Welcome to the 2nd installment of The War Room for the off-season of 2016. 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 2016 off-season!
A.J. PHONE HOME
On Wednesday, FlyerHoops reported that Dayton has an interest in the transfer of Ohio State freshman point guard A.J. Harris. Harris, of course, starred at Dayton Dunbar High School and was an early commit to the Buckeyes, picking OSU over UD the first time around.
There has been back-channel dialogue between the two sides, but there has been no talk directly with A.J. because his official release has not been faxed over yet from Ohio State. Sources have said, though, there is “very strong” interest from both parties.
When one source close to the King James AAU program was asked about how A.J. would fit in at Dayton and in the Atlantic 10, he offered, “I think it would work out great and he would be a stud there, if it happens. He makes everyone around him better.”
Harris would fill the need for a point guard in 2017, a position that Dayton has been recruiting heavily for that class.
WRIGHT STUFF
Speaking of 2017 point guards, Dayton has a few of them at the top of their board. Names like Evan Gilyard and Chris Lykes immediately come to mind. Another player that Dayton is hot-and-heavy on is Champlin Park (MN) point guard McKinley Wright.
He’s a 6-1, 165-pound point guard that just completed his junior season in Champlin. He averaged around 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists this past season for the Rebels.
He currently holds offers from Creighton, Dayton, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas State, Sam Houston State, and Texas Tech. Big time schools are starting to recruit him and his stock is expected to soar during evaluation peirod.
He told FlyerHoops that Tom Ostrom is his lead recruiter and talks to him “quite often.” We’ll have a more detailed article on him next week.
MILLER TIME
There were rumors swirling around Saint Louis during the NCAA tournament and, of course, on the message boards that Sam Miller may be transferring out of Dayton at the end of the school year.
He just completed his freshman season of eligibility, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in the 27 games he saw action. He shot 30.3% from the perimeter, but was one of Dayton’s best free throw shooters at 80.8%.
A source shot down that rumor, telling FlyerHoops that Miller would be returning to Dayton for his sophomore season. Miller showed some flashes of being able to stretch the floor, knocking down 5-6 threes in a two-game span in early February.
Archie Miller alluded to the return a couple of times this week. First, he made a tweet asking everyone to wish Sam a Happy Birthday (March 30th). Probably wouldn’t do that for a guy on his way out the door. Secondly, while on Mark Neal’s show, he said Sam would be on campus this entire summer. He could bring some real versatility to Dayton’s frontcourt next season if he can gain the consistency he showed at Gonzaga.
TRANSFER SUCCEED
At present time, Dayton currently has one more scholarship to offer for 2016. Here’s what I’ve been told is Dayton’s view, based on taking a transfer. They want to be very picky with what they are looking for based on the team’s needs for 2017.
First thing, they’re obviously looking for someone to make an impact. They really want to find a guy that maybe didn’t get an opportunity at a higher level school (Jordan Sibert, Vee Sanford) that they feel can come in and be a leader, both on and off the court. Or, someone at a lower level that was a stand-out player (Charles Cooke, Josh Cunningham) in that league that could continue with strong numbers in their system.
The other situation that could happen is a fifth year graduate transfer. It sounded as if they wanted to shy away from the quick fix a fifth year guy offers unless “he’s a guy that could come in and be an all-league player next year.”
The final scholarship will very likely go to a transfer in some regard, though, as there are very few high school players that are uncommitted that have a strong mutual interest right now. After all, as the Dayton Men’s Basketball twitter pointed out, a transfer has led Dayton in scoring in each of the five seasons Archie Miller has been at the helm (Kevin Dillard, Kevin Dillard, Jordan Sibert, Jordan Sibert, and Charles Cooke). "Transfers succeed under Archie Miller!"
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room. I was out of town a lot this week as we took the kids on a trip during their spring break. Hope to have some great interviews with Dayton targets beginning on Monday.
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 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 2016 off-season!
A.J. PHONE HOME
On Wednesday, FlyerHoops reported that Dayton has an interest in the transfer of Ohio State freshman point guard A.J. Harris. Harris, of course, starred at Dayton Dunbar High School and was an early commit to the Buckeyes, picking OSU over UD the first time around.
There has been back-channel dialogue between the two sides, but there has been no talk directly with A.J. because his official release has not been faxed over yet from Ohio State. Sources have said, though, there is “very strong” interest from both parties.
When one source close to the King James AAU program was asked about how A.J. would fit in at Dayton and in the Atlantic 10, he offered, “I think it would work out great and he would be a stud there, if it happens. He makes everyone around him better.”
Harris would fill the need for a point guard in 2017, a position that Dayton has been recruiting heavily for that class.
WRIGHT STUFF
Speaking of 2017 point guards, Dayton has a few of them at the top of their board. Names like Evan Gilyard and Chris Lykes immediately come to mind. Another player that Dayton is hot-and-heavy on is Champlin Park (MN) point guard McKinley Wright.
He’s a 6-1, 165-pound point guard that just completed his junior season in Champlin. He averaged around 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists this past season for the Rebels.
He currently holds offers from Creighton, Dayton, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas State, Sam Houston State, and Texas Tech. Big time schools are starting to recruit him and his stock is expected to soar during evaluation peirod.
He told FlyerHoops that Tom Ostrom is his lead recruiter and talks to him “quite often.” We’ll have a more detailed article on him next week.
MILLER TIME
There were rumors swirling around Saint Louis during the NCAA tournament and, of course, on the message boards that Sam Miller may be transferring out of Dayton at the end of the school year.
He just completed his freshman season of eligibility, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in the 27 games he saw action. He shot 30.3% from the perimeter, but was one of Dayton’s best free throw shooters at 80.8%.
A source shot down that rumor, telling FlyerHoops that Miller would be returning to Dayton for his sophomore season. Miller showed some flashes of being able to stretch the floor, knocking down 5-6 threes in a two-game span in early February.
Archie Miller alluded to the return a couple of times this week. First, he made a tweet asking everyone to wish Sam a Happy Birthday (March 30th). Probably wouldn’t do that for a guy on his way out the door. Secondly, while on Mark Neal’s show, he said Sam would be on campus this entire summer. He could bring some real versatility to Dayton’s frontcourt next season if he can gain the consistency he showed at Gonzaga.
TRANSFER SUCCEED
At present time, Dayton currently has one more scholarship to offer for 2016. Here’s what I’ve been told is Dayton’s view, based on taking a transfer. They want to be very picky with what they are looking for based on the team’s needs for 2017.
First thing, they’re obviously looking for someone to make an impact. They really want to find a guy that maybe didn’t get an opportunity at a higher level school (Jordan Sibert, Vee Sanford) that they feel can come in and be a leader, both on and off the court. Or, someone at a lower level that was a stand-out player (Charles Cooke, Josh Cunningham) in that league that could continue with strong numbers in their system.
The other situation that could happen is a fifth year graduate transfer. It sounded as if they wanted to shy away from the quick fix a fifth year guy offers unless “he’s a guy that could come in and be an all-league player next year.”
The final scholarship will very likely go to a transfer in some regard, though, as there are very few high school players that are uncommitted that have a strong mutual interest right now. After all, as the Dayton Men’s Basketball twitter pointed out, a transfer has led Dayton in scoring in each of the five seasons Archie Miller has been at the helm (Kevin Dillard, Kevin Dillard, Jordan Sibert, Jordan Sibert, and Charles Cooke). "Transfers succeed under Archie Miller!"
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room. I was out of town a lot this week as we took the kids on a trip during their spring break. Hope to have some great interviews with Dayton targets beginning on Monday.
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!
