placeholder... Pre, During, and Postgame talk of Texas A&M game in Puerto Rico

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Welcome to the 7th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 the 2014 off-season!


ARE YOU XEYRIUS?!
The Dayton Flyers took a huge step in perhaps securing their first 2015 commitment on Monday. They hosted 6-8 forward Xeyrius Williams for an unofficial visit and during the visit extended him a scholarship offer, his sixth such offer. Other offers include Buffalo, Kent State, Lehigh, Ohio, and St. Bonaventure.


He told me he fell in love with the campus and the smile on his face in the picture with his family afterwards said everything I needed to know. I wouldn't be surprised if he committed to Dayton before the evaluation period begins July 9th. Xeryius told me he is going to visit St. Bonaventure and Buffalo on June 28th and June 29th and would be visiting Kent State again on his way home.


FINLAND JULES
As you know, Finland's Julius Rajala visited Dayton's campus last weekend for an official visit. Dayton was turned on to Rajala because of their relationship with his head coach, Hanno Mottola, the best player ever to come out of Finland.


Rajala told me that he would likely make his decision towards the end of this week. I am told the timetable has changed a bit and his decision likely won't come until next week. His father has said they wanted to make sure that they are thorough before deciding and weighing all their options. He would be the first ever player from Finland to play basketball at Dayton.


TIMMAH!
Samford transfer Tim Williams and his family will drive over from Chicago today for an official visit to Dayton. The 6-8 power forward averaged 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 60% from the field and 75% from the stripe. He was SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2012-2013 and was named First Team All-SoCon by the coaches this past season.


He has scheduled visits to New Mexico on June 16-17th and Vanderbilt on June 18-20th. He and Charles Cooke would have to sit out next year with two years of eligibility remaining. Dayton had two transfers sit out in Archie Miller's first season when Vee Sanford came in from Georgetown and Matt Derenbecker came from LSU.


MILLER TIME
As was reported yesterday, Gonzaga Collegiate power forward Sam Miller was on Dayton's campus yesterday for an unofficial visit. The 6-8 power forward has more than a dozen scholarship offers currently on the table.


I have confirmed that Dayton is one of those schools that has offered Miller. The offer was extended a little bit ago before he took his visit to UD's campus. Besides the Flyers, his biggest offers to date include Penn State and Rutgers. He also has interest, but no offers from Boston College, Davidson, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Villanova, and Xavier. No word if he would visit Xavier while he was visiting the Miami Valley, but it seems likely.


2016 FOCUS
Next weekend (6/21 - 6/22) is Dayton's annual Team Camp. While the Team Camp schedule is often not finalized until last minute as teams back out and other teams step in, this year's team camp appears to be heavily focused on 2016.


As was reported earlier last month on this site, point guard Howard Washington and his Canisius squad is coming down from Buffalo. Also, I've learned that both Northland and Gahanna will be there from Columbus. That means VCC Warriors 2016 targets Seth Towns and Matthew Moyer will be on Dayton's campus once again-- both, of course, have offers. Another name from Northland to keep an eye on is 2015 power forward/center Doug Taylor, but the focus seems to be on the next class. Dayton, in the past, has used the camp to bring in some of their top young talent on their recruiting board and it appears that way again.


COACH O
To close out this jam packed War Room, a fun little fact about one of Dayton's assistant coaches I learned. As you may recall, I posted that Tom Ostrom and his wife had their second boy together not too long ago. Here's the fun fact and how it went down:

On June 1st, his wife and him headed to the hospital where she was induced. When everything was stable and she was dilated at a 2, Ostrom left the hospital and his wife that's in labor to join Charles Cooke and the other coaches at the recruit's dinner. During the dinner, Ostrom received a call and they informed him that she was now dilated at a 9 and that he better get over to the hospital. He left the dinner, rushed over to the hospital and at 11:30 p.m., they had baby Maxwell. It was Ostrom's third boy and second in the past three years (along with J.T.). Just goes to show you the commitment of these guys to their job and the hard work they put in for the team you all love.


CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room. The Flyers seem like they really want to get Tim Williams in their program, look for an all out recruiting blitz for him over the next couple of days.


Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round! We Miss you Monster!




This post was edited on 6/12 8:39 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 6th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 the 2014 off-season!


What's Cooke-ing for this weekend?
The Dayton Flyers will host James Madison transfer Charles Cooke immediately following the dead period for an official visit. The 6-6 wing averaged 14.3 points and five rebounds in 35.1 minutes this past year as a sophomore.


It's been reported that he's down to Michigan State, Rhode Island, and Dayton. There's some question marks whether or not he has already visited Rhode Island, but he definitely hasn't visited Michigan State yet and a visit date wasn't setup as of Sunday. Source told me Kevin Kuwik has done a terrific job in handling Cooke's transfer. Charles would have to sit out the 2014-2015 season and then would be eligible in the 2015-2016 season with two years left.


Stop on a Dime
Dayton offered JUCO center Malik Dime a scholarship a little more than a month ago. As a freshman at Indian Hills CC, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in just 10.8 minutes per game. Indian Hills used a similar approach to Archie Miller in that they played a lot of guys and spread out the minutes.


He's back in his hometown of Columbus and Dime informed me that on Monday, he will make an unofficial visit to Dayton. Other schools that he mentioned that are recruiting him include Arizona State, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, USC, and Wichita State.


Run through Buffalo
Last week, I ran a story on Top 50 2016 point guard Howard Washington from Canisius High School in Buffalo. Dayton offered him not too long after their Elite Eight run and it didn't hurt that the Flyers upset both Ohio State and Syracuse in his own backyard.


Washington recently informed me that Canisius will be coming to Dayton next month (6/21 - 6/22) for Team Camp. It will also afford Washington the opportunity to take an unofficial visit of campus. It's a huge win for Archie Miller and his staff to get Canisius to Team Camp, they did a similar move with one of their top 2014 targets (Ryan Luther). While it may not have led to a commitment then, they've got a lot more going for them this time.


Another Transfer Option
Samford guard and SoCon Freshman of the Year Isaiah Williams announced that he would transfer late last week. On Tuesday, he officially received his release from the Bulldogs. According to his father, he told me that all other SoCon schools, Kennesaw State, and Georgia have been blocked as schools where Isaiah can transfer to. The lead recruiter on him at Samford just accepted a position on the staff at Georgia and that's why UGA is being blocked.


His father also told me that Butler, Dayton, Mississippi State, and UNCW have all requested a copy of the release from Samford. He averaged 11.9 points, 3.4 assists, 77% FT, and 39% 3-PT as a freshman this past year. I can't see them taking more than one transfer so how Williams recruitment evolves could depend on what Charles Cooke decides to do for his future.


Big next month
A couple of week's ago in the War Room, I informed you that Stevie McElvene is still working to become eligible. I was told that his eligibility has a lot of dependency on his aptitude tests and that he took the SAT on May 3rd. He'll likely take it again on June 7th and also the ACT on June 14th.


The second summer session begins on June 23rd at Dayton, so we should know more by then.


CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room. Looking for the Flyers to be quite active once this dead period is lifted.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round! We Miss you Monster!





This post was edited on 5/30 10:16 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 5th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 the 2014 off-season!


UNLIKELY ASSIST?
KC Ross-Miller text me around 5:30 on Thursday that he was on his way to Dayton. He seems very excited about what the weekend as he'll start at Dayton and around 8 p.m. on Saturday night, he will fly to Auburn. Those two could very well be his only two visits, although he tells me there could possibly be a third school if a school hires a certain coach. He wouldn't divulge who that third school might be, but said it's more than likely just between Auburn and Dayton with a decision coming as soon as next week.


The other thing that kind of caught me by surprise is who Ross-Miller told me he talked to about Dayton before deciding to visit. He said he spoke with former Dayton Flyer point guard, Dayton native, and current West Virginia starter Juwan Staten. "Juwan didn't play for Coach Miller, so he didn't have much to say on that," Ross-Miller told FlyerHoops. "He was just talking about the college, the town, and the support the fans have for the team and things like that." The two apparently know each other from playing at the various camps they both attended growing up.


THE SITCH
This is a HUGE weekend for the Dayton Flyers. So as I put in a post the other day, Hallice will arrive in Dayton later tonight and his visit will officially start on Saturday so there will be some overlap. That leads to a question though as currently Dayton only has two scholarships remaining and both of these guys are backcourt players. Would Dayton take both? I've been told they most likely would because Cooke would be sitting out and KC Ross-Miller would use his one year during Cooke's sit-out year.


Could there be more scholarships becoming available? We don't know what the outcome of the Devon Scott case will be, but that would possibly open one if there's a negative outcome. Plus, I'm told that Stevie McElvene is close, but still has some work to do to meet freshman eligibility. I'll try to keep a close pulse on both of these situations and keep you updated as I hear anything.


THE NEW T-O
Tariq Owens was on Tennessee's campus on Thursday with his father, Renard. They also visited Middle Tennessee State earlier this week. I talked with Tariq's father and he informed me that they had a Dayton visit setup for May 19th, but because of a scheduling blunder, they had to postpone. Tariq's sister will be graduating from college that day.


His father informed me that he would like Tariq to visit Dayton before making a decision and made it seem like the Dayton coaching staff really wants to get him on campus. The thing hurting them right now is a dead period that begins next week, May 22nd and runs through May 30th. It doesn't look good for him to make his way to the Miami Valley prior to that dead period, but perhaps shortly after.


K-I, NOT A-I
Here's a 2015 prospect to keep an eye on... 2015 Delaware Hayes small forward Khalil Iverson. He averaged 17.2 points per game and double-digit rebounds last year, was a First Team All-league selection and a Second Team All-District. Schools started getting involved about mid-way through last season and he has "several mid-major offers" his coach Jordan Blackburn told FlyerHoops.


