Welcome to the 2nd installment of The War Room for 2019. 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 2019!
I *HEART* NY
Posh Alexander is a 5-10, 170-pound guard out of Our Savior Lutheran in Brooklyn, New York. He’s rated a four star prospect by Rivals.com and ranked 15th at his position for the class of 2020.
In the beginning of December, Alexander broke his non-shooting arm during the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Kentucky. He had been averaging over 30 points for the month of November before his injury. Posh has offers from Dayton, Illinois, Old Dominion, Penn State, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Stony Brook.
He will be making an official visit this weekend to Dayton to take in the Dayton-Duquesne game on Saturday. Alexander will be the first ever boys basketball player to to take an official visit to the University of Dayton during his junior year.
Dayton was the first to offer him a scholarship at the end of the July evaluation period in 2017. They were also one of the first schools to visit him just after he had broken his arm. They’re hoping that being there for him in the beginning and when he needed them most will pay off in the end.
RIVERA
No, not talking about Mr. 100% of the Hall of Fame vote, but rather another skinny, long-armed Rivera. On Sunday, Dayton offered a scholarship to Quad City Elite 2020 wing, Isaiah Rivera.
The 6-5, 185 Geneseo, Illinois native went for a new school record 51 points the day before his Dayton offer, leading his team to a 77-71 victory over Kaneland. The Flyers were his 10th offer, joining Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Loyola (Chicago), New Mexico, Northern Iowa, Southern, St. John’s, and Valparaiso.
Rivera can play the 1, 2, or the 3. He thrives in transition, is able to attack the rim off the bounce, and can knockdown the outside shot. As a sophomore, he averaged over 20 points and seven rebounds per game. He just recently surpassed 1,000 career points for his high school career.
Dayton has been on him since last summer and the staff has been keeping a close eye on him. There is talk that he may visit before the end of the season, with La Salle (3/6) being the tentative date they are targeting.
MCNEIL FOR THREE
There were some that were surprised with the fact that Sean McNeil was in attendance for Tuesday night’s win over Saint Joseph’s. I, for one, was not. I was told that the Flyers would continue to recruit him despite not having a scholarship available for him at present time.
The Flyers, for one reason or another, have had a scholarship available in the spring after each of the last eight seasons (someone can check my math). To think there is not a good chance that one becomes available in the spring, even without a clear vision of who that may be right now, would be naïve. The end of the year conversations are fierce conversations and playing time could be dramatically different for some than their current situation.
McNeil could help fill two obvious concerns from this year’s roster. He shoots 41.3% from long range while averaging more than 11 attempts a game. If he’s able to knockdown open three pointers at the rate we’ve seen Dayton get open three-point shots, he could thrive in this offense. Secondly, end of game situation, McNeil shoots a terrific 87.9% from the free throw line while averaging more than seven trips to the stripe a game.
And no, I don’t believe him paying his own way for a year is an option. He has other offers on the table and could still go back to Sinclair for another season. Donnie Jones has been keeping in close contact, but I don’t believe they’d take a commitment from him without a scholarship available, so we may not know where Dayton stands with him until the end of the season.
BIG EAST
The attitude continues to be Big East or bust and I asked about two possibilities to get some clarity. Would Dayton have a better chance to get into the Big East if they were to go to 11 teams or 12 teams?
There was thought at one time that if the Big East went to 12 teams, they would welcome in likely Saint Louis and Dayton. Then, the discussion came if UCONN left the AAC and went back to the Big East, it could be a combination of UCONN along with Dayton or Saint Louis. All that thinking has now changed.
With the Big Ten and ACC moving to 20 game conference schedules, the current Big East schools are warming to the idea of adding an 11th member which would allow for a home-and-home with each other Big East member during the basketball season.
The AAC offers UCONN something right now that the Big East can’t—a football payday! So unless UCONN scraps their football program, it’s not probably that the Huskies would make the jump back to their former home. That leaves the usual parties being discussed for that possible vacancy—Dayton, Saint Louis, Gonzaga, etc. One source I spoke to even mentioned that an announcement could come as soon as this summer for the expansion to 11 teams and shift to a 20-game schedule. That does not mean it would be in effect for the 2019-2020 season, but it’s not out of the realm of a possibility. Whether Dayton’s persistence and aggressiveness on preparing for the next conference shakeup pays off may get an answer as early as this summer.
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room… A formal welcome and thank you to the new subscribers, and as always thank you to all of you long-time, loyal subscribers! You guys are the reason this is the best place to talk Dayton hoops all year round! The gauntlet of the conference schedule is coming up beginning on Saturday. I’m hoping that a change is made in the starting lineup because Dayton has been getting off to some slow starts as of late. At least need a change in some minutes distribution. And yes, I am all for more minutes to the combination of Crutcer-Cohill-Mikesell-Toppin-Cunningham on the floor. The road to a top four seed is heating up. Until next time, WE ARE…
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation.
