We have seen it time after time. We’ve seen it when we’re good and we’ve seen it when we we’re bad. We’ve gone up against Xavier time after time in the recruiting wars but continually end up in second place. Coming out in second place in recruiting is like finishing second in poker. In both poker and recruiting the goal is to get in early and set the groundwork that must be completed to win. In both cases, you want to find out in a hurry if you are going to win or lose. In poker, it costs you money for sticking around longer than you should. In recruiting, it can cost you an entire recruiting class — and potentially a coaching career — if it happens too often.The question still lingers however which is what are we doing wrong? This is a topic that’s been discussed by every serious UD basketball fan for the last ten years. Virtually every player the Muskies and Flyers have fought for has either gone to Xavier or signed with a school other than Dayton. The names roll off your tongue without a great deal of thought: Brian Grant, James Posey, Reggie Butler, Nate Turner, Romain Guessagba-Sato, and now Keith Jackson. These are just the recent ones.

What could Oliver Purnell have done differently in the recruitment of Keith Jackson? One of the reasons that he lost out on Sato was the perception that he didn’t get in the game early enough. Even though he began recruiting Sato at virtually the same time as Xavier, the reason that Sato selected Xavier was because they were the first school to contact him and stayed with it the entire time. In my opinion, OP never really had a shot with Sato. From what I read, heard, and observed, the adoptive parents seemed to prefer that he attend another school. In the case of Jackson, Purnell did everything but adopt the kid. We have heard his name for over two years and it was clear that Purnell did everything that he could to make the kid feel welcome.So why do we continue to lose on this most important battlefield? One of the most common arguments is the fact that Xavier is a consistent NCAA qualifier. In the past, that has been true. However, in the last two years the Musketeers were uninvited on Selection Sunday and had to settle for the NIT consolation prize. In the last three years, UD has one invitation from the NCAA and one from the NIT. Xavier, on the other hand, has one NCAA and two NITs. Certainly there is some advantage to Xavier, but not one that should sway a prospective recruit.

Television has favored Xavier for a number of years, but not to the extent that one might expect. Yes, Xavier has had more appearances than UD, but we are quickly closing the gap and could possibly have more appearances in the next year or two. Even in the worst of years, we could be found on ESPN and ESPN2 twice each year. UD treats the networks well and they love to come to Dayton to televise a game.

Paul Nardini, a UD grad who has been close to the UD coaches since the late sixties, has his own theory about why we often finish second.

“Take a look at the number of Xavier players currently in the NBA. UD has only had one in the last decade and none now,” he says. “Xavier uses this to their advantage. A lot of the high school players don’t realize that we do get a great deal of exposure from pro scouts.”Nardini elaborates. “There were often four and five scouts in to see Mark Ashman last year and the same will be true for Tony Stanley this year. Ray Derringer has scouted this region for years and is often in the Arena.”

For years, UD had the superior facilities but it didn’t seem to help. One has to wonder if the new Cintas Center will push things even more in Xavier’s favor.

Certainly, the building makes a difference, but we have seen time and time again when we will lose to a George Washington or Fordham that facilities are an afterthought. With the Donoher Center and future renovations planned for the Arena, our facilities stand up to anybody.Let’s talk about recruiters. Many of you have read fellow UDPride writer Doug Lyons on this site. Like many, he has his own theory.”Skip and Jeff Battle are a formidable recruiting team. X is outstanding at getting guys to commit and commit early,” Lyons says. “They really do a great job at getting the commitment or the LOI on unofficial or official visits. A main reason is they do a great job of determining what makes a kid tick and why he might be inclined to sign with them.”

But what exactly is Xavier doing? Lyons explains. “They then do outstanding work at designing the visits to highlight those areas,” he says. “And if they can’t find a match they back off and look elsewhere. Setting up Sato with the African transfer students is just one example of their attention to detail.”