The Flyers, along with Duquesne, Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State, Richmond, and Wisconsin are all showing him high interest and will surely be tracking his continued progress. As of right now, he's appears to be a Plan B guy at his position behind guys like Kipper Nichols, Kyle Ahrens, and Dillon Brooks. It'll be interesting to see if he plays his way up on the Dayton board and ever gets a UD offer because a couple of guys I have spoke to said they thought he'd fit "very well" in Dayton's system.


CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room. A huge weekend for the Flyers with both Ross-Miller and Hallice Cooke on campus. This time next week, Dayton could have a couple more players, or still be searching. It's exciting though to have the both of them on campus.


Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round! We Miss you Monster!



This post was edited on 5/16 9:34 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 4th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 the 2014 off-season!


COULD BE 'OWENS' CHRISTIAN THANKS
I talked with Tariq Owens' father, Renard Owens, a couple days ago. First, he picked up another offer, this one from Florida State. But we were able to specifically speak about Dayton and how Tariq would fit in. He informed me that they've been talking to head coach Archie Miller and assistant coach Kevin Kuwik.


Mr. Owens said, "I followed (Dayton) in the tournament, and think their style of play fits Tariq's game if they continue to play the way they did this past year. Tariq is a very athletic 6-10, runs the floor, defends well, and has a jump shot."


Asked if Dayton was involved before his son committed to Ohio and then head coach Jim Christian, he said yes and no. They saw him a couple of times in AAU and in high school and "the opportunity came back around and they have a need for his skill set now."


He said they are visiting Seton Hall today, they will be going to Tennessee on 5/14 and he is trying to get the time off work (a police officer) and get the Dayton visit scheduled after Tennessee.


NO JO-JO
I spoke with KC Ross-Miller, who told FlyerHoops last week that he would be visiting UD for his first visit May 16-18. He told me that Dayton remains the only visit he has currently scheduled, and will likely schedule others starting this weekend. Today is the last day of finals and he wanted to make sure he got those out of the way. He did inform me that he had a visit scheduled to Missouri for the 20th, but has cancelled that and will likely eliminate Mizzou from consideration.


Schools remain the same for him: Maryland, Auburn, Tennessee, Iona, Colorado State, among others. He said he is going to "take it slow because I know I have to find the best situation since I have one year left." We'll have an article on him sometime next week before he makes it in for his official visit.


STOCK RISING
A name to keep an eye on for 2015 that I am starting to hear some buzz about is 2015 wing Sacar Anim from Minnesota De La Salle High School. Dayton will certainly be watching him this summer when he's running with the Howard Pulley Panthers. Other schools showing interest include Creighton, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. Has offers from Drake, Lehigh, and Northern Iowa.


He helped lead his high school to a state championship this past March. He's a taller SG at 6-4 and turning into a prolific scorer. He's slashing to the basket, coming off screens, and violently finishing at the rim. Still, perhaps, his best asset is his lockdown defense. The biggest thing he needs to improve upon is his outside shooting, something that Dayton likes from their wings.


TRANSFERS
I have confirmed that neither transfers Hallice Cooke or Charles Cooke have setup visits yet with Dayton, but both plan to do so shortly. Hallice has visited ISU, will visit St. Joe's starting Saturday, and then would like to visit Dayton in the next week or so in order to arrive at a decision between those three schools. He has a connection with Dayton with Scoochie Smith and the Flyers recruited him hard out of high school. He also was AAU teammates with DeAndre Bembry of Saint Joe's so that's the connection with the Hawks besides the obvious being less than two hours from his hometown of Union City, NJ.


Other possible transfers to keep an eye out that either have been released or could be asking for a release are Eron Harris (WVU) and Tamron Manning (Marshall). Both were recruited heavily out of high school. I am expecting things to start heating up with Dayton now that the spring semester is complete and students will be coming back from Daytona after this weekend.


CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room, I close it with a Congratulations to Alex Gavrilovic on his commitment to Towson! As I mentioned earlier this week, he also visited Ball State, Iona, and UC-Riverside. He will graduate in June from UD and be a Flyers alum!


Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round! We Miss you Monster!




This post was edited on 5/9 4:50 PM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 3rd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 the 2014 off-season!


Butter Burgers
The Dayton Flyers extended a number of new offers this week, many that have already been covered on the message board. One that hasn't been discussed yet is the rumored offer to Warren Harding 2017 forward Derek Culver. He didn't wow you with his numbers this past high school season (5.2 points and 5.9 rebounds), but keep in mind he was only a freshman. He was a basket away (34-70) from connecting on 50% from the floor.


Ohio State and West Virginia have already expressed early interest as well. He's very raw, but plays extremely hard and is athletic. Expect his recruitment to blow up this summer on the AAU circuit.


He's Unique
2016 Hoosac School shooting guard Unique McLean (6-2, 185 pounds) told me he picked up a Dayton offer on Thursday afternoon. He's a Brooklyn kid, running with Team SCAN this summer. He told me he has a 43" vertical and a 6-7 wingspan to go with it. The upside to this young man is tremendous.


He told me likes the fact that Dayton plays up-and-down and straight man-to-man on defense. He averaged 32 points a game and shot over 50% from three last year as a sophomore. He's holding offers from Boston, Dayton, Detroit, Fordham, Manhattan, St. Francis (NY), St. Peter's, and Siena.

Pool Sharkey
On Wednesday, we brought you the story of 2016 point guard that Dayton is evaluating Josh Sharkey. I purposely didn't include a couple of items to save for you all.

Here's a quote about Dayton from him: "I've been watching Dayton for a while. My cousin is Jameer Nelson so I used to go to the games a lot and I remember Dayton always beeing good. I work out with Jameer every summer."


How's that for some good Atlantic 10 bloodlines?

Latest on Scott
Devon Scott's situation is one that could affect Dayton's recruiting efforts in 2014. From what I am hearing right now, the outlook doesn't seem too good for Scott's return. I think the staff hopes that Scott is proven innocent and all of this works out for the good and he is able to return, but I've heard there are a couple high level donors that are not happy about the situation.


Although Archie was quoted as saying they'll likely keep a scholarship, don't be surprised if they use the other two for 2014 with the possibility of getting another with an unfavorable outcome in Scott's case. Another time will tell situation. And a delicate situation, obviously.


What's Cooke-ing?
Here's what I am hearing on Charles Cooke (6-6 SG), the James Madison transfer. He averaged 14.3 points and 5 rebounds this past year as a sophomore, while playing 35 minutes a game for the Dukes.


He visited Rutgers two weeks ago and has took some time off from recruiting after to concentrate on finals this week. I expect his transfer process to heat up again, beginning as soon as today. Dayton, Duquesne, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Rhode Island, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and more are involved. Word is Dayton has a legitimate shot to land him as both Kevin Kuwik and Archie Miller have a long-time relationship with his AAU coach, Matt Pauls. Dayton hopes to have him on campus soon.


Closing
That does it for this edition of the War Room, I close it with a cool picture from Javonna Layfield, the latest UD women's recruit announcing her decision to play for Jim Jabir: http://instagram.com/p/ndTximrdHa/


Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!




This post was edited on 5/1 11:25 PM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 2nd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 2nd edition of the War Room for the 2014 off-season!

Winging It
With Easter being Sunday, the University of Dayton is on a five-day break. All the students, including the basketball players all left campus on Wednesday. For the basketball team, it was the first break they've had since Christmas in December. Needless to say, it wouldn't be an inviting environment to have a recruit in town this weekend for a visit. Ghost town would be a better way of describing UD's campus this weekend.

Apparently, there was a communication breakdown and wing Aubrey Dawkins was never supposed to visit Dayton this weekend, despite what he told me and some of the Michigan writers earlier in the week.

Instead, he will be visiting the University of Michigan, along with another shooting guard target in Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman. A Michigan source told me that the Wolverines will not likely take both of the wings.

With that being said, Aubrey told me "I'm for sure still visiting Dayton no matter what." A source told me that Aubrey is indeed scheduled to visit next week starting next Wednesday, 4/23 through 4/24.

And just to clear up one question, the very first time I talked to Aubrey before the Sweet 16, I asked him if Stanford and his dad were recruiting him, his response: "No, I'm not a bad student or anything, but Stanford has crazy standards."

Overall, I still feel pretty good about the possibility of Aubrey coming to Dayton in the fall.

Guerr-No
I talked with Sunrise Christian coach Kyle Lindsted about his 7-footer from Spain, Ruben Guerrero. At one time, it seemed like Dayton was a potential landing spot for him with a rumored scholarship offer. There was a rumored scholarship offer and his twitter feed seemed to be enjoying Dayton's Elite Eight run.

However, Lindsted shot that rumor down to me stating that Dayton is no longer recruiting his big man. According to the Sunrise coach, Ruben will likely visit Houston, George Mason, and South Florida, before making a decision. So him committing to George Mason is most likely the best opportunity for fans to get to see the Spaniard center play at UD Arena.

No more Turtle
We've heard Dayton mentioned with a few transfers in the past couple of weeks. Another target I am being told is 6-6 forward Nick Faust, one of three transfers from Maryland. The wing was a Top 50 recruit out of high school and would have one year of eligibility remaining. He'll most likely sit out next year and play in 2015-2016, but (I am unsure of his academic situation) depending on whether or not he could graduate this summer, he may be eligible right away.

