Welcome to the 3rd installment of The War Room for 2020. 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 2020!
IN AG WE TRUST
I felt it was necessary to start this War Room off with a little bit of a reminder. Something I’ve learned over the past three years about Anthony Grant and his coaching staff is that they are going to be patient. They are only going to take the kids they’ve evaluated as a fit style and in their program.
They have a strong belief in the culture they’ve built and the chemistry that’s came as a result of that. There was a reason they gambled and “cleaned” house after year one when they went 14-17. They were not in the mindset of “get rich quick” and load up with graduate transfers and JUCO’s that could play right away in year two.
Year two was better, but still on the path of winning the war, and not just the battle. Count them, there were four Division I impact transfers that sat out that second season. Anthony Grant was willing to sacrifice in order to keep building his program, his way.
I had a couple conversations about it during the season with various people. Let’s not forget, there were some that had AG on the hot seat (unwarranted in my mind) entering his third season. He was willing to bet on himself and his vision and it paid off in a big way this season. Continue to trust AG, he knows what he wants and what’s best for the program and he is not going to take unnecessary risks that could rock the boat.
MR. JONES
With all that being said, lets look at the main guy talked about for the last week and change. The Flyers big need is an impact four that can step in right away and fill the minutes left by Ryan Mikesell and Obi Toppin. We all thought the guy that was the perfect fit was Brandon Johnson, and it seemed like the staff agreed.
With Johnson off the board, they turned their attention to Dillon Jones from Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. Darren Hertz was leading that recruitment and Anthony Grant stepped in to get more familiar with Jones as somewhat of an exploratory conversation. The two of them spoke, and Grant went back to his coaching staff in order to see what the next step would be with the undersized forward.
The staff went their separate ways and did their homework on Jones and came back basically with a yay or a nay on whether they should pursue Jones further and ultimately extend an offer. From the sounds of it, it appears that Dayton has evaluated him and came away thinking it’d be a stretch to bring him in at this point.
I think the fact that Jones wanted to make a decision quickly and limited video available to them to say he could help right away (which I was told was important to them), ultimately Dayton was just not comfortable enough to tender him a scholarship offer.
NEXT SIBERT?
About a month ago, Brian Snow broke a story over at 247sports.com that Ohio State’s Alonzo Gaffney was leaving the OSU program and would be pursuing professional careers- overseas and the G-League. We’ve heard that story with other prospects in recent days (looking at you Kentucky).
Gaffney was a four-star forward, ranked 52nd nationally in the 2019 Rivals150 rankings. He just completed his freshman season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 17 appearances off the bench. His season high was 10 points and eight rebounds against UMass-Lowell.
Those season averages remind me of the low numbers that Jordan Sibert put up before he transferred to Dayton. I’m told that Gaffney is still weighing a professional career at this time, but seems to be open to listening to transfer opportunities.
The Cleveland native is more of a forward with interior skills at the moment, but he is obviously loaded with talent and could obviously help Dayton. Currently, not knowing how this new NCAA rule will play out, he would have to sit one to play three years. I’m told that there is mutual interest from both Dayton and Gaffney if he decides to go the transfer route. We’ll keep an eye on this one to see how it develops over the next week or two.
OTHER NOTES
I continue to be encouraged by the things I’m hearing about Chase Johnson. While nobody knows exactly how this will play out, I keep hearing that things are tracking nicely for Chase to return to the hardwood and possibly in the Red and Blue. I believe he genuinely wants to and genuinely think Dayton wants him to. It may be slightly better than 50-50 at present time, but as we’ve learned with the Fox Sports Fan Polls, a coin flip could come down to the wire.
With Jhery Matos leaving, I think that bought them some time with Chase that they have an extra scholarship that they could choose to live vacant for flexibility or fill for depth. Be encouraged that the Dayton staff feels like they can afford to be picky with what they have coming back.
One other thing I’ve learned over the past three years is Dayton will leave no stone uncovered. They’re often far more creative than most other coaching staffs. Whether that means first year JUCO players that qualified out of high school, reclassified players that could help still come in with their original class, or as we saw with Zimi—bringing in a player mid-year from a prep school. You have to have an outstanding relationship with that prep coach to pull that off.
Take a step back, no time to panic. We’re still in mid-April. As Tom E. reminds us, Dayton didn’t get Toppin or Crutcher until May. There’s still guys entering the portal everyday and who knows who else they’ll uncover with their creativity. I know it’s frustrating to see other schools getting commitments after the year UD had, but Dayton is not desperate. Keep trusting.
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room! A formal welcome to the new subscribers and a thank you to you long, loyal subscribers. You all are the reason why this site is the best place to talk Dayton basketball all year round. I think the overall takeaway is Dayton is not far off this year, the staff has done everything the last three years to earn your trust, and just because one prospect that they appeared all in on made a bad decision (my opinion) to go elsewhere, your trust in them should remain! Until next time, God Bless and stay safe! 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 3rd edition of the War Room for 2020!
