What is the deal? His numbers are terrible. Quickly has way bettter minutes and points than Obi.

I like polls.

Do we close out the class with Padegimas, or is it heartbreak city for the Flyer Faithful?

I don’t know his timeline but would think he would not want to take too much longer to decide - summer sessions are already underway.

This would be a tremendous finish to an already really good recruiting class this offseason. Hopefully getting the last impression gives us the edge. I really like Mark Pope and respect the BYU program. It depends what Padegimas is looking for though. Our programs have some similarity but a lot of variation as well. Fingers crossed!

Welcome to the 7th 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 7th edition of the War Room for 2023!

ONE MORE TO GO!

One down this week with Nate Santos joining the mix, one more to go with a 13th scholarship available for Anthony Grant and staff to offer. With Ricardo Greer heading up the recruitment, all eyes are focused on former UCF commitment Petras Padegimas.

The Lithuanian product played this past season at DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida. He committed and signed with UCF last November. He decommitted from the Knights on May 26th and re-opened things.

Padegimas told me that he had Zoom calls almost immediately with BYU and Richmond and recently held one with Dayton’s entire coaching staff. He began an official visit to BYU today. The good news, however, is he told me he will begin an official visit to Dayton on Friday. Following his visit to BYU, he will fly directly to Dayton from Utah.

It will be a battle to get him, but there’s some quiet excitement about the possibility. As one source put it, it’s Dayton’s replacement for Toumani Camara, but Padegimas is a better shooter. We’re talking about this guy as a replacement for an A10 First Teamer and a possible NBA Draft Pick! Sign me up! It would be an unbelievable finish to the recruiting season for Grant and his staff!

NEEDS AN OPP

It’s weird how divisive Dayton Flyers basketball has become. The Nate Santos commitment seems to be the latest that has fans on two sides of the fence. The Santos commitment may not move the needle based solely on his numbers he put up at Pitt. Sometimes you have to look past a kid’s numbers though, particularly when they are transferring down like Nate is.

The coaching staff had a familiarity with Santos out of high school and like what they are getting. At worst, they’re getting some depth at the four, and possibly the three, spot on the floor. Those that know about him and his skillset seem to be high on this commitment.

For those of you still worried about this commitment, I’ll let you know how some of my sources feel about him. I was told on Monday that Santos is viewed as a more athletic Mustapha Amzil. He just needs an opportunity.

I absolutely love what Dayton has done this off-season. Remember at the beginning of this off-season what I stated Dayton need to improve. It wasn’t the rotation that was holding them back, it was the 6th, 7th, and 8th guy coming off the bench that weren’t contributing on a consistent basis. I feel like Dayton has gone beyond that. If they are able to add Petras, this might be the deepest roster that the Flyers have had since I started covering this team in 1998.

CATHEDRAL’S NEXT STAR

Earlier this week, I gave you some of the biggest stockrisers from this past weekend’s Team Camp at Dayton. I omitted maybe the biggest one from that article for this release. One guy that absolutely stole the show was Indianapolis Cathedral forward Brady Koehler.

The 2025 big looked like a man amongst boys at times, showing a polish in his game well beyond his years. He was scoring at all three levels and handling the basketball with a poise seldom seen from a young big like him.

I spoke with him earlier this week and he doesn’t have a single offer yet! It’s almost unfathomable to me, but that won’t be the case for long. The 2025 big has played behind Michigan State commitment Xavier Booker so he’s been kept hidden for a while.

He can start fielding calls from college coaches this week and I would expect his first offer to come shortly after. I am sure Dayton will contact him quickly, but I am not sure if they’ve seen enough to offer him this early. I’d expect the Flyers coaches to follow him closely this summer on the circuit and have him on campus for a visit when they can.

EARLY RETURNS

There seems to be a lot of positive momentum with the Dayton program right now! Everyone is on campus currently except for Nate Santos and Vasilije Errceg. As I’ve stated before, Vasa will arrive on campus on June 24th and Santos will arrive shortly too.

