UD associate coach on 2022-23 Flyers: ‘It should be a fun year’

According to the Instagram feed of Chris Williams, who coached Smith at St. Raymond High School in Bronx, N.Y., the three Flyers played together in the Rico Hines Runs. Hines is a former UCLA player and Toronto Raptors assistant coach known as a player development guru. He organizes a series of offseason pickup games featuring a number of NBA players, including James Harden and Scottie Barnes this month.

Meanwhile, the excitement builds for the 2022-23 season. Dayton associate head coach Ricardo Greer spoke to MidMajorMadness.com this week. Here’s what he had to say:

Greer on the general feeling about the team: “We’re super excited about this group. Last year, we were one of the youngest teams in the country, and these guys got to go out there and compete versus some of the top teams in the country. We actually played the nationals champions last year, Kansas, in Orlando. They proved to themselves that they can play with some of the best teams in the country and now they’re coming back and they’re excited. They’re hungry, and it should be a fun year for them.”

On the sophomore class that includes Smith and Holmes, who started last season: “The best way to get better is going out there and playing at an early age in your career, and that’s what we did last year with a bunch of freshmen. They took it, and they learned a lot. This summer was great for them to come back and know what they had to do to get better.”

On the team’s lone freshman, Mike Sharavjamts: “All the guys who struggled last year in the summer, they’re all helping Mike this year. He’s special. He’s going to be really, really good for us. We’re excited to have him. ... He brings different things to the table. He’s one of the best passers I’ve seen as an incoming freshman. At 6-9, he can play multiple positions. He’s an amazing teammate. He just needs to continue to get better and continue to get stronger.”

On the improvements he expects the players to make this year: “One of the biggest things for us as a team was leadership. Who’s gonna step up and be the leaders on the team, and I think all of them did it. I think Malachi had an amazing summer. DaRon put a lot of weight on and looks bigger and stronger and more confident. Toumani Camara is coming back as our oldest guy in the team. He’s our front-court leader, our team leader.”

On recruiting: “I think we try to get the best guys to fit our system and the way that we play. I think coach (Anthony) Grant has done an amazing job of finding the right guys for us. I think these guys are tremendous human beings. They buy into what we’re asking them to do on a consistent basis, and they just want to win. They had a bad taste in their mouth from last year after losing to Richmond in the A-10 tournament.”

On the A-10: “Every year, without fail, I feel it’s one of the better leagues in the country. Saint Louis is going to be a a top-20 team in the country, in my eyes. You have a new team in Loyola coming in that’s always good. VCU is a top team in the league, and Davidson. It should be a really, really competitive league this year. I’m hoping we at least get four teams in the NCAA tournament, which I think we can.”

On the non-conference schedule: “We’re going to have probably the hardest non-conference schedule we’ve had in (six) years at the University of Dayton. We’re going to the Bahamas again, where you have Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kansas and some of the top teams in the country. We’re going to play Wyoming this year, who should be a top-25 team in the country. We’re going to Virginia Tech. We have at SMU at home. We’re going over to UNLV. So this November and December should be very good and challenging for our guys leading into A-10 play and giving them the experience and the exposure and the toughness to go into league play and try to win a championship.”