationship they created was a big reason why he felt, ‘This will be my next home.’”
Jermaine Henderson was the assistant coach in charge of recruiting Friery. Joyce credited him, head coach Anthony Grant and the entire coaching staff for connecting with Friery.
Friery and his parents live in Brunswick. That’s about 23 miles from Saint Ignatius, which is near downtown Cleveland.
“Damon is a great young man on and off the floor,” Joyce said. “He comes from good parents. Amanda, his mother, and his father, Greg, have done a tremendous job with him. He’s the only child. He works really hard. He really wanted to accomplish his dream. When he decided to come to Saint Ignatius, that was one of the things he talked about: ‘I want to play Division I.’ I told him I want to be the coach to get him there. Credit to him for believing in us.
“Dayton is getting a hard worker. He’s going to be in the gym. He’s going to work on his craft. He wants to be great. They’re getting a great kid off the floor. He’s very friendly, very kind and very sincere. He really loves sports and video games and hanging out with friends. He’s very smart. He does good with his academics. He and his mom and dad take that very seriously. I couldn’t be more proud of him, and I think he’s going to have a really good college career.”
Friery is entering his third season as a starter for the varsity team. He would have played varsity as a freshman for most schools, Joyce said, but played for the junior varsity team and helped lead it to an undefeated season. Many of the players on that team played key roles for the state championship team this past season.
As a sophomore, Friery ranked second on the team in scoring and shot better than 40% from 3-point range. That team lost in the regional semifinals in 2023.
Friery averaged 10.6 points per game as a junior. Saint Ignatius will lean even more on him as a senior, Joyce said.
“We lost a lot of size,” Joyce said, “so we’ll depend on him to guard bigger guys, rebound and just be a defensive anchor for us. Then offensively, we’re going to need his scoring on all levels — at the rim, in the post — and we’re going to obviously need his ability to stretch the floor, create space and make 3s, which he’s done a really good job of these last two years. Last year, he played more three and four. With the graduation of some guys inside, he’s going to probably play a lot more five for us. I think it’ll be great for him to show his versatility. He’s a guy that could play on the wing, and he’s a guy that can play inside. We’ll get him ready to be able to do whatever the coaches at Dayton ask, whether that’s playing the three or the four. I know the three and four are interchangeable in a lot of offenses. He’s a guy that can be versatile with how you position him.”
Friery’s decision came down to Dayton and Loyola Chicago, Joyce said. He was supposed to visit DePaul and Loyola at the same time the week after visiting Dayton, Joyce said, but only visited Loyola after DePaul landed a commitment from another 2025 big man.
“I think in his heart he knew that he wanted to go to Dayton,” Joyce said, “but I know he really liked Loyola and their staff, and he wanted to see what they were going to lay out for him as well.”
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