It’s reportedly been a great first few weeks of workouts. From what I’ve been told, everybody is on the same page and willing to compete and put in the work. There seems to be a real hunger with this group.

The transfers all look good and are pushing the returners. The freshman are finding their way, but not shying away from getting after it. That all goes a long way to what I’ve said needed to be addressed in the off-season to make this a better roster and team.

Last, but not least, I am told DaRon Holmes II has returned with a determination about him and this next season. “He looks like an All-American,” is what I was recently told. If that doesn’t get you excited about the fall, then check your pulse. Is it November yet?!

ONE MORE THING

This European trip that was delayed by COVID a couple times, couldn’t come at a better time. With all the new faces and pieces, this trip will serve so much more than just basketball. Hopefully when we look back a year from now, it will be the first step in getting Dayton back in the national picture and in the NCAA tournament.

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 recently, hope you’re enjoying all the nuggets, tidbits, etc that the site and forum provides. This will be my last update of the week as our baseball team starts our run at a state title today with a pair of games. Until next time… WE ARE!

It's about that time of year... Also might as well name this "Archie Watch" lol

Let's start out with a somewhat surprise... Dambrot returning next year

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Starting a new thread for Team Camp next weekend, June 10-11.
Place to post players and HS team attending.

Yesterday it was Amzil, today RJ Blakney.
I think his scholarship wasn't renewed. Just MY opinion

Welcome to the 6th 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 6th edition of the War Room for 2023!

LANKYTOJAS?

The Dayton international pipeline continues to be in full affect. The Flyers coaching staff is trying to find a replacement for their Belgium NBA hopeful and are looking all around the globe to do so. Already adding a Serbian for this upcoming season, Dayton has their eyes on a Lithuanian.

The Flyers have held a Zoom call recently with Lithuanian forward, Dovydas Butka. The 6-8, 220-pounder is a versatile player that has been listed as a Shooting Guard and a Power Forward. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

He was a member of the Lithuanian U20 team hat competed in the FIBA U20 European Championships last summer. He averaged 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds as Lithuania lost in the Championship game to Spain. I think that’s a case of being a good player on a really good team—they finished second in the world!

From what he tells FlyerHoops, if everything goes according to plan, he could visit Dayton as soon as this weekend. Other pertinent details, he’s lefty and turns 20 in July. Other than that, there’s not a lot out there on him. Let’s see if Michigan 4 Life can dig up some video of him to post in this thread. Don’t confuse him with his twin brother though.

TO THE MAX

As you recall, the news about Will Maxwell that came out this week, FlyerHoops was able to get months ago after he visited UD for a basketball game. The family is very excited as was detailed by Jablonski about how many UD fans/grads they have.

Another family in a similar situation, I am told, will be the Grant family. Anthony and Chris’ youngest son, Makai, has or is about to graduate from Chaminade-Julienne. He will be a preferred walk-on for his father starting in the 2023-2024 season. Super exciting for the family!

Back to Maxwell, there are some that believe very strongly that Will could earn a scholarship by his final two years at Dayton. He did have some Division I offers on the table from Akron, Kent State, Ohio, Radford, and Toledo, so by no means is he a normal preferred walk-on.

Will averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists this year for Oakwood. He shot 53.6% from the floor, 36.4% from three, and 72.6% from the free throw line. If anything, he provides a solid scout team player initially with the possibility of being a part of the rotation at some point in his career. “He’s betting on himself” is how it was put to me.

DEUCE

As was tweeted by Trilly Donovan earlier this week, the feeling I am getting from my sources is that DaRon Holmes II will likely be returning to Dayton for a third year. From what I’ve been told, Holmes was not happy with how things went at the NBA Combine or in a couple of his private workouts. It seems as though he feels that he still has some improving and strength to gain in order to get him ready for the NBA.

