Welcome to the 4th installment of The War Room for the 2023 offseason! As always, I'll begin this session with the ground rules for those that may be new. Everything that is reported in The War Room must stay in The War Room. Sometimes the info is sensitive enough that it simply doesn't need to be passed on beyond the doors of this message board thread.
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation.
Without further ado, here it is.... The 4th edition of the War Room for 2023!
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK, MATT!
My point of the “lack of big men that Dayton is recruiting in the portal” was met with some resistance from my sources after the last War Room. According to a few sources, Dayton is heavily involved with former Buffalo center, Isaac Jack.
Originally from Canada, Jack stands at 6-11, 250-pounds. He just finished his freshman season at Buffalo, averaging 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in just over 16 minutes of action a night. He started 20 of the 31 games he saw action in for the Bulls.
He’s a very skilled big on the block, in the high pick-and-roll, and running in transition. He plays physical in the low post and can finish around the rim with either hand and with high efficiency. He shot a team-best 66.1% from the floor (76-115) that would have slotted him seventh in the country, but he did not meet the minimum field goal attempts.
The Flyers have supposedly done a Zoom with him and could bring him in for a visit as soon as this weekend. Other teams involved include Arkansas State, George Mason, Grand Canyon, Oregon State, Pitt, Portland, Portland State, Saint Bonaventure, San Diego, San Jose State, and Vanderbilt. The Commodores have reportedly done a in-home visit and are trying to get him on campus for an official as well.
THE HUNTER
As previously discussed, Dayton is hanging in there with the recruitment of former five star combo guard Hunter Sallis. After not playing much in his first two seasons at Gonzaga, it appeared that 2023-2024 would be his time to shine for the Zags, but Sallis decided he wanted a reboot.
The Flyers were one of the first to reach out to Sallis after he entered the portal on March 31st. Dayton assistant coach James Kane was recruiting the McDonald’s All-American from 2021 when he was an assistant coach at Iowa State. I have been told that Kane flew out to Spokane and visited with Sallis in person recently.
Other schools that have reportedly reached out include Arizona, Arizona State, California, Creighton, Drake, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss, San Diego State, and St. John’s. He’s from Omaha originally, so Creighton and Nebraska could prove to be stiff competition.
Nebraska coaches met with him this past Sunday and he’s already setup an official visit for the 21st to Lincoln—the Spring Game for Nebraska football. I’m not sure if Dayton will be able to pull it off, but I think they need to get him on campus sooner rather than later.
LET’S DUAL!
Fresh off a pretty good showing overall at the Nike Hoop Summit, Garwey Dual is back in pocket now. As he told me before, he was planning to setup more visits after he returned from the Hoop Summit. Dayton is working on getting him on a visit sometime in the next 10 days, but hasn’t nailed anything down in stone yet.
Earlier this week, there were rumors that he had recommitted to Providence after he followed Kim English on Instagram. That rumor was quickly shot down, though, to the delight of the three other schools that heavily involved.
NYCHoops said it could be a three-horse race between the three Big East schools, discounting the Flyers presence in Dual’s recruitment. From everything I’m hearing, Dayton is right there in the thick of it with Providence, Georgetown, and St. John’s.
In fact, if you look at things, St. John’s is the outlier from his first recruitment and his second. Ed Cooley at Georgetown is the coach he originally committed to at Providence, the new Providence staff wants to keep him, and Dayton re-offered him after maybe being his second choice the first time around. Dayton only got him in for an unofficial last summer though and are hoping to show him the full showroom this time in Dayton.
He will be a nice two-way player wherever he ends up. At the Hoop Summit, his wing span was measured at a ridiculous 6-11. No wonder this kid is such a disrupter on the defensive end, he’s a special talent.
LIGHTS, CAMARA, ACTION
This past weekend, the Portsmouth Invitational broke the news that they would be hosting Dayton forward Toumani Camara. He has played four seasons already between his time at Georgia and with the Flyers.
Because of COVID, though, he could play a fifth year in college if he chooses so. As I’ve reported before, Dayton is doing all they can to bring back both he and DaRon Holmes II for another season. I’ve been told all along that Camara plans to declare for the draft, receive feedback, and weigh his options, while maintaining college eligibility for next year.
If Dayton, with the NIL, is trying to take all options off the table that aren’t a guaranteed NBA contract, it will get a big test with their two frontcourt stars. It may be tough for Camara to hear his name called on Draft night, but could get a big overseas contract offer if he continues balling out in Portsmouth.
Those I have talked to from Dayton’s side of things are unsure what will shake out in terms of Camara’s eligibility because it’s such a gray area. One precedent that was set last year was Texas point guard Courtney Ramey, who played in the PIT and played in 2022-2023, but was suspended for the first three games of this season. That also included declaring for the NBA Draft, entering the transfer portal, and eventually transferring to Arizona, so who knows? Hopefully we will get to find out how Camara’s situation differs in the NCAA eyes.
ONE MORE THING...
The Flyers had one more visitor this past weekend along with their newest commit Javon Bennett. Former Penn State forward and Cincinnati native Evan Mahaffey took an official visit, but I haven’t received any kind of news from either side of this recruitment. One speculated to me, maybe he’s waiting to see how things shake out with Toumani before he makes a decision one way or another on Dayton. The way things are going in Happy Valley, I don’t think returning to Penn State would be a viable option at this point. He sure would be a nice combo forward in Anthony Grant’s system!
