The Flyer Faithful have just ended what has been a good if not great era at the University of Dayton. In three of the last five years, the Flyers have made the NCAA Tournament. The results after getting there have not been stellar, but just getting there implies a lot. Five consecutive and 6 out of 7 seasons with 20 wins tells the world that the Flyer basketball program is back and is to be taken seriously. Once again, nobody wants to play Dayton in Dayton. Although frustrating for the season ticket holder, it says volumes about the quality of the product that is being put on the floor.

The old guard has left. Oliver Purnell and his last group of impact players are now gone. Purnell left Brian Gregory with a team that was ready for another run at the NCAA Tournament, but he left him with little else. With the departure of Finn, Waleskowski and Marshall, the cupboard is virtually bare. You can debate the futures of the remaining six players, but none has given any indication that they are the cream that will rise to the top. Although they have each had their moments, there is no consistency in performance.

What this says is that 2004-2005 will be a very interesting year at the Arena. Despite the fact that there will be two returning starters (Bennett, Jones) and three players with some degree of significant playing time (Williams, Scott, Cripe), don’t even think about putting your starting line-up together in ink with any of those names. It seems that all five of the incoming freshman will be starting at UD this summer. Even though structured practices are not allowed, there are several reasons to get started early and they certainly will take advantage of that.

Just getting a jump on a few college classes cannot be overlooked. Add to that the ability to begin strength and conditioning with the staff and play pick up games with current and former players. All of this will allow these five new players to become familiar with the UD campus and college life and Gregory’s system.

One cannot help but marvel at the teams still alive in the NCAA Tournament. They tend to be guard driven, good shooters and athletic. In the Columbus first and second rounds, you could count the number of true center types on one or two fingers. Six feet-eight inches seems to be a magic number when it comes to today’s centers. The talented big boys tend to make their way to the pros rather quickly and college basketball (aside from the Dukes of the world) tend to end up with shorter, more athletic players. This is the mold that we will see in Dayton as long as Gregory is in charge.

The players that will be making their debut next year will certainly be quicker and more athletic. This will allow Gregory to push the ball up the court as he had intended to do this year. If you all remember, the plan was to create some level of chaos on both ends of the floor. However, after six weeks of practice and a trip to Hawaii, Gregory was forced to move in another direction when he found that the personnel available just didn’t fit that type of environment.

One of the most familiar sights on the Dayton sideline was Gregory waving his arms frantically each possession trying to get the guards to move the ball into the frontcourt quicker. During the A-10 Tournament, Gregory, while looking at his assistants, playfully mocked our approach to bringing the ball up the court with his own little act of a guard leisurely dribbling the ball. Gregory is in a hurry and he wants his players to do the same. What we saw this year will not be repeated.

There are no holds on any position for next year. This will be the most wide-open preseason practice that anyone can imagine. I’m sure that Gregory has filled the ears of the newcomers with the thoughts that they can gain serious playing time by coming in prepared and working hard after they get here. I’m also sure he has already spoken to the returning players about what they will need to do to compete in the A-10 next year. If they want to play, they are going to have to be better than they were this year.

It may be easier to pick the winning lotto numbers that pick who will be in the starting five on opening night next year. It is very easy to over estimate the talents of the incoming players. They all have impressive numbers and come from winning teams. One must be very careful not to project too much from 20 wins and 20 points per game, as they can get lost in the translation from high school ball to college. The game is bigger, stronger and much faster. Experience and solid competition are key factors as to who can make the transformation.

A look at next year and potential line-ups:

Point Guard-Warren Williams will be the returning player with the most experience at the point. He was the first guard off the bench and typically took over the point when in the game. However, this does not guarantee anything. His game was erratic at best and his thought process somewhat unnerving. Improvement was shown, but will it be enough to take over the starting spot. His assist/turnover ratio is a very poor 1.2/1.0 verses the preferred 2/1. His three point shooting (40.8%) was the best on a poor shooting team. My guess is that he might start at the beginning of the season, but end up once again, being the first guard off the bench.

Trent Meacham is a sharp shooting point guard that has both the experience and competition factor to immediately come in and direct the Flyers. He will give Dayton an outside scoring threat while still being able to distribute the ball. He is quick and will be given every opportunity to run Gregory’s offense.

