Obi Toppin on ESPN: Dayton Flyers know they can ‘fight for a national championship’

“The attention I’m getting is really amazing,” said Toppin, sitting in front of a camera at UD Arena. “We’ve got a really great group of guys who are helping me throughout my years here and helping me do everything I can to be the player I am today.”

Toppin leads the Flyers with 19.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He has received praise around the country all season and was named the midseason national player of the year by The Athletic. Many NBA Draft experts predict he'll be a first-round pick if he leaves Dayton after this season to start his pro career.

Toppin’s team has helped him raise his profile. The Flyers are 17-2 and 6-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Van Pelt asked Toppin about Dayton’s performance against Kansas in the Maui Invitational championship.

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“Going into that game, we knew they were a really good team,” Toppin said. “We knew we were going to have to fight til the end. Even though we lost, we knew the team we were and so after that game it just pushed us even harder in practice every single day because we knew we could fight for a national championship this year, and that’s what we’re doing.”