If anyone has butterflies in his stomach heading into the season, it might be Cain Doliboa. After all, it’s Cain who must hold his job to the much-heralded Brooks Hall or be relegated to bench duty after a solid – if not spectacular – 1998-99 season. For the 6-6, 205lb junior from Springboro, Hall’s arrival might be the best thing to happen to Doliboa since signing with Dayton out of high school. There’s nothing quite like extra competition to motivate a young man’s soul. While Coby Turner took home consensus honors as most disappointing player last season, the opposite may be true for Doliboa.

As a freshman, the lanky guard-forward came off the bench as little more than a three-point threat, but a year later he was more comfortable showcasing other parts of his game. As it turned out, the Flyers needed him desperately last year when every bad break seemed to encourage another and answers were few and far between. The sophomore averaged 7.8ppg and 3.1rpg while logging the fifth-most minutes on the team. He also finished third in blocked shots and second in free throw percentage.

Doliboa’s improvements centered around defense and rebounding where his game evolved into a well-rounded card that Purnell could use in a variety of situations throughout the season. Though Cain’s shooting percentage was an unhealthy .371%, he always seemed to be the guy making the big shots when Dayton needed a score. And on a team that shot under .400% as a whole, his numbers stack up with nearly everyone else on the team. With Tony Stanley, Edwin Young, and Coby Turner struggling to find consistency all year, Doliboa quietly stepped up and arguably kept the Flyers from sinking below the double-digit win plateau for the first time since Purnell’s first season. Against Xavier he practically won the game on his own with a superlative display of inside-outside basketball.

Even with the improvements however, it is the fine tuning that is missing from his game. To effectively become an A-10 lethal weapon, Doliboa must polish other areas that serve as stepping stones to league notoriety — last season’s 15 assists to 41 turnovers lies front and center as well as a better touch from the field. In Cain’s defense however, he took some of the toughest, most critical shots of the season that do not necessarily lend themselves to high percentages. When other players refused to lay it on the line, Doliboa exuded confidence.

With 1999-00 in the hopper and fast approaching, Doliboa could silence those basketball know-it-alls who’ve already penciled in Brooks Hall or Yuanta Holland at the quick forward slot. Don’t bet on it just yet. Doliboa has a lot to learn and a lot to fix, but the parts of his game that already work are as good as any on the team. Cain has NBA range, rebounds well, and best of all he knows the system. Whether or not he can master it is one thing, but knowing it at all is half the battle. For Brooks Hall, the score is already love-15.