Let's Get Real

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) – The ‘let’s pretend’ exhibition games are over, it’s time for the Dayton Flyers to get down to the serious business of college basketball. The 2023-24 edition of the Red and Chapel Blue will kick out the jams on Monday evening vs. the SIUE Cougars.

The Flyer Faithful are ready to fill UD Arena:

With the best fans in the state of Ohio

All of the pre-season projections are ready to be tossed in the trash:

https://www.daytondailynews.com/spor...ALTVJ5WGCQCNI/

https://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...023-24-season/

Jablo asked Larry Hansgen, Hal McCoy, Brooks Hall, Keth Waleskowski and old friend Matt Schwade from FlyerHoops.net what their expectations were for the Flyers this year. The recurring theme was ‘cautiously optimistic’:

https://www.daytondailynews.com/spor...HOJQAXUDHBPWE/

One thing everyone can agree on: DaRon Holmes II is one of the best bigs in the country:

https://theathletic.com/4952462/2023...ge-basketball/

For those without a subscription to The Athletic, here’s the good part:

Holmes was ridiculously productive last season, upping his numbers across the board to 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists. It was a surprise he decided to return to Dayton, though, as his NBA stock seemed to plateau in part because of how the Flyers use him. Holmes plays largely as a post big in an era where teams don’t love the idea of projecting an undersized center being able to create shots on the block. And honestly, I thought his game seemed to stagnate a bit even with the statistical improvement. He didn’t move quite as fluidly as he did the year before, and his overall efficiency dropped as the Flyers went to utilizing him almost exclusively as a post player after spreading his role usage out far more as a freshman. I’d love to see Dayton get back to using him more in ball screens, where he has real versatility in how he can attack in short rolls and rim runs, as well as some occasional pick-and-pops. He’s also extremely valuable still in the dunker spot. Even though I know Dayton fans got frustrated with an offense that played at a snail’s pace and seemingly didn’t take full advantage of its immense talent, all of this is probably nitpicking a bit. Holmes is a monster athlete who should enter the season as the clear favorite to win Atlantic-10 Player of the Year.

Finally, if you haven't had a chance to watch the excellent “Building the Foundation” videos, here are all four of them in one place:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxRelLsjwbw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0_PlFBbFKQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sPjEwwkv7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNHhlDJDwy8

The wait is finally over.

Let there be hoops!

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com