DAYTON (OH) – “From the Swamp” is coming at you live and in person from the UD Arena, site of the solitary stop on the “Brian Gregory Homecoming Tour” as the smaller (in both roster numbers as well as physical size) Flyers take on his Yellow Jackets. I posted a thread on the UD Pride MB this week asking the question “What kind of reception does BG get on Tuesday?” We are all about to find out.
Before we do that, however, some pre-game observations:
-- UD’s revised roster passed the BU test with semi-flying colors on Saturday night. The Red & Blue managed to shoot the ball well, spread the personal fouls around and Archie subbed smartly throughout to keep everyone fresh. He even rotated the Davis’, going with Darrell on offense and Kyle on D in the later stages.
-- Now Archie & Company move on to the ACC and SEC part of the OOC proceedings. GT tonight and Ole Miss a week later should instruct us all as to what to expect from the 18 game Atlantic 10 slate which commences with a home tilt vs. the Dukes on January 3rd.
-- Big crowd as expected, even in the Boesch Lounge for the “Coach’s Chalk Talk” which was done by Kevin Kuwik. One of the rules is that what is said at these isn’t for publication but KK did a great job handling all of the direct questions. Good to shoot the breeze with my esteemed editor Chris over some really decent eats. Everybody in the Arena got a white pompom on their seat to shake.
-- Talked to Doug Hauschild and he made note of the fact that GT has seven guys taller than 6’6” on their roster. Speaking of academic eligibility, he also told me a story about his days as an undergrad at UD. One of his profs came into the KU cafeteria looking for him to tell Doug that it was the last day of the semester to drop classes and he better drop his!
-- Looks like KW is doing color with Larry on the radio tonight.
-- WOTS is that Detwon Rogers is supposed to be ready by that Duquesne game on January 3rd. We shall see.
-- BG working the room as only he can before tipoff. This should be a special night. He got a nice round of sustained standing applause when introduced.
Now on to the game!
-- Kendall Pollard with a drive and a hoop and it is 4-2 GT. Everything coming pretty easy for the Yellow Jackets so far.
--Dyshawn Pierre with his 2nd three for the UD lead at 11-10. Kyle Davis with 2-2 FTs and now the Flyers are up 13-10. Jordan gets his name in the paper with the hoop and the harm. Darrell Davis does the same with a triple from the corner. Dyshawn gets called on a questionable player control foul to wipe out a made layup. UD in front 19-15 at the under 12 media TO.
-- Bobby W airballs an open 3. Ryan Bass says hello with a driving layup. DD from I-75 for three! 26-17 good guys.
-- UD comes out in a zone. GT does the BG towel thing with subs. Tech back within 3 at 26-23, after several empty possessions, including a Kyle Davis airball. DP restores law and order with his 3rd triple. Jordan with a two and then a three—back to a 9 point lead at 34-25. Dyshawn rips the ball away from a GT player and gets hacked. Up and down action—no points but lots of hustle.
-- More zone, which you can afford to do with a 10 point lead. 37-27 at the under 3 TV timeout. Few whistles, hardly any TOs and the half is over before you know it with Dayton up by a half dozen at 39-33. Looking over the halftime stat sheet, David Jablonski of
The DDN said it should be more. UD shot 70% from the land of plenty compared to 10% for Tech.
Unfortunately, neither one of those lines is sustainable.
-- Luuuuke Fabrizius is in the house, ladies and gentlemen.
-- KW said he is having a great time working with Larry. I asked him how his brother Adam was doing and he said he is still playing pro ball in Germany. Both Keith and Adam had dual citizenship there. Told him to say hi to his Dad. Longtime UD Pride members might recall Pete Waleskowski posting as “Pete TFFD” before Keith suited up for UD. It’s gonna be tough for WHIO to choose between Keith, Brooks and Josh whenever “The Legend” finally retires. Maybe they will just rotate all three?