He averaged 10 points and four rebounds per game, while playing 27+ minutes a night for the Terrapins. I am hearing Cleveland State, Dayton, and Richmond as possible options for Faust. According to what his family is putting out there, they would like to hear from Oregon State. He's a good shooter, who could see his numbers jump up in Dayton's offense where they stress taking only good shots and passing up good shots for better shots.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff
Along the same lines, Nevada's Cole Huff is looking to transfer after blowing up this past season. Last year as a sophomore, the 6-8 forward's points per game climbed more than eight points to 12.4 points to go with 5.4 rebounds while shooting over 40% from three. According to his AAU coach Clint Parks, Creighton, Dayton, Iowa, and Michigan have all received permission from Nevada to contact him.

Nevada's Athletic Department originally put a tight restriction on where he could transfer to, but those rules have been loosened since having a face-to-face meeting with Cole yesterday. It appears that non-Mountain West schools that are closer to his home (near Los Angeles) in Altadena, California, are now a viable option, which could ultimately hurt Dayton's chances. I'll stay in touch with Coach Parks to keep you updated on any developments involving Dayton.

Ko-Ko Beware
I talked with Kori Babineaux last night, the City College of San Francisco guard that once played at Drake. It sounds like Babineaux had a good semester and will likely end up with a 3.0 GPA. It sounds like he is now at the part of the process where his Junior College is faxing over transcripts to potential transfer schools.

Babineaux said that Dayton and St. Mary's College are his top two right now. If the two schools like him enough after seeing his transcripts, they'll likely try and setup a visit in the next 3-4 weeks.

GREENer Grass?
Not long after Mike Montgomery announced his retirement from California and Cuonzo Martin left Tennessee, I was contacted by beat writers covering both schools about the potential of Archie Miller filling those respective vacancies. All along, I thought to myself that I couldn't see Archie leaving for either of those opportunities.

I was contacted by another source that knows the Millers and said that they thought Archie would listen to what Tennessee had to say. "It's a good job and it's not like it's hard to win in the SEC." Like they say, a good job is one of the top four schools in each conference.

I was told by the Tennessee writer that the Volunteers are looking to spend 2+ million dollars, and wondered if that be enough to lure Miller to Knoxville.

I started asking around about the new contract that Archie signed in February. While financial terms were not released when UD held a press conference, a source told me that his salary including the money raised privately now places him between the 1.1 to 1.25 million dollar range. Based on talks, it's believed he earned himself another $100K with Dayton's performance in the NCAA tournament.

To me, that's terrific news if you're a Dayton fan. It shows that they're getting closer to one of the major college basketball programs with what they're willing to spend in order to keep their coach. And best news of all, this was all before Dayton made their run in the NCAA tournament.

With all that said, Archie has always seemed very loyal and thankful towards UD's administration taking a chance on him as an up and coming young assistant coach. I would expect Archie to be picky about opportunities that come calling. A Tennessee or a Missouri may make him pause if they come calling, but at this point, I think I'd be surprised if he left this quickly. I think he knows he's building something special here. You'll hear Archie's name come up early and often for vacancies at power conferences, it comes with the territory of winning. Go ask VCU. I am sure they wouldn't trade a winning NCAA program for a good team with sparse NCAA tournament appearances just to know that Shaka Smart isn't leaving the Rams basketball program.

Closing
That does it for this edition of the War Room. I want to wish you all and your families a very Happy Easter! Safe travels to anyone that will be traveling this weekend. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!




This post was edited on 4/18 9:38 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 1st installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2014. 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 1st edition of the War Room for the 2014 off-season!


Cressler driving elsewhere[/B]
I'll get the bad news out of the way first so it's all good from here on out. As you know, Cornell's leading scorer Nolan Cressler announced he was leaving the Ivy League and Dayton extended him a scholarship offer. He averaged 16.8 points this past season as a sophmore.


I spoke with his high school coach Ron Richards, who informed me that Nolan told Dayton on Wednesday that they've been eliminated from his list. Coach Richards told me that he was hoping Nolan would give them serious consideration because of his (Coach Richard's) relationship with the Miller family. He said Nolan will choose from a list that includes Pitt, Vanderbilt, Michigan, and Notre Dame.


Babi-Yes?
A name that is starting to pick up steam is Community College of San Francisco's Kori Babineaux. Originally from the west coast, Babineaux started his college career out at Drake. After his freshman season, he transferred to JUCO. This past season, he averaged 15.9 points and shot 38.8% from three-point range (31-80). They were upset in the Regional Final on March 8th against a team that they previously beat on the road less than a month earlier.


He told me that other schools that are recruiting him are St. Mary's, Cal Poly, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Diego, and Portland State. I think you'll notice the same thing I did right away. So I asked Kori, all of those schools are close to home, does Dayton have a shot with the distance? His response was "Yea definitely". I'll update you more on him next week after he and I setup an interview.


Bryant Cooling?
From my conversation with Chris Bryant, it was pretty evident that he wants to come to Dayton for the fall. As I mentioned, he has some work to do in order to make that happen. He'll be finishing school in a couple of weeks and then will turn his focus to his recruiting and more than likely, more classes.


At this point, it's probably 50-50 that he ends up at Dayton, maybe even less than that. I don't know if his eligibility picture is clear enough for Dayton to say yes, we'll take your commitment. Perhaps in the next 2-4 weeks, it will be more clear. In the meantime, I'll stay in touch with him and keep you abreast of any developments.




If I had Nichols for every time...
I think Dayton is in really good with St. Ed's forward Kipper Nichols right now. I think this is a huge next 2-3 months for his recruitment. I would say right now that Dayton is the leader in the clubhouse, but there's a lot of bigger sharks swimming around the pond. If some of these perceived bigger schools extend an offer, the race for his services will definitely tighten up.


I leave you with another great quote from Kipper that I didn't put into the article. I asked him what "other" schools are coming at him the hardest and he replied, "Ohio State, Xavier, and Cincinnati have been keeping pretty heavy. And I love Dayton. I love the program, I love the coaching staff, I can't stress that enough. A great group of guys."




Scholarship situation
With three scholarships now after the announcement about Alex Gavrilovic, the coaching staff now has options. I think the ideal strategy with the remaining three scholarships would be to get at least one fifth year transfer or carry the scholarship over. That would then arm them with more than one scholarship (Sibert's) to go after prospects in the 2015 recruiting class.


You've seen Dayton named by a few JUCO players, and I think there's two big reasons for that. They need to add another veteran player to the group with just one senior next year and four juniors that haven't separated themselves from a leadership standpoint. Taking a JUCO would put five members in the 2016 recruiting class, but that could be huge. The Flyers feel good about where they are with some of the state's top 2016 high school prospects. All signs are pointing towards the Flyers trying to make a big splash in 2016 with guys like Seth Towns and Matthew Moyer.


Closing
That does it for this edition of the War Room. What a season it was, what a ride I was lucky to cover. It will be exciting to see if Dayton can turn an Elite Eight run into gold on the recruiting trails. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!

This post was edited on 4/11 10:18 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 3rd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2013. 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.

Here it is.... The 3rd edition of the War Room for the 2013 off-season!

Big East
From what I am hearing, Dayton is definitely still a top option if/when the Big East decides to expand. The Flyers are also hoping to hear something before July 1st, but it shouldn't be taken as a negative if nothing is announced before then.

My sources are telling me that Fox Sports likes the idea that was thrown out there last year for college football to have four super conferences, comprised of 16 teams separated into two 8-team divisions. They like it so much that they may push the Big East to become the first superconference in college basketball. The move from 10-to-16 teams likely wouldn't happen all at once, but adding four for 2014-2015 seems very plausible.

Buy Game
Dayton will host St. Francis (NY) in one of their buy games at UD Arena during the non-conference schedule. The Terriers return four starters after finishing last season at 12-18. They return their top two scorers in Jalen Cannon (14.7 ppg, 8.8 rebs) and Ben Mockford (11.1 ppg, 40% from three).

I originally thought it might be a home-and-home so they could get to tell members of the 2014 class in Brooklyn they are recruiting that they'll play a game in front of their friends and family, but confirmed it's just one game. I am sure Allen Griffin had something to do with this game as he is from Brooklyn and was a member of the St. Francis coaching staff a few years back.

Three Shooting Guards in June
Jared Nickens will be making an official visit on June 28th, he told me via text message. He'll also visit Maryland and Wake Forest and already has been to Oregon State. He told me that he doesn't know yet whether or not a decision will be made after his June visits. It seems to me like he could make a commitment prior to the July evaluation period.

I also traded some texts with J.P. Macura and he let me know he will probably make an unofficial visit to Dayton this month. He doesn't have a date setup yet, but did tell me that it will probably be towards the end of the month.

Lastly, one more unofficial possibly during June as Akron St. Vincent St. Mary shooting guard Jalen Hudson told me he is going to try and make an unofficial to Dayton along with a few other schools.

Up 1-0, whoops, not those Bruins
The Ballard Bruins are a school Dayton fans should familiarize themselves with. The Bruins were 32-5 a year ago, losing to Madison Central in the state championship. The Bruins have three players over the next three classes that the Flyers are showing interest in.

2014: Kelan Martin (6-6, 215) SF
2015: Jalen Perry (6-2, 175) SG
2016: Malik Dow (6-3, 175) WF

I would expect the Flyers to try and get Ballard to their team camp either either this year or next year for sure.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Sorry for not having this on Friday, but I was dealing with kidney stones and was at the doctor. That's the reason why the Nickens information is out-dated. Thanks though to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!

Previous War Rooms for 2013



This post was edited on 6/17 8:01 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 2nd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2013. 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.

Here it is.... The 2nd edition of the War Room for the 2013 off-season!

Aloha Zags
Although pairings won't be announced for a couple more months, there is rumors circulating with my sources that Dayton's likely first round opponent in Maui will be Gonzaga. This would be the first time the two Catholic schools that are known for hoops have ever met on the hardwood.