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room! Thank you to all of you… You are what makes this board so special and the best place to talk Dayton basketball all year round! A special welcome to all of those that have signed up for FlyerHoops in the last week—it’s definitely a great time to do so. I hope you all get to enjoy the sunshine this week with your families! Until next time, We Are…
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation.
Without further ado, here it is.... The 4th edition of the War Room for 2023!
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK, MATT!
My point of the “lack of big men that Dayton is recruiting in the portal” was met with some resistance from my sources after the last War Room. According to a few sources, Dayton is heavily involved with former Buffalo center, Isaac Jack.
Originally from Canada, Jack stands at 6-11, 250-pounds. He just finished his freshman season at Buffalo, averaging 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in just over 16 minutes of action a night. He started 20 of the 31 games he saw action in for the Bulls.
He’s a very skilled big on the block, in the high pick-and-roll, and running in transition. He plays physical in the low post and can finish around the rim with either hand and with high efficiency. He shot a team-best 66.1% from the floor (76-115) that would have slotted him seventh in the country, but he did not meet the minimum field goal attempts.
The Flyers have supposedly done a Zoom with him and could bring him in for a visit as soon as this weekend. Other teams involved include Arkansas State, George Mason, Grand Canyon, Oregon State, Pitt, Portland, Portland State, Saint Bonaventure, San Diego, San Jose State, and Vanderbilt. The Commodores have reportedly done a in-home visit and are trying to get him on campus for an official as well.
THE HUNTER
As previously discussed, Dayton is hanging in there with the recruitment of former five star combo guard Hunter Sallis. After not playing much in his first two seasons at Gonzaga, it appeared that 2023-2024 would be his time to shine for the Zags, but Sallis decided he wanted a reboot.
The Flyers were one of the first to reach out to Sallis after he entered the portal on March 31st. Dayton assistant coach James Kane was recruiting the McDonald’s All-American from 2021 when he was an assistant coach at Iowa State. I have been told that Kane flew out to Spokane and visited with Sallis in person recently.
Other schools that have reportedly reached out include Arizona, Arizona State, California, Creighton, Drake, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss, San Diego State, and St. John’s. He’s from Omaha originally, so Creighton and Nebraska could prove to be stiff competition.
Nebraska coaches met with him this past Sunday and he’s already setup an official visit for the 21st to Lincoln—the Spring Game for Nebraska football. I’m not sure if Dayton will be able to pull it off, but I think they need to get him on campus sooner rather than later.
LET’S DUAL!
Fresh off a pretty good showing overall at the Nike Hoop Summit, Garwey Dual is back in pocket now. As he told me before, he was planning to setup more visits after he returned from the Hoop Summit. Dayton is working on getting him on a visit sometime in the next 10 days, but hasn’t nailed anything down in stone yet.
Earlier this week, there were rumors that he had recommitted to Providence after he followed Kim English on Instagram. That rumor was quickly shot down, though, to the delight of the three other schools that heavily involved.
NYCHoops said it could be a three-horse race between the three Big East schools, discounting the Flyers presence in Dual’s recruitment. From everything I’m hearing, Dayton is right there in the thick of it with Providence, Georgetown, and St. John’s.
In fact, if you look at things, St. John’s is the outlier from his first recruitment and his second. Ed Cooley at Georgetown is the coach he originally committed to at Providence, the new Providence staff wants to keep him, and Dayton re-offered him after maybe being his second choice the first time around. Dayton only got him in for an unofficial last summer though and are hoping to show him the full showroom this time in Dayton.
He will be a nice two-way player wherever he ends up. At the Hoop Summit, his wing span was measured at a ridiculous 6-11. No wonder this kid is such a disrupter on the defensive end, he’s a special talent.
LIGHTS, CAMARA, ACTION
This past weekend, the Portsmouth Invitational broke the news that they would be hosting Dayton forward Toumani Camara. He has played four seasons already between his time at Georgia and with the Flyers.
Because of COVID, though, he could play a fifth year in college if he chooses so. As I’ve reported before, Dayton is doing all they can to bring back both he and DaRon Holmes II for another season. I’ve been told all along that Camara plans to declare for the draft, receive feedback, and weigh his options, while maintaining college eligibility for next year.
If Dayton, with the NIL, is trying to take all options off the table that aren’t a guaranteed NBA contract, it will get a big test with their two frontcourt stars. It may be tough for Camara to hear his name called on Draft night, but could get a big overseas contract offer if he continues balling out in Portsmouth.
Those I have talked to from Dayton’s side of things are unsure what will shake out in terms of Camara’s eligibility because it’s such a gray area. One precedent that was set last year was Texas point guard Courtney Ramey, who played in the PIT and played in 2022-2023, but was suspended for the first three games of this season. That also included declaring for the NBA Draft, entering the transfer portal, and eventually transferring to Arizona, so who knows? Hopefully we will get to find out how Camara’s situation differs in the NCAA eyes.
ONE MORE THING...
The Flyers had one more visitor this past weekend along with their newest commit Javon Bennett. Former Penn State forward and Cincinnati native Evan Mahaffey took an official visit, but I haven’t received any kind of news from either side of this recruitment. One speculated to me, maybe he’s waiting to see how things shake out with Toumani before he makes a decision one way or another on Dayton. The way things are going in Happy Valley, I don’t think returning to Penn State would be a viable option at this point. He sure would be a nice combo forward in Anthony Grant’s system!
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room! Thank you to all of you… You are what makes this board so special and the best place to talk Dayton basketball all year round! A special welcome to all of those that have signed up for FlyerHoops in the last week—it’s definitely a great time to do so. I hope you all get to enjoy the sunshine this week with your families! Until next time, We Are…
