#54 SEAN FINN 6-11 230LB, FR, HAYES, KS

With the departure of all-conference center Mark Ashman, UD was left with a large void and no strong candidates to fill it. Although some were singing the praises of then redshirt forward/center Keith Waleskowski, the fact is, Dayton had no other legitimate centers last year backing up Ashman that would be stepping into a starting role this season. The Flyers needed more help at the 5-spot.

Enter freshman center Sean Finn out of Hays, Kansas. Needless to say, the pull of immediate playing time brought this young man nearly 900 miles to Dayton, Ohio. The 6-11 Finn passed up Kansas State to play his college ball for the Flyers. The big man set Hays HS records last year for points per game, 22.7, and shooting percentage, 74.4%. The athletic Finn pulled down 9.1 rebounds per contest, but shot a less than optimal 54.5% from the line during his senior campaign.Finn guided his team to the Kansas 5A (2nd largest level) state semifinals, and garnered 5A Player of the Year recognition from several newspapers. Some considered him one of the best high school centers, if not the best, in Kansas last year.

Sean Finn will need to translate that tournament experience into Division I college performance right away. No doubt he’ll need to bulk up and develop better footwork to compete against Atlantic-10 centers, but he has the tools to be an outstanding player for Coach Purnell. And as they say, you can’t coach height.Purnell has more options in the post this year but little D-1 college experience. Much like the season after Ryan Perryman, he will try different players, hoping for someone to step up — or at least hope for adequate results by committee. Committee member Sean Finn will vie for more time this season as he becomes familiar with the system, and gets acclimated to the rigors of college basketball.