The Bulldogs were an impressive 32-2 last season, but were bounced in the NCAA Third Round by eventual Final Four participant Wichita State. The Zags returning the dynamic Kevin Pangos, which also sets the stage for quite a watch party in Ontario with Dyshawn Pierre and Pangos playing in the same game. Luckily for Dayton, it appears 7-footer Kelly Olynyk is headed to the NBA (although he hasn't signed with an agent yet).

In the middie of a hunt
Despite rumors that Vincent Edwards might be down to Michigan and Purdue, Dayton remains in the hunt. He averaged 21.5 points and 12.4 rebounds as a junior and remains a top target for the Flyers.

He confirmed to FlyerHoops that Dayton is still right there and that the Middies will be at the Flyers Team Camp in June. They were also there last year, being coached by former Flyers sharpshooter Norm Grevey. Edwards said he is thinking a decision should come for him shortly after AAU season concludes.

Going Denim?
The Dayton Flyers are starting to get more involved with Picayune, Mississippi big man Levi Strong. The junior from Hancock High School averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds a year ago, and is running on the AAU circuit with the D1 Ambassadors. He's surprisingly athletic at 6-8, 220 pounds.

He's a very versatile offensive big, and his game reminds some of Kevin Love. I was surprised to hear that it wasn't Ostrom recruiting him, but Coach Kuwik is the lead recruiter. Expect the Flyers to follow his progress in July closely. Right now, it's mostly smaller D1 schools from that region including Tulane and Southern Miss, but if the staff is on him now, given his location, there's a good chance others are about to follow.

Holding Over
Right now, Dayton is scheduled to have three scholarships for the 2014 class with Devin Oliver, Vee Sanford, and now Matt Kavanaugh scheduled to graduate. If you've noticed, Archie Miller and staff have always had at least one scholarship to give in the spring.

I'm hearing they'd like to get a wing and a big, and carry over the last to the spring and bring in someone late in the 2014 class. They'll likely try to nab an impact transfer just as they did with Vee Sanford, Matt Derenbecker, and Jordan Sibert. The only reason they didn't this season was because it's been known for a while that Big Kav was likely to return. It's been noted to me that if they do have one available in the late period, they're going to be very picky and bring someone that can be a program changer.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round! Have a great Memorial Day weekend and safe travels if you're going anywhere!

Previous War Rooms for 2012-2013

This post was edited on 5/24 9:52 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 1st installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2013. 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 1st edition of the War Room for the 2013 off-season!

Familiarity
There was rumors a couple of years ago that a clause in Brian Gregory's contract stipulated that if he left Dayton for a BCS school, they would have to play Dayton in a home-and-home series. Sources have told FlyerHoops that the a clause actually said it would be a four-game series (two home and two away). Lawyers on both sides are the reason why that series didn't begin a year ago, but it looks like they have come to an agreement.

A source said that the Flyers will visit the McCamish Pavilion on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The source didn't reveal whether a compromise was reached or the full four games will be played between the two squads. The Yellow Jackets were 16-15 a year ago, but return a lot of young talent. At the end of the regular season, they stunned sixth ranked Miami (FL) in Coral Gables on a buzzer-beater. It will be a tough road challenge and a good tune-up for the Flyers a week before they travel to Maui for the Maui Invitational.

More Exposure?
With Xavier's move to the Big East, Fox Sports 1 will have rights to all Big East "conference-controlled men's basketball games." Sources have told FlyerHoops that Fox Sports Ohio has been looking to add more Dayton games to their programming package as a result.

Two seasons ago, Fox Sports Ohio broadcasted five Dayton games. Last year, they only broadcasted one because of Time Warner Sports late agreement reached with UD. Xavier completed two years of a three-year agreement they signed with FSN Ohio prior to the 2011-2012 season to broadcast at least eight Xavier Men's basketball games. It's a contract they were able to use to their advantage when recruiting nationally because of its availability with satellite companies. If more games are picked up on FSN Ohio, it would be a big win for the Flyers.

St. V's offer
The Flyers had a solid four seasons from Marcus Johnson, the only St. Vincent-St. Mary grad to play basketball at Dayton. That all could change for 2014 as the Flyers have just offered rising in-state prospect, Jalen Hudson.

The shooting guard has terrific athleticism and has offers from most of the MAC. He's running with The Family in the EYBL and averaging 8.3 points in about 25 minutes per game. We should have a recruiting article on him in the next couple of weeks so be on the lookout for that.

More on Mike
On Wednesday, we had a story about another shooting guard in Bishop Loughlin's Mike Williams. While he doesn't have an offer from Dayton yet, sources are saying it could be just a matter of time. He said he has a great relationship with Coach Griffin, who grew up in Brooklyn too.

What wasn't said was how he has a great relationship with freshman point guard Dayshon "Scoochie" Smith. He said he has known Scoochie for a long time and considers him one of his closest friends. He told me they have never played together, but thinks it would be cool to do so in college. While they haven't specifically talked about it, it could be a real possibility.

Scoochie time
And in case you missed it, Scoochie is now on campus for the first summer session. He arrived last Saturday and wasted no time tweeting that he had just got up 1,000 shots. I have a feeling he is going to play a big role this upcoming season with Kevin Dillard moving on to the next level.


That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!
This post was edited on 5/17 4:05 PM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 8th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

So here it is, the 8th edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Arkansas' Finest
In last week's War Room, I told you about a new point guard in Arkansas Wings floor general Dayshawn Watkins. It wasn't too long after that I learned that the Dayton Flyers had extended him a scholarship offer.

"They offered the other day," Watkins told me yesterday. "I already like the stuff I'm hearing about Dayton, just can't wait to get on campus to see it."

I asked him when he thought that visit would come, he told me probably going to be sometime this month.

As far as an offer sheet goes, Arkansas-Little Rock, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, Missouri State, Ole Miss, Tulsa, and UAB have already tendered a scholarship offer.

Down the stretch...
I talked yesterday with Maverick Morgan from Springboro. He informed me that a decision could be coming in the next week or so, while I am on vacation. He told me that Dayton "has just as good of chance as anyone else" to land him.

He'll start his final three visits today. He'll be at Illinois today, Wisconsin on the 13th and 14th, and then wrap up at Minnesota on the 15th. A source told me they thought it might be a two-horse race between Minnesota and Dayton, but Vanderbilt and Wisconsin are both Wild Cards at this time. I'm going to do my best to stay on top of this situation, even when I am riding "It's a Small World."

What can Brown do for you?
The Dayton Flyers, and other schools for that matter, are turning the heat up on Jaylon Brown, PG on Maverick Morgan's AAU team. Brown has been playing terrific in AAU ball and analysts are predicting him to blow up in front of college coaches in July.

Schools like Evansville, Ohio, Toledo, Illinois State, and Miami have already offered, while Dayton, Cincinnati, and Virginia were showing some high interest of late. Brown told me that the UD coaches are staying in contact with his father pretty regularly. He is ranked 133rd in the 2013 Rivals150.

One-way ticket
For some reason, it's tough to confirm games on the schedule, but I did hear one more possibility for a buy game. I've heard that the Flyers may be playing Florida Atlantic this fall in a one-way game at UD Arena. I haven't heard a date, nor have I heard that it's a definite game on the schedule. We should all know here very soon though.

The Owls finished 11-19 a year ago. They return almost everyone except for two seniors including their top three scorers. They're expected to be competitive in the Sun Belt Conference this season with six seniors on the roster.

Decision Coming...
I don't have much of an update about Tyler Harris except that a decision could come as early as today or tomorrow, but expected to at least come down this week. I talked to a source of mine, and the feeling on whether or not Dayton can land Harris is confident, but not over-confident.

His dad, who accompanied Tyler on the visit, was in Saint Louis last week with his younger son at the Elite 100. The plan was to sit down and hash things out together and then inform the coaches involved. I'm hoping to hear something, but hoping it's after I'm done packing so I have more time to write and interview

That does it for this edition of the War Room! Thanks to everyone for your support. Thank you and welcome to the new subscribers as well! It's fans like you that make this the best site to talk everything Dayton Flyers.

Tomorrow's the start of my vacation and I hope that this surprise War Room allows me to leave for a week with no worries. As I've said, if a commitment happens, I'll be covering it for you. I'm expecting the schedule to be out maybe by the end of the week and hoping that I get a list of schools attending Dayton's Team Camp at the beginning of next week. Until next week (or a commitment happens)... Signing off.
This post was edited on 6/12 9:35 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 7th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

Things are starting to heat up in 2012 as we near the end of the school year.... So here it is, the 7th edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Two O's in Goose
Not Goose, Maverick. It was reported earlier this week that Maverick Morgan was down to six schools. I talked with him on Wednesday, and he let me know that he's going to be making a decision at the end of the month. He's going to make visits to Illinois, Wisconsin in the middle of next week, and then Minnesota. He has yet to receive an offer from Illinois and Minnesota.

I asked him if he'd make another visit to Dayton before he makes his decision, and his answer was "possibly." There's no question, he is Dayton's top target for 2013. If he stays home at UD, it could have a nice trickle effect with the younger guys that are huge prospects in the younger classes. We'll all know in the next few weeks.

Hand the Keys
The Dayton Flyers had a stud point guard committed at one time in Jevon Thomas. When the two parties broke-up, they were able to secure a commitment from Khari Price. Price is a capable point, but I think the Flyers would like to find a stud in 2013 that they could turn the keys over to when Kevin Dillard graduates, and they've made it a priority

I gave you the name of IMG's Daxter Miles earlier this week, and I have another new one for you. Tom Ostrom's connections have Dayton involved with North Little Rock point guard Dayshawn Watkins (6-foot). He's running with the Arkansas Wings and I expect Coach Ostrom and Coach Miller to be keeping a close eye on him during July. They have a knack of landing guys before they take trips to campus, if they like him enough, I think they could pull this off as well.