While I always thought it was slightly better than 50-50 that he would return to Dayton, there was the transfer portal rumors, there was those that were pretty certain he would stay in the draft that left me a little spooked about how strongly I felt that it was NBA First Round or Get back and work hard at Dayton. He could still surprise me though, havr one team that loved him in a work out, and stay in based on their feedback/promises. But it seems more likely that it's leaning towards my initial gut over the latter.

This could be potentially huge for Anthony Grant. If he does come back another year, develops into a first round pick or even greater (!), what this would do for Dayton’s recruiting of big men and their recruiting of wing Cameron Holmes (Deuce’s little brother), etc. Hopefully it would also include an NCAA tournament.

If Deuce does indeed come back, the roster is as good or improved in every position except Camara’s. Which kind of begs the question, who was in Mustapha Amzil’s ear? Minutes and opportunity were going to be there for him had he just been patient. We'll leave that for another time. We should know soon on Deuce, which I would expect to see him get some more time along the perimeter next season if he does.

STAFF MOVES

Jeff Goodman tweeted out about Andy Farrell accepting a position as a road assistant at Siena. I’m extremely excited about this opportunity for him, I’ve known all three brothers since they first came to Dayton. All three of them at one time shared the same aspiration: to be a recruiting assistant out on the road for the Dayton Flyers.

While I think Andy has shined at UD in every position he’s held, I think it became very evident that if he was going to ever reach that goal at Dayton, he was going to have to cut his teeth at another school to get that experience. And without that experience, I don’t think Anthony Grant was in a position to take that risk or even need to take that risk, especially this time around. Farrell went on the road a few times in the last couple of years to fill in for other members of the staff, but that experience couldn’t compare to the experience of a veteran assistant like Jermaine Henderson.

Just an educated assumption on my part, I believe Darren Hertz will remain as an assistant coach and will fill one of those two new head coaching positions that the NCAA has approved and will roll out on July 1st. I would think Dayton will either go external for the second one and maybe get a good development coach (I think Mendes wants to recruit to, but you never know) or look at a guy internally like Sean Damaska.

The other likely scenario is that Damaska is promoted from his role as DOBO and moved to Special Assistant and Recruiting Coordinator to assume Farrell’s responsibilities. That obviously could set the dominoes in motion internally to give a few guys bumps which always promotes a healthy, growing, and internal culture.

ONE MORE THING....

I am extremely excited about next season already. Get DaRon hopefully back, tie up these loose ends on the roster vacancies, and then start looking towards the European trip. Hopefully those that were injured last season are on the mend and will be able to contribute near their usual, healthy players, but in terms of what I thought needed to be addressed in the off-season was addressed. Upgrade the guard depth, and make sure there is quality depth at the end of the rotation. They’ve done that. On top of that, I think they’ve brought in some very competitive kids with team-first attitudes. Being a youth coach, I’ve learned how important it is that these kids are developed into being good team players as well.

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 recently, hope you’re enjoying all the nuggets, tidbits, etc that the site and forum provides. Enjoy the weather, thanks to those that have and are currently serving. Happy Memorial Day! We Are…

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Great opportunity for him to be an assistant coach… Sad to see him go

Welcome to the 5th 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 5th edition of the War Room for 2023!

C’EST UNE BATAILLE

French forward Michael Belle wrapped up his official visit to Dayton and boarded a plane to Richmond, Virginia for an official visit to his other finalist, VCU. This is a two-team inter-league battle. There seems to be a lot of cautious optimism in Dayton about how the visit went, but I joked that it was time to hold your breath.

Belle came to the United States with his sister and agent/advisor. From what I was told, all three were very impressed with what Dayton had to say with all of them providing solid feedback with their comments. Only problem is, I don’t have any sources on the VCU side to hear how it’s going.

Although I haven’t been able to confirm, I have heard that Dayton’s NIL team has proposed to Belle and his crew some of the opportunities/money they had set aside for Toumani Camara. I could see Belle also getting a lot of those minutes early on in his UD career that Camara was playing. Everyone I've talked to has raved about his athleticism.