Without further ado, here it is.... The 2nd edition of the War Room for 2019!
I *HEART* NY
Posh Alexander is a 5-10, 170-pound guard out of Our Savior Lutheran in Brooklyn, New York. He’s rated a four star prospect by Rivals.com and ranked 15th at his position for the class of 2020.
In the beginning of December, Alexander broke his non-shooting arm during the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Kentucky. He had been averaging over 30 points for the month of November before his injury. Posh has offers from Dayton, Illinois, Old Dominion, Penn State, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Stony Brook.
He will be making an official visit this weekend to Dayton to take in the Dayton-Duquesne game on Saturday. Alexander will be the first ever boys basketball player to to take an official visit to the University of Dayton during his junior year.
Dayton was the first to offer him a scholarship at the end of the July evaluation period in 2017. They were also one of the first schools to visit him just after he had broken his arm. They’re hoping that being there for him in the beginning and when he needed them most will pay off in the end.
RIVERA
No, not talking about Mr. 100% of the Hall of Fame vote, but rather another skinny, long-armed Rivera. On Sunday, Dayton offered a scholarship to Quad City Elite 2020 wing, Isaiah Rivera.
The 6-5, 185 Geneseo, Illinois native went for a new school record 51 points the day before his Dayton offer, leading his team to a 77-71 victory over Kaneland. The Flyers were his 10th offer, joining Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Loyola (Chicago), New Mexico, Northern Iowa, Southern, St. John’s, and Valparaiso.
Rivera can play the 1, 2, or the 3. He thrives in transition, is able to attack the rim off the bounce, and can knockdown the outside shot. As a sophomore, he averaged over 20 points and seven rebounds per game. He just recently surpassed 1,000 career points for his high school career.
Dayton has been on him since last summer and the staff has been keeping a close eye on him. There is talk that he may visit before the end of the season, with La Salle (3/6) being the tentative date they are targeting.
MCNEIL FOR THREE
There were some that were surprised with the fact that Sean McNeil was in attendance for Tuesday night’s win over Saint Joseph’s. I, for one, was not. I was told that the Flyers would continue to recruit him despite not having a scholarship available for him at present time.
The Flyers, for one reason or another, have had a scholarship available in the spring after each of the last eight seasons (someone can check my math). To think there is not a good chance that one becomes available in the spring, even without a clear vision of who that may be right now, would be naïve. The end of the year conversations are fierce conversations and playing time could be dramatically different for some than their current situation.
McNeil could help fill two obvious concerns from this year’s roster. He shoots 41.3% from long range while averaging more than 11 attempts a game. If he’s able to knockdown open three pointers at the rate we’ve seen Dayton get open three-point shots, he could thrive in this offense. Secondly, end of game situation, McNeil shoots a terrific 87.9% from the free throw line while averaging more than seven trips to the stripe a game.
And no, I don’t believe him paying his own way for a year is an option. He has other offers on the table and could still go back to Sinclair for another season. Donnie Jones has been keeping in close contact, but I don’t believe they’d take a commitment from him without a scholarship available, so we may not know where Dayton stands with him until the end of the season.
BIG EAST
The attitude continues to be Big East or bust and I asked about two possibilities to get some clarity. Would Dayton have a better chance to get into the Big East if they were to go to 11 teams or 12 teams?
There was thought at one time that if the Big East went to 12 teams, they would welcome in likely Saint Louis and Dayton. Then, the discussion came if UCONN left the AAC and went back to the Big East, it could be a combination of UCONN along with Dayton or Saint Louis. All that thinking has now changed.
With the Big Ten and ACC moving to 20 game conference schedules, the current Big East schools are warming to the idea of adding an 11th member which would allow for a home-and-home with each other Big East member during the basketball season.
The AAC offers UCONN something right now that the Big East can’t—a football payday! So unless UCONN scraps their football program, it’s not probably that the Huskies would make the jump back to their former home. That leaves the usual parties being discussed for that possible vacancy—Dayton, Saint Louis, Gonzaga, etc. One source I spoke to even mentioned that an announcement could come as soon as this summer for the expansion to 11 teams and shift to a 20-game schedule. That does not mean it would be in effect for the 2019-2020 season, but it’s not out of the realm of a possibility. Whether Dayton’s persistence and aggressiveness on preparing for the next conference shakeup pays off may get an answer as early as this summer.
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room… A formal welcome and thank you to the new subscribers, and as always thank you to all of you long-time, loyal subscribers! You guys are the reason this is the best place to talk Dayton hoops all year round! The gauntlet of the conference schedule is coming up beginning on Saturday. I’m hoping that a change is made in the starting lineup because Dayton has been getting off to some slow starts as of late. At least need a change in some minutes distribution. And yes, I am all for more minutes to the combination of Crutcer-Cohill-Mikesell-Toppin-Cunningham on the floor. The road to a top four seed is heating up. Until next time, WE ARE…