Maryland, My Maryland
If you haven't noticed, Dayton is really starting to invade Maryland in hopes they can pull out a couple big time prospects from the "Old Line State." We've heard about Kameron Williams and Lavon Long already, and Daxter Miles earlier this week. Here's another prospect from Baltimore, a shooting guard with size.

Tevon Saddler is 6-4, 200 pounds out of St. Frances. He's an athletic wing with a good enough handle to play some point. A solid defender as well. He needs to become more consistent with his perimeter shot, but is able to score off the dribble and finish above the rim right now. He is basically hearing from every decent-to-good school on the East Coast and some of the bigger Midwest schools in some fashion. There's some good Maryland prospects in 2013, and with Kevin Kuwik leading the charge, it wouldn't suprise me to see Dayton land at least one of them.

Buy Game
I talked with former Dayton assistant coach Jon Borovich earlier this week. If you'll recall, he ended up taking an assistant job for at Northern Illinois when Brian Gregory left for Georgia Tech. He told me that the Flyers will be hosting his Huskies in a buy game on December 1st.

NIU was only 5-26 last year, and an even worse 1-14 in true road games. They're optimistic heading into Mark Montgomery's second season, however, returning all but one player. They also add some talented size with a pair of 6-8 guys from Wisconsin coming in, including one-time UD target Darrell Bowie. Needless to say, it should be an easy win for the Flyers though.

Home and Home's
We heard earlier this week about a home-and-home with Illinois State. Doug Harris first reported during the season that Dayton was in talks with Memphis about starting a home-and-home also. I have not been able to confirm that it got done, but I did hear recently that the possibility was serious.

Another school they were supposedly talking to was the Manhattan Jaspers. It makes a lot of sense that they'd want to play in New York City as it's an area they are trying to recruit more. Manhattan was 21-13 last year under first year head coach Steve Masiello. It should be a great RPI game as well since they return their three top scorers including stud wing George Beamon (19 ppg). A source told me the schedule should be released sometime in the next 10 days or so.

Bonus Women's Scoop
I'm not sure how many of you really care to hear about women's recruiting news, but I got this scoop and thought it was big enough to share. Last Sunday, Jim Jabir hosted a Top 25 prospect in the 2014 class. Jenna Burdette, a 5-7 guard from Coolville, OH, is a four star recruit by ESPN.

I was told from someone in her camp that "she loved it and may end up going there! I think it would be a great fit for her." You may not follow the women's program closely, but with the job Jim Jabir is doing with developing his team and the recruits he's bringing in, it might be time to jump on the bandwagon.

That does it for this edition of the War Room! Thanks to everyone for your support. Thank you and welcome to the new subscribers as well! It's fans like you that make this the best site to talk everything Dayton Flyers.

I wanted to let you know that I am going on vacation the middle of next week and returning the middle of the following week. My whole family, 18 of us, are going to Disney World to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday!!! I understand that a decision from Tyler Harris is expected next week, and if he does pick Dayton, no worries, I'll cover it from where I am. The same goes for any updates I get on any of the other 2012 prospects that might still be in play.
This post was edited on 6/8 9:03 AM by Matt Schwade
This post was edited on 6/8 10:31 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 6th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

So here it is, the 6th edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Down to three
Mislav is down to three schools, and from what I am told, it might be a surprise for the third school on his list. Along with Dayton and Marquette, it very well may be Northwestern as his third school that is a finalist although I have not been able to confirm with him or his coach. Northwestern already has commitments from two of his teammates, Alex Olah and Milos Kostic. He made a couple unofficial trips to Northwestern with them, and there seems to be questions on whether or not he has ever made a trip to Marquette.

The word is that a decision likely won't come today, but "I'd be surprised if it goes past Monday." According to his coach earlier in the week, the decision would be reached this weekend, but it wasn't explained whether or not that meant an announcement would happen this weekend or wait until Monday.

Red & White to Red & Blue?
Dayton very well could have their two scholarships this weekend as Dyshawn Pierre text me that he is going to be making his decision on Sunday. From previous conversations, St. Bonaventure, Baylor, Detroit, Iona, Santa Clara and Missouri may also be finalists. The two big ones though appear to be Atlantic 10 foes Dayton and St. Bonaventure.

He told me he really enjoyed Dayton on his official visit right after the Pittsburgh Jam Fest. I had people email me about a second visit, but that was false. He cleared that up saying he posted a pic of UD a week after his visit because he didn't while he was there. His only other official visit was St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies are hoping the Canadien connection will come through with how they developed Andrew Nicholson.

Oh-Ryan
Decisions are still looming for Hargrave star Ryan Taylor. From the sounds of everything, it doesn't seem likely that he'll be a full qualifier. So his options seem to be another year of prep, JUCO, or go somewhere that will allow him to attend on scholarship as a partial qualifier.

The Flyers would be okay taking Ryan Taylor as a partial qualifier if it comes to that, but that would mean they would have to get a shooting guard for that other scholarship to give Vee Sanford some depth behind him. My guess is IF they get Mislav and not Dyshawn, things will start heating up again with Taylor. It'd be easier to take Taylor with a shooting guard already in the fold for 2012-2013.

J-OW
We're still in wait-and-see mode for Jerron Otis Wilbut as well. The Downers Grove Shooting Guard competed in the United Hoops Classic all-star game this past weekend in Chicago. He led the victorious West squad with 14 points in a 17-point victory.

From what I am told Jerron Wilbut got a decent ACT score, and they are waiting for his CORE grades to see whether or not he will be eligible in the fall. A source told me, "he's got a shot." From people close to him, in the coming weeks, he will likely make a visit to both UD and Wright State while he is in Dayton.

The Month of Jaa
With just Khari Price in the picture right now for 2013, Dayton will definitely need to get a point guard in the 2013 class. Could Jaaron Simmons fit that need? Time will tell. Archie Miller watched him during the evaluation periods in April, and Kevin Kuwik has been staying in touch with him.

Simmons just says he is going to keep doing what he does and hope that his performance and leadership can instill confidence in the UD coaches and result in a scholarship offer. My thoughts on this, if Dayton offered, he'd immediately commit. After having the offer on the table from the previous coaching staff and then have to earn a new one from the current staff, I think it's only reinforced Jaa's feelings about UD. You have to be sure, though, that you would be okay with just Khari and Jaaron as your point guards at least in 2013-2014.

That does it for this edition of the War Room-- what an exciting weekend! UD could have both scholarships filled by Monday for 2012, or the other side of the spectrum is the two go elsewhere. Either way, it means movement in the recruiting picture.

Welcome to the 4th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

Things are starting to heat up in 2012 as we near the end of the school year.... So here it is, the 4th edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Red and Blue Ryno?
I talked with Ryan's uncle and former high school coach Paul Handley this week as well as others about Ryan. First and foremost, his uncle told me that Ryan felt good about the ACT he just took on Saturday. Whether he qualifies or not could have a big bearing on where he ends up.

From what I am told, Ryan has Dayton and Cincinnati in his top two and Arkanasas and Marshall are making hard pushes for him. In fact, he'll be at Marshall University this weekend for an official visit.

It sounds like he could visit as soon as the 28th, but with that being the last weekend of the AAU evaluation, it will probably be the first weekend of May. He'll likely make that visit as an official and then decide after that.

His uncle said a big reason why Ryan likes Dayton is because the Flyers staff has told him they would take him as a partial qualifier. The way I understand it, it's not that easy as saying they'd take him as a partial with the Atlantic 10, but they would present a case why he should be allowed to come to UD. It sounds like UD is confident that they have a strong case to take him, though.

Picking from Pick-town?
Pickerington Central shooting guard Caris LeVert opened things back up officially on Tuesday when he got his official release from Ohio University. I knew a week ago or so that the release was requested, and I knew it wouldn't likely be long after he received it, that Dayton would get involved.

This bit of information literally happened less than 12 hours ago. Archie Miller talked on the phone with Caris late last night and offered the shooting guard a scholarship. That's huge and makes him a high priority because they didn't wait to get him on campus and then offer. They told him last night how big of a want he is on their list. I'm hoping to have more details throughout the day as I've reached out to a couple people from Pickerington Central hoping to hear more. If I do hear more, I'll reply to this thread.

Visiting Locals
Dayton assistants were visiting a couple of the top local targets this week. On Monday, Coach Kuwik watched Maverick Morgan at Springboro High School. The 2013 center also told me that USC, Illinois, and Minnesota watched him. On Thursday, Xavier and Butler watched his open gym.

Bibbs had Xavier and Dayton watching his open gym on Wednesday. Allen Griffin was the assistant coach that represented the Flyers during the workout. With a loaded 2014 and 2015 class, Middletown's Vincent Edwards and Chaminade Julienne's Justin Bibbs are two top priorities in 2014. Speaking of CJ, they may get some big help next year as it's rumored that arguably the best player in the state for 2016, 6-5 Derrick Daniels, is leaning towards CJ in the fall. UD already had Daniels in for a game last season.

Dez the Bengal
From what I gather, Desmond Ridenour may be one the top priorities right now at point guard if he qualifies. I talked to his AAU coach last night and he told me everything right now is hinging on his test scores and they're waiting for those to come back.

Ridenour told me after he visited UD in March, that he was also hearing from Cincinnati, DePaul, and Florida Internernational. I don't think there's any doubt right now that Ridenour is leaning towards Dayton for the fall if he is eligible. And before anyone asks, no, I don't think they'd take Ridenour as a partial qualifier. Dayton has no backcourt depth and needs to have players available to play in 2012.