Although I haven’t been able to confirm the terms, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Jeff Goodman was leaked the information and told to post about Dayton taking a European trip to Spain and France from August 4-13th. That was strategic. It not only says to Belle you’ll have a chance to travel home this summer, but it also tells him you’ll have the chance to be out of the country, making money. We should know something by the end of the weekend as he wraps up his VCU visit today and will fly home and likely discuss with his parents. Yes, you should be blue in the face right now if you’re still holding your breath. Maybe you should resume normal breathing now and just patiently wait on the decision.

GONE FISHIN’

Since the commitment of Marvel Allen over the weekend, I’ve been told the focus has turned to frontcourt players including obviously Michael Belle being brought in for his official visit. I’ve been told that Dayton has had their head down as they try to identify a dozen or so potential targets that can play the four and/or the five.

While it’s still early in the process, I’ve been told that a few of the bigs are waiting to see whether or not DaRon Holmes II will be back in a Dayton uniform next season. Some sources I’ve talked to are confident he will be back, while others are still calling it a 50-50 shot.

Early names I have heard tossed around are Brandon Gardner, who I think Ricardo Greer is the lead recruiting on. He’s the 2023 high school prospect from Christ The King Regional in New York. He’s got some big offers already and is ranked 75th in the Rivals150. One thing that seems to be going in Dayton’s favor is most of these schools are wanting portal transfers with college experience over inexperienced high school seniors at this juncture of the recruiting season.

Another name that I’ve heard is Isaiah Miranda, who had famously said at one time he wanted to play with Marvel Allen in college. The 7-1 NC State transfer red-shirted this past year for the Wolfpack, but averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds a year ago at Southern California Academy as a post-grad.

The problem will be that Deuce has until May 31st to remove his name from the Draft and return to Dayton. Certainly some of their targets will have committed elsewhere between now and then, that’s why it’s important that they have the wide net casted for his replacement.

CONFERENCE TALK

Big East commissioner Val Ackerman is scheduled to meet with Fox Sports in the next 10 days or so. Topics that are almost certainly going to be brought up are the possibility of expansion. With the figures that were released about the top-grossing basketball programs in the country and Dayton being on there is quite significant.

From what I’ve heard about Dayton’s current TV revenue, the fact the Flyers are as high on the list as they are says something about their Return on Investment. If the numbers I’ve heard are accurate, it’s not even close to a million a year that Dayton is bringing in from television contracts.

If the Big East does decide or is forced to expand, Dayton has to be one of the top candidates to receive an invite. What it would do for the rest of the league in terms of TV ratings, ticket appeal, rivalry games, fans traveling is so attractive to those decision makers.

While I’ve been hearing the AAC has been a topic of discussion recently, to me, it sounds like Big East or bust still. With the possibility of the NCAA expanding to 96 teams in the near future, the need to be affiliated with a higher-profile conference for at-large resume building might not be important. But, to me, the TV contracts and exposure should be a huge driver for Dayton to want to join the NBE.

одложен

One of the more intriguing prospects, to me, in all of these commitments is Vasilije Erceg from Serbia. Very little is known about him in the United States outside of those dedicated international analysts and scouts. I’m excited about getting to cover him and watch his development.

When he committed to Dayton at the end of March, he originally told FlyerHoops that he planned to be on campus between mid-to-late May. Vasa recently told me that the timeline has shifted quite a bit for him and his arrival.

Erceg was selected to the U19 Serbian National team and will participate in selection camps over the next several days. He could potentially make the final U19 Serbian final roster that will participate at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup that will take place in Hungary from June 24-July 2nd.

Vasa said he spoke with Coach Grant, who was more than happy to allow him to delay his May arrival until sometime in early-to-mid July to allow him to take advantage of the opportunity to compete internationally for his home country. Exciting opportunity, and without checking the recruiting calendar, I would someone from the Dayton staff to be present in Hungary to support him and take in other international prospects. FlyerHoops wishes him good luck on making the World Cup roster!