How do Purnell and his assistants stack up when it comes to closing the deal? I have never seen Oliver in a recruiting situation, but whenever I have spoken to him, I have found him a pleasure. He is knowledgeable and personable, yet I wonder how that is accepted by the 17-year-old high school basketball star. Purnell is not a ra-ra kind of guy. He is a hard worker that seems to be very analytical in the way he goes about things. He’s not a used-car salesman by any stretch of the imagination – in short, he doesn’t sell ice to Eskimos. That is why UD Assistant Coach Ron Jirsa is so important. Ron brings to the table the strengths that Oliver might lack. Ron brings with him a history of excellent recruiting and we shouldn’t have been surprised when we signed quality talent last spring. With all this in mind, I think we are close, if not on the same level as Prosser and Company.

One of the things that sets Xavier apart from us is the number of trips up and down the court. Purnell employs a very controlled offensive and defensive strategy. We rarely press full-court and always look for the good shot. I’m sure Cain Doliboa got an earful over the last couple of years about his shot selection. Shawn Haughn went from a shooter to a defensive specialist during his stay at UD. Xavier runs up and down the court ‘like water colors in the rain,’ if I can steal a line from a popular song. Kids love that style of play. There is nothing like 20 extra possessions in a game to help everybody’s scoring average. I believe this as much as anything lights up a kid’s eyes. Things may change at UD this year however because of the depth and quickness of the athletes that Purnell has at his disposal.I recently spoke with Allan (The Fly) Walton, a UD grad and current editor with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He and I agree on a couple of ideas, one of which I will expand upon later. One point that Allan relates is undeniable.

“Nothing compares to winning,” Walton says. “Dayton, unfortunately, is just getting back into the winner’s circle. Few good athletes want to suit up for a loser, regardless of playing time. I find it significant that most of our recent recruits have been from out of state. Hopefully, we’ve turned the corner, but given our recent history, the better local kids (Collier, Hutson, the Cincy players like Sylvester and Keith Jackson) haven’t been particularly receptive.”

“Finally, kids of talent do look at playing time [incentive]. Someone at X did a good job convincing KJ that he and Sato and Price and Young and Chalmers and Brown and McIntosh can find significant time on the floor,” he said.

Most of the criteria seems to be equal when it comes to comparing Xavier and Dayton. We are only about 50 miles apart, so weather cannot be a factor. We are in the same league and same division. Each has long-standing rivalries with many of the same colleges, with Dayton’s being the better of the two with the likes of DePaul, Marquette, and until recently, Notre Dame. Both are private universities with similar enrollments. With this in mind, you have to ask the one big question that’s left. What about the community itself?It’s been my belief that the reason we don’t recruit better is the fact that we are trying to sell Dayton as a whole. Please, don’t get me wrong as I love the city of Dayton — I grew up there, and despite the fact that I have been gone for almost 30 years, I still consider it home.Walton agrees. “The single biggest factor — particularly when recruiting kids from large population centers — has to be the excitement and amenities offered in larger cities. As much as I love Dayton, it doesn’t compare to Cincy, with the clubs, the shopping, the restaurants, the professional sports and so on. In defense of Don Donoher, Bobby Knight once said recruiting at Dayton was next to impossible, seeing as how the campus sits amid the ‘scenic rubble’ of NCR.”What has been done and what is being done is important here. Obviously, NCR is no longer crumbling — we now have nice grassy areas in its place. A plan has been put forth to make the rest of Brown Street much more attractive and more of a recruiting tool for both athletes and non-athletes alike. The university is constantly improving the look and feel of campus buildings and facilities. The Dayton Dragons play in a beautiful ballpark downtown that gives us our first professional baseball team in 50 years. Things are moving in the right direction. Dayton will never be able to match Cincinnati step for step in entertainment, but we are moving forward to make things more equitable.

So where do we stand? We are still taking a backseat to Xavier when it comes to head-to-head confrontations. There is still one big fish out there in Adam Waleskowski. Which way he leans could have a lot to do with the future. Where we are today may not be where we are in five years. One day, someone might be writing an article on a Musketeer website wondering why Xavier is constantly losing recruits to the University of Dayton. Now is a good time to start.