Welcome to the 5th installment of The War Room for 2021! 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 2021!
TRIO
In May, the University of Dayton announced that Dayton associate head coach Ricardo Greer would be taking part in the 2021 TopConnect summit. If you need a refresher, TopConnect used to be Villa 7 where top basketball assistant coaches and senior level athletics administrators are identified and invited to receive the necessary skills and relationships to assist these participants in climbing the ladder.
Anthony Grant is actually an alum of the Villa 7 program as he attented before VCU hired him in 2006. In fact, the VCU Athletic Director at the time (Dr. Richard Sander) was the one that came up with the idea back in 2003.
I’m told that two more from Dayton’s staff were invited and that is James Kane and Andy Farrell. Both men were with Coach Grant at VCU. Kane and Farrell both do a lot of work behind the scenes so its nice to see them getting recognized.
With three members of the staff attending this year’s summit, it goes to show you what we’ve all been saying—this coaching staff is ridiculously talented. The talent that Dayton will have on the court this season makes it easy to get excited about the season, but I think the talent they’ve put together on the coaching staff should have you excited as well.
RE-BASELINE
Now that we see that Tre Hollomon is headed elsewhere, I think its important to re-baseline in terms of the 2022 recruiting efforts. I think Hollomon was the only one they would have oversigned without a scholarship available if he wanted to come on board.
Last week, the Flyers hosted a couple local 2022 targets in Tom House and Ben Southerland. House had a nice season last year and is currently getting looks from mid-majors as well as Georgia. Ben Southerland had a breakout summer, but still only has mid-major offers. From what I’ve been told, Liberty is going all out to get him to commit now.
I am told the Flyers will not be offering these two without a scholarship available. That puts House and Southerland in a wait-and-see if they are not comfortable with the options and not commit anywhere until the spring. The other two options is they pay their own way (Dayton’s not cheap!) or they decide to go prep a fifth year.
One other recruit that I’m told the Flyers are going to keep evaluating him in case a scholarship becomes available is Mike Sharavjamts. Affectionately known as Mongolian Mike, the Flyers have been watching him since he moved to the area. Rutgers offered the 2022 small forward a scholarship a month ago. The Spring recruiting should be a little more interesting.
SLEEPER
Dayton released their non-conference schedule a week ago, which included the Orlando Invitational, two big away games, and a power five visiting UD Arena. The Flyers will play a total of eight home games in the non-conference, two away, and three neutral floor games.
They’ll face Miami (FL) in the opener in Orlando, play at SMU on December 8, host Virginia Tech on December 12, and travel to Ole Miss on December 18th. That’s quite a crescendo right before they turn the calendar for conference play.
Other than Virginia Tech though, I think most Dayton fans felt underwhelmed by the names that UD would be facing in the arena in November and December. UIC, UMass Lowell, Lipscomb, Austin Peay, Alabama State, Northern Illinois, and Southern don’t really push the needle.
The potential sleeper in that group is the November 17th game against Lipscomb. They’re a solid, fundamental group that brings back three of their top four scorers including their talented big man, Ahsan Asadullah (14.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg). Between him and guard KJ Johnson (13.5 ppg, 39% 3PT), that’s nearly 30 points of production. Especially when you’re dealing with a team that hasn’t been on the floor a lot together, this will most likely serve as a early season unexpected challenge before Orlando.
ELVIS HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING
Not sure about you, but the most intriguing newcomer that I am anxious to see play in person is DePaul transfer Kobe Elvis. I think he’s the one that is coming in with the least fanfare and because he’s the one with college experience.
He averaged 5.2 points per game, 1.9 assists, shot 41.9% from three-point range in 19 games he played for the Blue Demons. I’m told that at the end of the season, he was playing on an injured foot that didn’t have him at 100%.
Elvis was already the last one to report to UD because DePaul was on quarters and not semesters. When he arrived at Dayton, he missed some workouts in order to let it fully heal.
He did return late in the summer, but was (as expected) a little bit out of shape, but I am told you saw glimpses of his potential. The fact he played a season in the Big East and still has four years of eligibility remaining is what I am most excited about.
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’m told that the visit with Gabe Cupps went well from both ends and hope to catch up with Brook Cupps to discuss very soon. Pnard, love you brother, change your password. 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 5th edition of the War Room for 2021!