ONE MORE THING…

Everyone is home right now except those guys that are currently rehabbing after surgeries. A lot of the transfers will start trinkling in next week. Mali is scheduled to have his surgery early next week. Timetables are that he should be ready to go around the beginning of September so he won’t be able to play in Europe, but should be ready for the season. Keep Mali in your prayers as he gets that other ankle operation on Monday.

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 recently—it’s definitely an exciting time to do so. Remember what I said in an earlier War Room. Dayton needs quality depth on their roster, and I think they’ve done an excellent job of addressing that since the season ended. Make sure to hug Mom on Sunday and tell her you love her. To all the FlyerHoops Mamas, a Happy Mother’s Day to you! Until next time, We Are…

so NBA fans where do you stand?

FlyerHoops Family, Please keep my family and my dad in your prayers. He will undergo surgery tomorrow to have his prostate removed after they discovered he had prostate cancer in the middle of February. Luckily, they said they caught it very early and it has not spread. Please pray that he has a successful surgery on Tuesday and that he gets a clean scan following the surgery. Admittedly, I have a lot of anxiety about anesthesia / surgery after an unfortunate experience with my family's dog this past November during a "routine" surgery I keep trying to tell myself there's a big difference between a small little dog and a human to try and calm my nerves, but it's not helping much. Thank you in advance for your prayers!

Flyers will face #1 VCU for the championship today at 5:30 . Playing at the USTA campus in Orlando FL.

They defeated #3 SLU and #2 Richmond to get to the finals.

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Welcome to the 3rd 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 3rd edition of the War Room for 2023!

EASTER WEEKEND VISITOR(S)

Merrimack guard Javon Bennett listed Dayton last weekend as one of the schools that he has heard from since he went into the transfer portal. Bennett confirmed for me earlier today that he and his parents will be making an official visit to Dayton beginning tomorrow.

As I stated on the message board, Bennett is a very intriguing prospect. His season numbers don’t jump out of you, but if you break it down non-conference vs. conference, first half of the season in his first college basketball experience vs. getting acclimated, he was a totally different player.

Bennett was a 4x selection for NEC Rookie of the Week, went on to win the NEC Rookie of the Year, and on top of that helped his team win the NEC title of Farleigh Dickinson in the conference tournament. He scored 11 points in the second half of the title game, averaged 18 for the tournament, and was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team.

I’ve been told the Dayton coaching staff loves this kid and they will likely try to lock up a commitment from him this weekend.

SECOND TIME AROUND

No, this is not an ode to the store that sold used CDs and DVDs on Brown Street when I was at Dayton. One former local prospect to keep an eye on is Penn State transfer Evan Mahaffey. The 6-6, 200-pound wing was a three-star prospect out of Moeller High School. He didn’t get much of a chance in his first year for Micah Shrewsberry, averaging about three points and 2 rebounds per game, but did shoot decent from the floor at 56.9% and 33.3% from three-point range.

His best game of the season came against Indiana when he scored a career-high 12 points in 13 minutes, going a perfect 4-4 from the floor, 1-1 from three, and 3-4 from the free throw line. He only eclipsed the 20-minute plateau twice this season and came close a couple other games.

He did get into 34 of Penn State’s 37 games this season, averaging about 10 minutes of action. He met that average, scoring 2 points and grabbing four rebounds in their loss to Texas in the NCAA tournament.

Cincinnati, Dayton, Illinois, Kansas State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia were all on him out of high school. I’ve been told that Dayton is very interested in him and could be trying to bring him on campus very soon for a visit. UPDATE: According to a source, Mahaffey will be taking an official visit to Dayton also on Thursday.

COUPLE OTHER TARGETS

French small forward Michael Belle has everyone in Dayton intrigued. From what we know publicly about his recruitment, he was hearing the most from Utah State and Dayton. Since then, Utah State has lot their coach, Ryan Odom, to VCU.

It’s probably a safe assumption, given the portal, that Odom would still be interested in landing Belle for the Rams. What I’ve been told is that Dayton’s stiffest competition may very well be a pro contract oversea’s. This should be a fun recruitment to follow and see how it pans out.