Big Weekend
Last week was a big weekend because a few of Dayton's top prospects were taking the ACT in hopes of gaining eligibility in 2012. This weekend is big for the future classes, though, as this weekend and next weekend coaches are allowed to evaluate at AAU sactioned events. This is where players feel the love for coaches when they see who is at their games in the stands.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!
This post was edited on 4/19 9:05 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 3rd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

Things are starting to heat up in 2012 as we near the end of the school year.... So here it is, the 3rd edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Moore is better
Perhaps the best news that happened this week for Dayton was Cincinnati Aiken guard Willie Moore getting his full release on Thursday from Duquesne. Moore, who has never received an offer from Dayton, liked Dayton enough to have them in his final five without a formal offer.

I am told Aiken will fax the release to Dayton today and it's likely that he'll visit UD sometime next week. Source told me, "UD could get a commitment from him even without a visit." Other schools that will potentially get visits include South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Coach Kuwik was the one handling his recruitment prior to committing to Duquesne, so he's expected to pick it up again now with the release. If Dayton offers Moore, I would be shocked if his recruitment isn't wrapped up within a week after.

Two other things… Willie played with Jalen Robinson in AAU ball at the beginning of their high school careers and he was quick to tell me he dunked on Devon Scott last year in the first AAU game of the circuit. Bragging Rights!

Svibnja Odluka
Mislav Brzoja, a 6-5 wing from Traders Point Christian in Indiana, is a sought after prospect for the 2012 class. He averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for a team that won the private school championship this year. Coach Ostrom is heading up his recruitment and I spoke to TPC Coach Jamerson earlier this week.

Along with Dayton, Jamerson told me Mislav has Bradley, Illinois, Providence, Ohio, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Indiana State, Illinois State, Utah, and Eastern Michigan on his list. He has already visited Bradley on an official visit and has four more possible visits he could take. Jamerson told me to expect a decision from Mislav at the beginning to mid-May. By the way, I believe svibnja odluka translates to "May Decision" in Croatian if I did that right.

Oh Canada!
I talked with Dyshawn Pierre, the 6-6 small forward that Coach Griffin watched last year from Team Canada in Latvia. Pierre is another small forward that Dayton is actively recruiting for one of their three scholarships. Coach Kuwik is in charge of his recruitment now and the Flyers will likely get a visit from him over the coming weeks.

He said he's going to sit down with his parents and figure out which schools he is going to visit. He told me Dayton would likely be one of those while also considering potential visits to Baylor, Detroit, Iona, St. Bonaventure, and Santa Clara. St. Bonaventure is the perceived leader at this point, while Pierre isn't tipping his hand.

Not Rocket
Another 2012 prospect that Dayton is just now getting involved with is 6-1 guard Everett Clemons from Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois. I talked with Coach Shanklin in the middle of this week and he said Coach Kuwik and the Dayton Flyers are in an evaluation phase right now.

Clemons really opened eyes this season when he helped Lanphier to a fourth place finish in the state. Schools are waiting to see him in open gyms to see if he is someone they want to bring in, and that includes Dayton. Other schools are Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Ball State, Northern Colorado, IUPUI, and Indianapolis,

Clemons averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 2.1 assists this season.

Turner's turn in 2013-2014?
Now here's a name to keep an eye on. Josiah Turner, a freshman transfer from Arizona. Why is it significant? This was a 5-star kid out of high school that Archie was the lead recruiter on. Final 2011 Rivals150 rankings had Turner as the 2nd best point guard in the country and the 11th best player overall in the country.

He was suspended twice at Arizona and pretty much shown the door by Sean Miller in order to accommodate some transfers. You have to believe Archie and Sean have had conversations about this potentially going down, and I would say for a school that is a mid-major+ basketball program, it would be well worth a shot, in my opinion. Would Josiah be interested? I don't know that answer right now. I actually tried the phone # Rivals had in the database for him, but it was a wrong number. I remember last year at this time when Archie was hired, a UofA poster worried about Turner because, as he put it, "Archie was Josiah's boy."

After a transfer sit-out year, Turner would be given the keys that Kevin Dillard leaves behind. If Josiah develops into the type of point guard everyone thinks he could be, we're talking Turner being the floor general until it's time for A.J. Harris to come to UD. That would be almost like a fairy tale if all that fell into place. I'll keep trying to see what kind of legs this one has from both ends.

Big Weekend
Although Dayton isn't scheduled to have anyone on campus this weekend, it still remains a huge weekend for the program. That's because Ryan Taylor and Jerron Otis Wilbut, and maybe a couple of other targets, will be taking the ACT tomorrow. As both of these guys work to become eligible for this fall, UD is one of a couple of schools that is putting recruiting efforts into them like they know they'll be eligible. I am told they will try to host both of these guys soon after the ACT for their official visits, although nothing is setup. I'm hearing Wilbut may be on campus as early as next week. It's definitely heating up!

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!
This post was edited on 4/13 8:48 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 2nd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

Right now, there's a lot more questions then there are answers, and most of them surround recruiting. So here it is, the 2nd edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Visiting the Hall in NY
Both Allen Griffin and Archie Miller were up at Thomas Jefferson in New York City on Thursday. Coach Miller came in later in the evening to see Thaddeus Hall workout and see some video. Coach Griff was there pretty much all day. Jefferson head coach Bud Pollard absolutely raved about the Dayton coaching staff. I asked him what the perception was of Dayton up there and he said, "They're going to get it done. To win 20 games after having two transfer out and two not even make it to campus, and then the injuries, has to be one of the best coaching jobs in the country."

As far as Thaddeus is concerned, he said he is a dominant player-- a shooter, a scorer, and a defender. "When you have a guy that can shut down the opponent's best player, and attack that player on the other end, what else could you want?"

Hall battled through some back tweaks this season, but when he got back healthy, Coach Pollard said he was "hands down" the best player in New York City. Jefferson held the top spot in the rankings for some time, and Coach Pollard said it's because Thaddeus put the team on his shoulders.

South Carolina and Rutgers were also there on Thursday. Thaddeus is going to visit South Carolina next weekend. Thaddeus will "definitely" have a Dayton visit in the future, according to his coach.

Beast Mode Lynch
We'll stay in New York City, in fact, we'll stay at Jefferson High School. Dayton is also actively recruiting one of Hall's 2013 teammates, guard Jaquan "Son Son" Lynch, is also being heavily recruited by Dayton. In fact, Coach Miller is expected to come back next week to see Hall and Lynch work out.

Coach Pollard told me that Lynch has a pending offer right now from Dayton. "Coach Griff said that Dayton will officially offer after Coach Miller sees him, but is confident that when Coach Miller sees him he'll want to because he'll see what Griff sees."

Here's a YouTube video of Lynch: Jaquan Lynch

J-OW, not J-WOW
I heard from Illinois Wolves AAU coach Mike Mullins on Monday to discuss the latest surrounding Downers Grove South 2012 shooting guard Jerron Otis Wilbut. Wilbut had a solid senior season, averaging around 19 points a game. Besides Dayton, some of the schools he's hearing from include Maryland, Memphis, Missouri State, Nebraska, Oregon, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

He's received a qualifying ACT score already, according to Mullins, but will retake the ACT a week from tomorrow on April 14th in hopes to ensure his eligibility. Mullins said, "Dayton has done a nice job recruiting Jerron. Coach Ostrom is his lead recruiting, and Coach Miller has been involved as well." He said Jerron won't make any visits until after he retakes the ACT and they are looking at the end of April to the beginning of May.

Dayton has been on him a long time, going all the way back to the old coaching staff.

Free Willie
As I broke on Twitter yesterday, Willie Moore has decommitted from Duquesne while they are searching for a new head coach. I've actually been trading texts with him and talking with people in his camp, and Dayton is very much in the picture.

From what I was told, they are trying to get a full release from his NLI, but Duquesne has the right to release him with restrictions which may include not being able to go to another competing Atlantic 10 school. With that said, his top two right now appear to be Dayton and Virginia Tech.

Duquesne is still in the picture, but it's going to likely take them hiring Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua and he's going to have to do a terrific sell job. From what I am told, Dayton really likes Moore and would be interested in him if in fact he does get a full release.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!
This post was edited on 4/6 9:00 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 1st installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2012. 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.

Right now, there's a lot more questions then there are answers, and most of them surround recruiting. So here it is, the 1st edition of the War Room for the 2012 off-season!

Taylor Made
As I said over the weekend, I talked with Paul Handley, who is Hargrave forward Ryan Taylor's uncle and former high school coach in Louisville. In the conversation we had, he talked about Ryan heading back to Virginia from Spring Break and he wouldn't do much thinking about basketball or visits for the next couple of weeks as the family wants him to concentrate on academics.

Afterwards, I had a couple interesting texts exchanged with Coach Handley. He told me, "He likes the Flyers." I said, does he like them enough to commit in the next week or two? He responded, "Working on his academics, not right now. Just trust me on that." If you read into it a little bit, that seems a little bit optimistic for the Flyers. Landing Ryan Taylor would be, imo, the biggest catch of an already terrific first recruiting class for Archie and Co.

Murphy's Law
Not too long ago, South Plains won the JUCO National Championship. One of the key players on that team was Tymell Murphy, a forward that is more or less an energy guy that averaged 10 points and six rebounds on a loaded JUCO squad.

Despite not being one of the top two offensive options on the team, Tymell is still getting a lot of looks from some solid basketball programs. He's originally a Brooklyn guy and Allen Griffin was in attendance for the JUCO National Championship. Other schools showing interest include Creighton, Wichita State, and Iona-- all three played in the NCAA tournament this year. Tymell told me he is very interested in Dayton and excited about a Brooklyn guy being on the staff at UD.