TRIO
In May, the University of Dayton announced that Dayton associate head coach Ricardo Greer would be taking part in the 2021 TopConnect summit. If you need a refresher, TopConnect used to be Villa 7 where top basketball assistant coaches and senior level athletics administrators are identified and invited to receive the necessary skills and relationships to assist these participants in climbing the ladder.
Anthony Grant is actually an alum of the Villa 7 program as he attented before VCU hired him in 2006. In fact, the VCU Athletic Director at the time (Dr. Richard Sander) was the one that came up with the idea back in 2003.
I’m told that two more from Dayton’s staff were invited and that is James Kane and Andy Farrell. Both men were with Coach Grant at VCU. Kane and Farrell both do a lot of work behind the scenes so its nice to see them getting recognized.
With three members of the staff attending this year’s summit, it goes to show you what we’ve all been saying—this coaching staff is ridiculously talented. The talent that Dayton will have on the court this season makes it easy to get excited about the season, but I think the talent they’ve put together on the coaching staff should have you excited as well.
RE-BASELINE
Now that we see that Tre Hollomon is headed elsewhere, I think its important to re-baseline in terms of the 2022 recruiting efforts. I think Hollomon was the only one they would have oversigned without a scholarship available if he wanted to come on board.
Last week, the Flyers hosted a couple local 2022 targets in Tom House and Ben Southerland. House had a nice season last year and is currently getting looks from mid-majors as well as Georgia. Ben Southerland had a breakout summer, but still only has mid-major offers. From what I’ve been told, Liberty is going all out to get him to commit now.
I am told the Flyers will not be offering these two without a scholarship available. That puts House and Southerland in a wait-and-see if they are not comfortable with the options and not commit anywhere until the spring. The other two options is they pay their own way (Dayton’s not cheap!) or they decide to go prep a fifth year.
One other recruit that I’m told the Flyers are going to keep evaluating him in case a scholarship becomes available is Mike Sharavjamts. Affectionately known as Mongolian Mike, the Flyers have been watching him since he moved to the area. Rutgers offered the 2022 small forward a scholarship a month ago. The Spring recruiting should be a little more interesting.
SLEEPER
Dayton released their non-conference schedule a week ago, which included the Orlando Invitational, two big away games, and a power five visiting UD Arena. The Flyers will play a total of eight home games in the non-conference, two away, and three neutral floor games.
They’ll face Miami (FL) in the opener in Orlando, play at SMU on December 8, host Virginia Tech on December 12, and travel to Ole Miss on December 18th. That’s quite a crescendo right before they turn the calendar for conference play.
Other than Virginia Tech though, I think most Dayton fans felt underwhelmed by the names that UD would be facing in the arena in November and December. UIC, UMass Lowell, Lipscomb, Austin Peay, Alabama State, Northern Illinois, and Southern don’t really push the needle.
The potential sleeper in that group is the November 17th game against Lipscomb. They’re a solid, fundamental group that brings back three of their top four scorers including their talented big man, Ahsan Asadullah (14.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg). Between him and guard KJ Johnson (13.5 ppg, 39% 3PT), that’s nearly 30 points of production. Especially when you’re dealing with a team that hasn’t been on the floor a lot together, this will most likely serve as a early season unexpected challenge before Orlando.
ELVIS HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING
Not sure about you, but the most intriguing newcomer that I am anxious to see play in person is DePaul transfer Kobe Elvis. I think he’s the one that is coming in with the least fanfare and because he’s the one with college experience.
He averaged 5.2 points per game, 1.9 assists, shot 41.9% from three-point range in 19 games he played for the Blue Demons. I’m told that at the end of the season, he was playing on an injured foot that didn’t have him at 100%.
Elvis was already the last one to report to UD because DePaul was on quarters and not semesters. When he arrived at Dayton, he missed some workouts in order to let it fully heal.
He did return late in the summer, but was (as expected) a little bit out of shape, but I am told you saw glimpses of his potential. The fact he played a season in the Big East and still has four years of eligibility remaining is what I am most excited about.
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’m told that the visit with Gabe Cupps went well from both ends and hope to catch up with Brook Cupps to discuss very soon. Pnard, love you brother, change your password. Until next time, WE ARE...