-- Ragtag opening minutes of the 2nd half for the Flyers allow GT to crawl back to within 1 at 39-38 and Archie wisely calls a TO to stem the flow. Kyle with a steal and he gets nailed. It’s only fair that he should nail both FTs, then. Kendall with some good D forces a Turnover. Jordan Sibert for three! The Flyers play unbelievable D and force a shot clock violation! The crowd really appreciated that effort! Kyle Davis needs to stop shooting three pointers and focus on penetrating. 44-38 with 15:53 to go.
-- Jordan drains another trey and now has 21 points. Almost as if he could hear me, Kyle drives and scores and it’s now an 11 point advantage at 49-38. Some wild back and forth action results in a blocking foul that puts DS at the line for a pair, which he promptly makes. UD with a half-court trap. KP thought about a three and wisely decided against it. (Keith W later told me that is exactly what he said on air). Flyers still up by a ten spot as Pollard steps to the stripe for 2; he makes 2. Nicely done.
-- Darrell misses the mid-range jumper. BG takes a TO with his squad trailing by a dozen and 9 ˝ minutes to go. KD drives again and dishes to Dyshawn for a nice hoop. Bobby W with the hustle rebound to reset the shot clock. DP for 3 and UD is up 15, the crowd goes nuts and BG is once again forced to stop the madness. Kyle take a seat on the floor and a charge.
-- Scoochie with the J; GT with a layup. UD milking the clock on every possession now. Tech has 7 fouls; Dayton has 3. JS makes 2 FTs and it’s back to 14. Offense/defense as Darrell replaces Kyle. Sibert with an emphatic block down low! DD drives and is fouled. Swishes both. Bobby gets whacked and will go to the line. Splits the pair. Phantom foul on Ryan Bass puts GT in the bonus with less than 4 minutes to play.
-- KP is hacked and the dude that fouled him is gone. That puts UD in the double bonus the rest of the way. KP goes 1-2. Then he returns to the stripe and says “I don’t need no stinkin’ double bonus” as he cans ‘em both. GT traps but it only serves to disqualify another one of BG's players.
-- BG implores his team to trap harder—they foul Kyle instead. He puts UD ahead by 13 and DP puts a cherry on top with an emphatic dunk. Warm up the bus time. 75-61 is your final.
Post-game
-- Jordan said “This team is built on toughness. It’s not about who we play but how we play.” When asked if the win over GT meant anything more to Archie he said “definitely!” But then again “he wants to win everything.”
-- Dyshawn said he’s “been frustrated with his shot.” He said Archie “stopped practice and told me to shoot the ball.” He also said he’s been taking extra shots after practice. It showed tonight.
-- Archie was “ecstatic with the win” and the effort. “There was a lot of energy in the building and we played with energy.” As to the recent 51% three point shooting prowess Archie said “we are not a 27% three point team.” To him “the big deal is taking the good shots; if you just keep taking the good ones eventually it will work itself out.” Archie went on to say “we have a different type of team now—it’s not as much robotic—which I like. There is a lot more driving and passing and kicking and less standing around.” Archie felt “turning the ball over only six times was an excellent job” and he cited the play of Kyle Davis as being key. Archie said that he worked with Dyshawn individually after practice the other day and had “a couple of long talks” with his junior swingman.
-- The hope was that BG would come to the press room, but that didn’t materialize, so several folks were waiting for him outside the GT locker room as his team packed up to leave. Coach Gregory looks great and said he belongs to a nice country club in Atlanta and only played twice this year. He said “You don’t have any questions?” Nope, just wanted to say hi and thanks.
-- As I walked out of the Arena, a photographer was doing likewise at the same time. I looked at him and asked “Are you Skip Peterson?” “Yes, I am” was the reply. Skip was a longtime photog for the Journal Herald/ Daily News and he and his wife were our neighbors in Centerville –- 40 years ago! “The Woods of Centerville” he recalled and he was right. Skip retired 8 years ago when Cox gave him a great package and he freelances now. Tonight he was shooting for the AP and has worked every “First Four” game since its inception.
It really was old home week!
That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com
