Welcome to the big-time. That’s what Jaguar Head Coach Ron Hunter is saying to his players after IUPUI made the decision to move from Div-II to Div-I basketball. And the timing could not have been worse.

Carlos Knox finished up his Metros career (now the Jaguars this season) as one of the school’s best, scoring a whopping 30ppg and 5.4rpg. Knox, a former Dayton HS product, was a Div-II All-American that Hunter will miss desperately as they start playing Div-I teams every week. As a squad, the Metros shot a blistering .419% from three-point land last season, but without Knox in the lineup and two other quality starters, things don’t look good.

The Jags are now members of the Mid-Continent Conference and are certain to battle Oakland (MI) for last in the league as Oral Roberts and Valpo duke it out for the top spot. Oakland does not have full Div-I status yet so the Jags may avoid the cellar. But even in a weak league such as this, IUPUI will play underdog every night.

If there is a strength, it lies in the backcourt. Derek Williams and Matt Hermes are the only players with legitimate experience to patch their way through a game. Hermes transferred from Drake after playing only a handful of minutes. Williams has a nice shooting touch (.485%) at guard and had a school record 11 steals in one game last year. Junior Rodney Thomas (6ppg) and a host of backcourt newcomers will battle for playing time behind the starters.

Ron Hunter has few answers in the frontcourt however. Don Carlisle and Mohammed Witherspoon are the only big men with any concrete experience but even they are only temporary answers until Hunter can recruit some players capable of banging with mid-major talent. Katoni Waller appears to be the immediate answer at center because of his JUCO experience and the fact that his competition, 6-10, 210lb Herbert Lambert is a true freshman. Four more players – three of them true freshmen – will compete for the two forward spots off the pine. Any way you slice it, the Jags are going to take some lumps at the hands of the ruling class.

If there’s a salvation for Ron Hunter it is this: West Virginia State is IUPUI’s home opener and will be the Jags only shot at getting to .500 or better this season. After that, as the Beatles’ say, ‘It’s a long and winding road’ – and that road begins in Dayton. Escaping UD Arena within 30 points would be something positive to build on.

The Flyers will take the floor again without Andy Metzler and Nate Green as they serve the last of a two-game suspension handed down by Purnell earlier in the week. Specifics of the suspension were not disclosed.

Coming off a career night against Kent State, Mark Ashman should thrive against IUPUI’s undersized and inexperienced post players. If Dayton puts the game out of hand by halftime, Purnell may elect to play Stephen Bamigbola heavy minutes in the second half to help the Flyer center earn some experience and confidence early in the season. Bamigbola struggled mightily against Kent in limited action and must recover quickly or risk falling further down the bench. Ted Fitz played extremely well in the season opener (12pts, 7rbs) and could be a surprise this year at the power forward spot. If Fitz can come anywhere close to those numbers on a consistent basis, it will be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup.

Tip-off against the Jaguars is slated for Wednesday at 7:30pm. A handful of upper arena tickets are still available.