Swoop down on Swop
From people I've talked to, Jared Swopshire is very much in play for the Dayton Flyers. Swopshire is on pace to graduate in May, a year early, and will have one year of eligibility right away. He played down at IMG Academy in his final year of high school, and Dayton's old coaching staff showed interest in him.

Originally from Saint Louis, so it would afford him a chance to play a game at SLU if he ends up at UD (if the pods remain the same or Dayton is at SLU). The 6-8 forward is averaging 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game for the Louisville Cardinals, who are playing Kentucky tomorrow in the Final Four. I've received a lot of questions about why he appears on Jeff Goodman's transfer list while they are still playing... It was actually announced the last week of the regular season as Pitino told the press that he would go through Senior Day ceremonies as he'll transfer after the season.

The Flyers would like to add another member to the front court for 2012-2013 season, and Swopshire would be a nice option, even for just one season. I was told that Missouri State will probably try and take a run at him as well.

Famous Amos
During the state tournament last week, Archie Miller was in attendance to watch Dunbar's Amos "A.J." Harris. Although he's just a freshman, Harris has emerged as just as much a priority as anyone else on the Dayton recruiting board. The Dunbar guard told me he already has offers from Dayton and Auburn.

Harris is a talented point guard, trying to find his scoring touch though. He and Luke Kennard team up in the summer and probably make up 1-2 in the state in terms of top freshman prospects, and who is #1 depends on who you ask. It'll be interesting to see how he plays next year without Akbar, Yates, Geter, and Hawkins around him.

From the Boro
I talked with Maverick Morgan of Springboro briefly. He told me Minnesota is the latest school to offer him, but he doesn't have any unofficials or anything planned for the near future. He's leaving to go to Florida for Spring Break today, but when he returns he will probably be playing at Dayton open gyms.

My feeling on Maverick remains unchanged. If Ohio State doesn't offer him, I beleive Dayton is the team to beat. If Ohio State does offer him, I believe he would commit right there on the spot.

Going Forward
We're in a dead period right now with most of the coaches down at the Final Four. It appears Archie Miller will be using this time to try and get a strategy together of what players he wants to contact and try and get on campus and in what order. A source told me that the Dayton staff was anxiously awaiting Jeff Goodman's transfer list that came out earlier this week-- a clear indication that they will try and be a player for some college players looking for a new home... Just as they were last year in landing Vee Sanford and Matt Derenbecker, who appear to be set to make a big impact this fall.

We'll get more answers after the final four as questions are being answered. That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!
This post was edited on 3/30 9:20 AM by Matt Schwade
This post was edited on 3/30 2:49 PM by Matt Schwade

As seasons in both college and high school are closing, the heat is being turned up on recruiting. The Dayton Flyers have two scholarships available for the 2012 class still and look to be going hard on wings or combo guards. Here's a list of the top prospects FlyerHoops.net is hearing that have been targeted by the Dayton staff and could play immediately this fall.








This post was edited on 3/15 1:03 PM by Matt Schwade

Champions
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Welcome to the 19th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2011. 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. Here it is, a lot of information filled in the 19th edition of The War Room for the 2011 off-season!

Good news for UD
I start the War Room with some potentially good news for Flyer fans. Eron Harris will be making his official visit to Dayton on September 9th. It was believed that it was a two horse race for his services, between Wisconsin and Dayton. If you'll recall, he was once quoted as saying the Big Ten was his dream conference.

Well, that race could be down to one. Harris informed me last night that his visit to Wisconsin will not be happening. I don't know the reason for the sudden change, but it bodes well for the Flyers chances of landing their top shooting guard target. He seemed genuinely excited for his visit to UD, and didn't rule out the possibility of him committed on his trip.

Big AJ
I did finally get AJ Hammons' phone number, but have yet to get ahold of him after a couple of attempts. I will tell you that from all the people I've talked to, his visit to UD went extremely well. His mother, who accompanied him on the trip, reportedly loves Dayton and what they have to offer.

Hammons will make a visit to Purdue today and will likely visit Minnesota for an official before a decision. It's likely going to be a Big Ten school, in my opinion, or Dayton that lands his services based on his location preference. Being from Indianapolis, he would like to stay close to home for college. UD will try to get him back for an official visit, and Eron Harris told me he hopes they bring him back for the same weekend as his visit. That would be quite a duo from the Hoosier State if Archie and his staff can pull this one off.

Anderson wants Dayton
If you couldn't tell from my article the other day, Alex Anderson is super high on Dayton and Coach Ostrom. The rising Memphis product couldn't say enough how much he liked Dayton. He even went as far to say he really wants to visit campus and UD has become his dream school.

I think right now, Alex and Andre Yates are two of the top point guard priorities with Yates having a clear leg up because he is local and they want Teddy Hawkins as well. I think if Anderson makes a visit, he doesn't leave campus without becoming a Dayton Flyer.

One Mo-lock
2012 point guard Kyle Molock came back from knee surgery and had a solid summer. He now has 20+ offers now on the table, and Dayton is showing interest. The point guard at my alma mater said Dayton coaches talked to his high school coach this week so they are still highly interested.

With him being right down the road, Dayton may try to get him to make a visit before he makes a decision on his future. Molock has said with the injury setback, he is going to take his time and I think that fits well with UD's timeline with him.

R&B Tune
In case you missed it, the Red-Blue game will be October 22, 2011 at 7 p.m. I've heard UD is trying to change this a little bit and will be trying to make it more like an NBA All-Star weekend with skills competitions. They're trying to cater more to the fans than just having a glorified open practice for fans to come and watch like in the past.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site since the last War Room. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!


PAST WAR ROOMS (COACH STOCK TOO):

#18: The War Room #18 (8/3/2011)

#17: The War Room #17 (7/29/2011)
#16: The War Room #16 (7/15/2011)
#15: The War Room #15 (7/8/2011)
#14: The War Room #14 (7/1/2011)
#13: The War Room #13 (6/22/2011)
#12: The War Room #12 (6/17/2011)
#11: The War Room #11 (6/8/2011)
#10: The War Room #10 (6/1/2011)
#9: The War Room #9 (5/25/2011)
#8: The War Room #8 (5/18/2011)
#7: The War Room #7 (5/12/2011)
#6: The War Room #6 (5/4/2011)
#5: The War Room #5 (4/27/2011)
#4: The War Room #4 (4/20/2011)
#3: The War Room #3 (4/14/2011)
SM: Stock Movement (3/29/2011)
#2: The War Room #2 (3/24/2011)
#1: The War Room #1 (3/17/2011)

Welcome to the 18th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2011. 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.

With Dayton leaving next week for Europe, things are going 100 miles per hour right now. Archie Miller and his staff are hosting recruits almost everyday this week and they are closing in on that final game of the non-conference schedule. So here it is, a lot of information filled in the 18th edition of The War Room for the 2011 off-season!

Future Dunbar Star
On Monday, Dayton hosted one of the top incoming freshman in the Midwest in Dayton Dunbar point guard AJ Harris. The 5-11 class of 2015 guard is a smooth, left-handed guard with quicks. He's really shown a lot for a young age, distributing and getting his teammates the basketball in good spots. It's tough for any defender, regardless of age, to keep him in front of them.

I talked with AJ on Tuesday and he told me that "it went great" and that he liked the coaches, said the players were well-coached and the organization was great. He's also being recruited already by Detroit, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia, and Wright State.

Verbal Possibility?
Harris' future teammate Andre Yates, a transfer from Trotwood-Madison to Dunbar, is expected to visit Dayton's campus today. Yates, a 5-11 point guard in the 2012 class, has seen his stock rise with steady play this summer. He was drawing interest from some BCS-level schools and landed an offer from Nebraska.

It is said to be really tight between Dayton and Nebraska right now, but he could be leaning towards Dayton because of the location. In fact, there seems to be a level of optimism that Archie & Co. could possibly receive a verbal from Yates while he is on campus today. I'm guessing it's somewhere around 50-50 right now, but wouldn't surprise me either way.

Luke is the Force
The two Dunbar players sandwiched an unofficial visit from another talented player from the area. Luke Kennard is a very skilled small forward from Franklin that is also one of the top players in the 2015 class. He and AJ Harris have won a couple of national championships together on the AAU circuit with the Cincinnati Knights.

He played point forward for his eighth grade squad and projects to be a small forward in college with a couple more inches. The lefty can shoot it from long range and can make the flashy pass to his teammates. Dayton could be already laying the foundation to land a package deal from two of the best in the nation right here in their backyard. There's still a lot of time before they decide, but it can only help that they're having them around this early. Good news for fans living in Dayton, you won't have to travel to Cincinnati Moeller to see him play next year. He's decided to stay local and attend Franklin High School in the fall. He and AJ Harris are definitely ones you'll want to watch closely.

Big Time Big Man
Going back to the 2012 class, Oak Hill Academy center A.J. Hammons is supposed to visit campus this Friday. The 7-0, 260-pound center is ranked 90th in the country by Rivals.com in his class. You better believe Coach Miller will be talking about his development of players at Arizona and how Derrick Williams was developed into the #2 overall pick in this year's draft on his watch.

There's a lot of big time schools in on Hammons, and there's speculation he will return to the Midwest for college. The Carmel, Indiana native has offers from Cincinnati, Dayton, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Xavier. He'll likely take some visits over the next few weeks, cut his list down, and make a decision in the early signing period.