IN AG WE TRUST
I felt it was necessary to start this War Room off with a little bit of a reminder. Something I’ve learned over the past three years about Anthony Grant and his coaching staff is that they are going to be patient. They are only going to take the kids they’ve evaluated as a fit style and in their program.
They have a strong belief in the culture they’ve built and the chemistry that’s came as a result of that. There was a reason they gambled and “cleaned” house after year one when they went 14-17. They were not in the mindset of “get rich quick” and load up with graduate transfers and JUCO’s that could play right away in year two.
Year two was better, but still on the path of winning the war, and not just the battle. Count them, there were four Division I impact transfers that sat out that second season. Anthony Grant was willing to sacrifice in order to keep building his program, his way.
I had a couple conversations about it during the season with various people. Let’s not forget, there were some that had AG on the hot seat (unwarranted in my mind) entering his third season. He was willing to bet on himself and his vision and it paid off in a big way this season. Continue to trust AG, he knows what he wants and what’s best for the program and he is not going to take unnecessary risks that could rock the boat.
MR. JONES
With all that being said, lets look at the main guy talked about for the last week and change. The Flyers big need is an impact four that can step in right away and fill the minutes left by Ryan Mikesell and Obi Toppin. We all thought the guy that was the perfect fit was Brandon Johnson, and it seemed like the staff agreed.
With Johnson off the board, they turned their attention to Dillon Jones from Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. Darren Hertz was leading that recruitment and Anthony Grant stepped in to get more familiar with Jones as somewhat of an exploratory conversation. The two of them spoke, and Grant went back to his coaching staff in order to see what the next step would be with the undersized forward.
The staff went their separate ways and did their homework on Jones and came back basically with a yay or a nay on whether they should pursue Jones further and ultimately extend an offer. From the sounds of it, it appears that Dayton has evaluated him and came away thinking it’d be a stretch to bring him in at this point.
I think the fact that Jones wanted to make a decision quickly and limited video available to them to say he could help right away (which I was told was important to them), ultimately Dayton was just not comfortable enough to tender him a scholarship offer.
NEXT SIBERT?
About a month ago, Brian Snow broke a story over at 247sports.com that Ohio State’s Alonzo Gaffney was leaving the OSU program and would be pursuing professional careers- overseas and the G-League. We’ve heard that story with other prospects in recent days (looking at you Kentucky).
Gaffney was a four-star forward, ranked 52nd nationally in the 2019 Rivals150 rankings. He just completed his freshman season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 17 appearances off the bench. His season high was 10 points and eight rebounds against UMass-Lowell.
Those season averages remind me of the low numbers that Jordan Sibert put up before he transferred to Dayton. I’m told that Gaffney is still weighing a professional career at this time, but seems to be open to listening to transfer opportunities.
The Cleveland native is more of a forward with interior skills at the moment, but he is obviously loaded with talent and could obviously help Dayton. Currently, not knowing how this new NCAA rule will play out, he would have to sit one to play three years. I’m told that there is mutual interest from both Dayton and Gaffney if he decides to go the transfer route. We’ll keep an eye on this one to see how it develops over the next week or two.
OTHER NOTES
I continue to be encouraged by the things I’m hearing about Chase Johnson. While nobody knows exactly how this will play out, I keep hearing that things are tracking nicely for Chase to return to the hardwood and possibly in the Red and Blue. I believe he genuinely wants to and genuinely think Dayton wants him to. It may be slightly better than 50-50 at present time, but as we’ve learned with the Fox Sports Fan Polls, a coin flip could come down to the wire.
With Jhery Matos leaving, I think that bought them some time with Chase that they have an extra scholarship that they could choose to live vacant for flexibility or fill for depth. Be encouraged that the Dayton staff feels like they can afford to be picky with what they have coming back.
One other thing I’ve learned over the past three years is Dayton will leave no stone uncovered. They’re often far more creative than most other coaching staffs. Whether that means first year JUCO players that qualified out of high school, reclassified players that could help still come in with their original class, or as we saw with Zimi—bringing in a player mid-year from a prep school. You have to have an outstanding relationship with that prep coach to pull that off.
Take a step back, no time to panic. We’re still in mid-April. As Tom E. reminds us, Dayton didn’t get Toppin or Crutcher until May. There’s still guys entering the portal everyday and who knows who else they’ll uncover with their creativity. I know it’s frustrating to see other schools getting commitments after the year UD had, but Dayton is not desperate. Keep trusting.
CLOSING
That does it for this edition of the War Room! A formal welcome to the new subscribers and a thank you to you long, loyal subscribers. You all are the reason why this site is the best place to talk Dayton basketball all year round. I think the overall takeaway is Dayton is not far off this year, the staff has done everything the last three years to earn your trust, and just because one prospect that they appeared all in on made a bad decision (my opinion) to go elsewhere, your trust in them should remain! Until next time, God Bless and stay safe! WE ARE…