I traded some texts late last week with Garwey Dual, the 6-5 combo guard from Southern California Academy. He was just getting ready to leave for the Nike Hoops Summit. I asked him if he was ready to make a decision after making a couple visits or he was going to make more visits after the Summit and he replied that he would indeed be making more visits. I asked him specifically about a Dayton visit and he said yes, just doesn’t have a date yet.

The Summit will conclude this Saturday and Dual and he may travel back home to Indiana for Easter. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dayton doesn’t try getting him on campus for a visit early next week. Of course, that could all change if Dayton is able to land Bennett. Again, very fluid situation and speculation on my part.

According to a source, Dayton is involved with St. John's wing Dylan Wusu. He's a big, physical guard that is built like a linebacker, but has the NYC flare to his game. He just completed his third season for the Johnnies, averaging 9.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in a little less than 27 minutes per game. Dayton recruited him out of high school when he was at Our Saviour Lutheran and is reportedly friends with Flyers point guard Malachi Smith.

COACHING MOVEMENT

Interesting that an assistant coaching spot was posted earlier this week for the Men’s Basketball team. David Jablonski tweeted out that no assistant coach left, but said the posting had to do with the NCAA allowing you to add two more coaches to a college basketball staff. Important note: the two new coaches will not be able to do any off-campus recruiting.

From what I was told towards the end of the season, there could be some shifting in the coaching staff this off-season to take full advantage of the new rule change. Bringing guys like Joey Gruden or Brett Comer back into the fold certainly makes a lot of sense, but I’m not sure Anthony Grant would take from Donnie Jones’ staff.

Hiring from within is another option with John Brannen, Andy Farrell. and Sean Damaska as options. I’ve been told that Brannen may be difficult to bring on as an assistant because of his firing at Cincinnati. Farrell has been with Grant as long as anybody and certainly could be ready to be elevated to an assistant spot. I’m not sure Damaska is ready to jump from a DOBO role though although a lot of people I've spoken to think very highly of him.

Of course, there’s the option of Anthony Solomon after Mike Brey left Notre Dame. Slo may not want to go out on the road to recruit so he could spend more time following his son, AJ’s baseball career. I’ve also heard that DaRon Holmes II trainer, August Mendes out in Arizona has shown interest in the job. Mendes has a lot of in-roads with some of the best talent in Arizona. I’d imagine there could be an announcement by the end of this month of how this all shakes out.

ONE LAST THING…

Let me preface this with I got zero info on my call with Neil Sullivan and Matt Farrell about DaRon Holmes and Toumani Camara’s situation, other than what I’ve written in the two articles. With that being said, I’ve already reported that Dayton’ is doing everything they can to bring both of these two guys back. Some may find it odd that they haven’t declared for the draft yet. What I find even more odd is the extreme lack of Dayton being mentioned with big men in the transfer portal and in my recruiting conversations. I’ve been told that there are no two bigger fans of Anthony Grant than DaRon and Toumani. I am still very much in the opinion that these two will both eventually declare for the draft, but they’re going to have some very tough decisions if they don’t get the first round guarantees. Dayton is doing everything they can and that's all you can hope for!

CLOSING

That does it for this edition of the War Room.. Thank you to all of you! You all are what makes this board so special and the best place to talk Dayton basketball all year round! And a special welcome to the newbies that just joined the board. Wishing you and your family a Happy Easter! Thank you, Jesus! Until next time, We Are…

Just because polls are fun. Belle reportedly wrapped up his visit to Dayton and is headed to Richmond to visit the yellow Rams before making his decision.

I haven’t heard any tidbits from his Dayton visit, but we know that Allen pulled the trigger during the time Belle was here. We know the Flyers have been recruiting him hard for a while, and VCU more or less got in the picture because of their coaching change.

Predictions? I want to be optimistic but I am voting for bitter disappointment in this poll.

He has committed??

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…