Priority Mail to Indy
It's become apparent in the month of July that Eron Harris has become the top priority at the off guard position for the 2012 class. And to be honest, the entire month it seemed like it was a two horse race. Dayton and Wisconsin have done their due diligence and it seems it's likely he'll end up at one of these two schools. He was quoted earlier this week as saying Wisconsin leads slightly over Dayton.

The Flyers coaching staff is hoping that all changes this weekend. They're going to host the Lawrence North shooting guard this Sunday, prior to leaving for Europe. He's supposed to visit Madison sometime in the next couple of months for a football game. Harris will likely make a decision shortly after that.

Non-Conf Almost Done
Okay, now that recruiting has been covered this week inside and out, here's the news that concerns the current Dayton Flyers team. It sounds as if UD struggled to get a BCS level school to agree to a home-and-home and it may have been equally difficult to get a mid-major+ school to agree to the same setup.

Although it's not a done deal, it seems very likely that Dayton will fill that hole in the schedule for the first weekend of December with Murray State. They'll go to Murray, Kentucky this season and will most likely get two return games in 2012 and 2013. Maybe not as high profile as they would have liked, but the Racers won 23 games last year and are always near the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site since the last War Room. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!


PAST WAR ROOMS (COACH STOCK TOO):

#17: The War Room #17 (7/29/2011)
#16: The War Room #16 (7/15/2011)
#15: The War Room #15 (7/8/2011)
#14: The War Room #14 (7/1/2011)
#13: The War Room #13 (6/22/2011)
#12: The War Room #12 (6/17/2011)
#11: The War Room #11 (6/8/2011)
#10: The War Room #10 (6/1/2011)
#9: The War Room #9 (5/25/2011)
#8: The War Room #8 (5/18/2011)
#7: The War Room #7 (5/12/2011)
#6: The War Room #6 (5/4/2011)
#5: The War Room #5 (4/27/2011)
#4: The War Room #4 (4/20/2011)
#3: The War Room #3 (4/14/2011)
SM: Stock Movement (3/29/2011)
#2: The War Room #2 (3/24/2011)
#1: The War Room #1 (3/17/2011)
This post was edited on 8/3 9:41 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 17th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2011. 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. Here it is, the 17th edition of The War Room for the 2011 off-season:

Mo Morgan
I spoke with Maverick Morgan this week and I asked him if Dayton has been in attendance for some of his games. Flyer fans will be proud to know, he immediately replied, "Every one!" Archie Miller was in Las Vegas to watch them and Tom Ostrom has been watching him out in Los Angeles this week.

He told me he has recently picked up an offer from his old hometown team, the Toledo Rockets. He also told me that Ohio State and Southern California have been watching him closely and he is hoping to get offers from them soon. Morgan is a kid that I think UD offered right at the right time, we'll see if that ends up paying off in the end of his recruitment.


PG Priorities
As July heads to the finish line, it appears that Terry Rozier and Ray Lee are the two top priorities at the point guard position. Rozier is is Florida right now, while Lee is playing in Los Angeles. Miller watched Lee in Las Vegas and several other coaches have been following him of late. Texas offered him this week, and a half dozen other BCS schools watching him in LA too.

Terry Rozier is in Florida where Kevin Kuwik and Archie Miller are right now. It's a chance to see their future player Jalen Robinson and one of their top priorities, his AAU teammate Rozier. All-Ohio Red went a perfect 3-0 in Pool Play, blowing out their three opponents. Rozier is a high priority for Illinois, and the ship may have sailed on him from Dayton's perspective. But they will keep going at him in hopes to at least get him to visit UD's campus before he makes a decision.

Going the extra Miles
Dayton has picked up the recruitment of one of the top rising power forwards in the 2012 class. Isaiah Miles from Glenelg Country (Maryland) averaged 19 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game in leading the Dragons to 26 wins.

He's arguably the top prospect in Baltimore and with his 7-3 wingspan is a force defensively. To go with that, he has a smooth jumpshot and fared well this week at the Hoop Group Elite Camp. He has a lot of the CAA recruiting him, Dayton and St. Joe's from the A-10, and Virginia Tech and Maryland showing interest. He's a guy to keep a close eye on because he's flying under the radar a bit right now after not playing AAU last season and could end up being a steal if he doesn't end up at a BCS school.

A Big Surprise, I mean Big A Surprise
Early reports from practice have all been positive. I was told that the skill level on everybody has improved a lot this summer. From what I've been told, perhaps the biggest surprise is freshman Alex Gavrilovic. He's impressed in the short time that he has been on Dayton's campus.

He's been displaying solid range on his jumper, but has done most of his work inside. He's showing a nice touch around the basket, but what has been most surprising is his defense around the rim. He's contesting shots, closing well, and rebounding like a big man should. He turned down the French national coach who wanted him to compete in a tournament this month with the national team he has been playing with the past couple of years.

One more addition
Despite the Non-conference schedule being released the other day, Dayton is still searching for another opponent to start a home-and-away series with for this year and next. I have not heard any names so far, but have heard a few details.

Dayton is looking for a BCS-level opponent or a mid-major+ type opponent such as Virginia Commonwealth or New Mexico. UD has had talks with VCU about possibly starting a home-and-home in 2013, but nothing about the upcoming season as far as I know. The only other details I have on this is it will likely start on the road and it will be the first weekend in December. I will let you know when I hear more!

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a formal welcome to those new subscribers to the site since the last War Room. It's all of you that make this the best place to talk FlyerHoops all year round!


PAST WAR ROOMS (COACH STOCK TOO):
#16: The War Room #16 (7/15/2011)
#15: The War Room #15 (7/8/2011)
#14: The War Room #14 (7/1/2011)
#13: The War Room #13 (6/22/2011)
#12: The War Room #12 (6/17/2011)
#11: The War Room #11 (6/8/2011)
#10: The War Room #10 (6/1/2011)
#9: The War Room #9 (5/25/2011)
#8: The War Room #8 (5/18/2011)
#7: The War Room #7 (5/12/2011)
#6: The War Room #6 (5/4/2011)
#5: The War Room #5 (4/27/2011)
#4: The War Room #4 (4/20/2011)
#3: The War Room #3 (4/14/2011)
SM: Stock Movement (3/29/2011)
#2: The War Room #2 (3/24/2011)
#1: The War Room #1 (3/17/2011)
This post was edited on 7/29 9:40 AM by Matt Schwade

Welcome to the 16th installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2011. 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. Here it is, the 16th edition of The War Room for the 2011 off-season:

This is going to have a recruiting focus with it being evaluation month. So here we go...

This is going to be rather brief as I'm heading to the hospital in seven hours for my wife's c-section as we welcome in our second child into this world. I wanted to get you guys updated on what you might not have heard this week and things you were wondering. Let's start at the top.

The U is oUt
I've seen comments about people wondering about the University of Miami (Florida) home and home that was said to be nearing its completion a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, my sources are telling me that the contract is off the table and it's looking VERY unlikely that these two teams will not meet this season unless its in the postseason.

The Flyers are looking to replace that game with another high major home and home or possibly a "New Mexico-like home and home" with a mid-major-plus opponent. My source went on to say that the model by the previous staff with George Mason and New Mexico and Creighton seemed to work in UD's favor so they wouldn't be opposed to that type of series.

Rosey with Rozier?
I've received emails asking about Terry Rozier and where the Flyers stand after Dayton was omitted from his school lists in the last couple of articles written on him. I was assured by his high school coach Dany Young that UD is in Rozier's top 5. Terry backed that up by saying they are still high on his list.

Coach Miller was watching him at the Peach Jam this week. When I mentioned to Terry the possibility of playing together with his AAU teammate in college, Terry replied, "Yea, it's possible!" Cincinnati, Illinois, West Virginia, and Cleveland State are also high on his list.

Ray Doesn't Know Karate
R.E.A.C.H.'s Ray Lee received an offer from Dayton a little more than a month ago. Both Dayton and Louisville tried to get him on campus prior to the last dead period, but transportation issues prohibited that from happening. Central Michigan, Iowa State, and Toledo are also pursuing him hard.

He told me that Archie Miller is supposed to be coming to Las Vegas and Los Angeles for the last two events of the AAU circuit to watch him. After AAU, he is hoping to finally be able to make it to UD's campus.

Running an Eron
Last, but not least, it was reported earlier in the week that Indiana native Eron Harris received a Dayton offer and one from Kent State and Buffalo. I talked with Eron in the middle of this week and he seemed very excited about his Dayton offer.

He told me that once AAU season ends, Dayton will most likely be one of the first schools he visits. Harris also told me that he'll visit Wisconsin as well, but doesn't know anybody else just yet. Xavier and New Mexico are also recruiting Eron hard, but as of now his biggest offer is likely Dayton. The Flyers have impressed him and are near the top of his list right now. All the offers and pursuits have me excited to cover August and September!

That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks everyone for your continued support and please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers as we brace for this exciting moment in our lives. I'll keep everyone updated!


PAST WAR ROOMS (COACH STOCK TOO):
#15: The War Room #15 (7/8/2011)
#14: The War Room #14 (7/1/2011)
#13: The War Room #13 (6/22/2011)
#12: The War Room #12 (6/17/2011)
#11: The War Room #11 (6/8/2011)
#10: The War Room #10 (6/1/2011)
#9: The War Room #9 (5/25/2011)
#8: The War Room #8 (5/18/2011)
#7: The War Room #7 (5/12/2011)
#6: The War Room #6 (5/4/2011)
#5: The War Room #5 (4/27/2011)
#4: The War Room #4 (4/20/2011)
#3: The War Room #3 (4/14/2011)
SM: Stock Movement (3/29/2011)
#2: The War Room #2 (3/24/2011)
#1: The War Room #1 (3/17/2011)