Malachi had 10 points by the time Scoochie and four others were recognized at halftime as the latest members to the UD Hall of Fame, and he finished with 17 points, nine assists and one steal with no turnovers.
“I think sometimes it can get the best of you (following in another’s footsteps), but I think he’s done a good job overcoming that,” Scoochie said after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with former Flyers tennis player Jordan Benjamin (Class of 2019), soccer players Ashley Campbell (2016) and Nicole Waters (2016) and football player Zack Cline (1997).
Congratulations to the new inductees of the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/wT5C2njSDy
— Dayton Flyers (@DaytonFlyers) December 7, 2024
Flyers forward Nate Santos said having past Flyers greats in the building Saturday was motivating for the entire team. Dayton jumped out to a double-digit lead six minutes into the game, never trailed and was up by as many as 28 points in the second half after having to rally for a win Tuesday over Western Michigan.
Malachi was one of four players to finish with 10 points or more Saturday, but his overall performance stacked right up there with the kind of numbers Scoochie would put up routinely. It’s no surprise.
Credit: Erik Schelkun
Credit: Erik Schelkun
“He’s been with me since I was young, and I try to model my game after him,” Malachi said of his brother. “Even when I was down, injured and stuff, he’s been with me, even when I was moving up, playing good and stuff. I try to model my game after him. Growing up watching him, I aspired to be like him.”
Scoochie, who played for the Flyers from 2013 to 2017, was the point guard of the winningest UD class, and the only class to play in four NCAA tournaments. His teams won 102 games, while losing just 36, and Scoochie was a three-time captain and first-team All-Atlantic 10 as a senior in 2017. He remains fourth in all-time steals (172) at Dayton, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.01), tied for sixth in assists (498) and 29th in career scoring (1,289 points).
Since graduating from Dayton, Scoochie has played in Australia, Europe and the G-League, but is currently playing for KK Vojvodina in Serbia.
After appearing in all 138 games during his four years at Dayton, he wasn’t about to miss his own induction ceremony. He hopped on a plane almost immediately after helping Vojvodina to a win Wednesday and arrived in his hometown New York City with just enough time to pick up some nice clothes for the Hall of Fame banquet and make his way to Dayton.
Malachi said his brother didn’t tell him he was coming until Friday. Scoochie missed Vojvodina’s game Saturday to be there, though he did point out the team lost without him.
“It means a lot,” Scoochie said of his induction. “Just to be in the Hall of Fame, coming from the Bronx, being able to have a legacy somewhere else, a footprint even with everything else you got going on, so it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Scoochie said being recognized — with a standing ovation and thundering roar from the crowd — during a game his brother was playing in made it all that much more special, especially knowing how much work both of them put into basketball. Malachi maybe even has done more to reach his current level because of the injuries that have impacted him the past two years.
As a sophomore in 2022-23, injuries to both ankles forced Malachi to miss 15 games, and he underwent surgery to rebuild them six weeks apart that spring and summer. After working his way back for the start of the 2023-24 season, he ended up injuring his knee in the opener and needing season-ending surgery.
Credit: Erik Schelkun
Credit: Erik Schelkun
Malachi still was awarded the program’s “Most Spirited” Award, and now he’s back as a redshirt junior leading the team in assists and among the four averaging in double figures, at 11.6 points per game.
“The word would be resiliency, you know?” Flyers coach Anthony Grant said of Malachi. “And it’s a lot, and I think Malachi still has another level that he can get to, and so we’re going to challenge him and push him to get there. But, yeah, he’s been extremely resilient, you know, to be able to battle back, and I think just with every game, gaining confidence, understanding the standard that he needs to hold himself to, and that we need to hold him to, to help him become the player he can become, and help our team become the team we can become.”
Grant never had the chance to coach Scoochie, who was graduating as Grant was coming into the program in 2017, but he knows how much it meant to the family to be together Saturday. Scoochie left his mark, and Malachi still has a chance to do that as well.
“For their family, I’m sure that’s awesome, but just by itself, Scoochie being inducted, I think, is a great honor for him, for his family, for their legacy,” Grant said. “And I know Malachi is extremely proud of him, you know, for the career that he had and then the recognition that he’s able to get and the legacy that he has here at this university. He was a special player and a great ambassador for UD Flyer basketball.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Marquette at Dayton, 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
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