Shooting Guard-Mark Jones received 30 minutes of playing time at the shooting guard position in 2003-2004. His desire and hard work cannot be questioned. He was the first to sit down with Gregory after he was named head coach and impressed with his work ethic from day one. He is a hard-nosed kid that would run through a wall if asked. However, not all is rosy when looking at his contributions on the floor. He shot under 40% from the field and under 33% from behind the arc. His assist/turnover ratio was nearly 2.0, but he lacks the ball handling skills to effectively run the point, thus the designation as a “shooting” guard. If he is to maintain his playing time he will need to improve his shooting and shot selection.

Brian Roberts was just named co-Division I player of the year in Ohio. He has led his team to the final four of Division I. He is a smooth shooter with enough quicks to play the two very effectively. He has played some point guard, but it appears that he can serve this team best as the shooting guard. With him in the lineup, UD will be much better suited for the up and down game and pressure defense that Gregory likes, that is, if he decides to improve his defensive abilities. He is the typical high school player in that he survives on the defensive end of the court so he can shine on the offensive end.

Small Forward-Manned this year primarily by Marques Bennett and Monty Scott. Of all of the returning players, one of these two probably has the best shot at starting. If the two could be blended together, the resulting player would get a good deal of playing time. Bennett looks like a deer caught in headlights on the offensive end and Scott is often found out of position and trailing his man on the defensive end. Bennett received a good deal of playing time in the last half of the season through his defensive work, but that will not be enough. He will need to improve his ability to put the ball in the hoop if he expects to see much playing time next year.

Scott, on the other hand, was one of the major disappointments of the past season. Touted as athletic with enough hops to fill up a brewery, he was more content to stand outside and occasionally take a three. He was reluctant to use his ability to drive and get to the free throw line. If he is to turn into the type of player listed in his press clippings, he is going to have to revert to what got him there. Just because he plays on the wing doesn’t mean that he can’t play inside well.

Jimmie Binnie is an outside player with the ability to slash to the basket. He is capable of creating his own shot, but is not what one would consider an outstanding outside shooter. He has good court vision and will get his share of rebounds. He is slender and will need to add some strength to be able to get a great deal of early playing time. He is capable of playing some two but will primarily be slotted in at the three hole. He plays the position with perhaps the most depth and as a result, is less likely to gain a starting spot early on.

Power Forward-Norm Plummer has all but been handed this starting position. Probably the best of the incoming freshman, there is little competition from those left behind by graduation. His greatest competition will either come from red-shirt freshman Nick Stafford or freshman Chris Alvarez. Plummer is the real deal and if he does not start it will be the biggest surprise in town. He was the best player on the best prep team in America. He could be the next Ryan Perryman. His outside game is nothing to get excited about, but he seems to have that ability to rebound that just isn’t learned. Over the last two years, he has averaged 25 points a game with many of those games being done by halftime. Pencil him in for 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Stafford has the ability to play this position and could very easily split some time here, as he will at center.

Center-Probably a two headed monster. In practice, Stafford has delighted the coaching staff with his ability to play defense. He has long arms and would probably be labeled another Frank Iguodala. His offensive skills are lacking, but he can be seen hitting a 10-foot jumper now and then, which is something Frank never could do. It is his ability to swat balls in the other direction that will get him playing time over James Cripe.

Cripe is one of those guys that every once in a while shows the kind of potential that makes a coach go crazy. Crazy that it isn’t there all of the time. He is still learning the game and it shows. He brings a great deal of enthusiasm to the court, which always seemed to be the one thing that Sean Finn seemed to forget at the door. If he can learn to defend better, he will get close to 20 minutes per game.

Chris Alvarez is a talented athlete that sometimes doesn’t understand that to get where he needs to go he is going to have to give it 110%. If the coaching staff can get this kid to understand that fact, they may indeed have a diamond in the rough. My guess is that he is the most likely to red-shirt of this group of five incoming freshman. If he shows he can contribute as a freshman, he might be able to change some minds, however.

2004-2005 Starting Lineup:

For Game One
Meacham, Jones, Bennett, Plummer, Cripe
For Game Fifteen
Meacham, Roberts, Scott, Plummer, Stafford

No matter what happens, this will be a very young team with the potential to both surprise and disappoint. This is the new beginning. This is an opportunity to begin the journey to that “next level.” UD has already made the leap to the next level with annual trips to the big dance. Now it is time to still be dancing after the first weekend. However, don’t look for it next year with the improved schedule and the graduation of over 4,000 points. Better hope we make it past .500 and into the NIT. Then, look out in 2005-2006.