BEVERLY HILLS (MI) – “From the Swamp” wisely avoided the UDPride message board last night after the latest humbling Flyer defeat at the hands of Archie Miller and the Rhody Rams. Upon awakening, the response was as bad as expected, with the torch and pitchfork crowd’s voices getting all the louder to “Fire AG!”

That ain’t gonna happen, kids.

Let’s think back to 2014, the year that Archie led the Red and Chapel Blue to the Elite 8. Those with short memories probably do not recall the fact that UD started the month of January with a stellar 1-5 conference record.

What if Archie had been jettisoned then, hmmm? That’s right–the Elite 8 run never woulda happened.

I don’t always agree with what Sully has to say, but he was 100% spot-on when he tweeted:

Anthony Grant isn’t on the hot, warm or mild seat. No one is discussing his departure at the University of Dayton this morning. No one that matters, at least.

Temporary setbacks are not the time for rash and irrational decisions. It is, however, the occasion for rededicated leadership, both on the court and from the coaching staff.

And then there is this:

Here are current standings in the Atlantic 15:

VCU 7-1
SLU 6-1
GW 5-2
UD 5-3
FU 4-3
Duq 4-4
GM 4-4
Rich 4-4
SBU 4-4
UMass 3-5
Dav 3-5
SJU 3-5
URI 3-5
Las 2-5
LUC 1-7

What can we infer from this chart, other than the Atlantic 10 Conference sucks? If the season ended today, UD would still get a double-bye going into the Conference Tournament in Brooklyn.

Put in statistical terms, UDPride MB Poster LIBob’s 2023 Atlantic 10 Tournament Seeding Probabilities still have Dayton with an 85% chance of finishing in the top four:

https://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36369

UD returns home for two (hopefully) very winnable tilts vs. Richmond and Loyola. Kick butt, take names and get better every time out, from here all the way to Brooklyn.

Elsewhere in Flyerland:

– One encouraging thing I saw during the URI urination was Deuce fistbumping a ref and obviously apologizing for biatching to him about a call. This was smart on DaRon’s part because he ain’t gonna get any calls if he’s constantly complaining.

– UD’s Mongolian fanbase has now grown to over 28,000 in just 6 months:

https://twitter.com/baikap/status/1616603441337610241?cxt=HHwWgsDR-fiQqu8sAAAA

– AG wisely offered Kyle Greene, a 6’2” 2024 PG from Pace Academy (GA) after he tore up the Flyin’ to the Hoop event in Kettering. Here is his Verbal Commits page:

https://www.verbalcommits.com/players/kyle-greene-jr

– This from NYK expert Tommy Beer says it all: “Toppin’s Last Chance to Shine? Let Obi Eat”:

https://tommybeer.substack.com/p/toppins-last-chance-to-shine-let

– If DaRon Holmes wants to know what kind of dedication to one’s craft is necessary to succeed in the NBA, he only has to read this piece from Heavy.com on Steph Curry, written by UD grad Steve Bulpett:

https://heavy.com/sports/golden-state-warriors/stephen-curry-practice/

Just to prove his point, Steph made this buzzer beating halfcourt three recently vs. the Celtics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXEc3Qhcjic

– It appears that the Door Dash dude who wandered onto the court in the middle of a Duquesne game was a prankster:

https://twitter.com/AustinHansenTV/status/1618484372541440001?cxt=HHwWgoDUvca9gfYsAAAA

– Iconic musician David Crosby passed away this week at the age of 81. These remembrances of Crosby read like a history of the Laurel Canyon music revolution of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s:

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/david-crosby-dead-dies-byrds-crosby-stills-nash-1235495467/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/david-crosby-on-love-music-and-rancour-neil-young-is-probably-the-most-selfish-person-i-know

Crosby was a huge fan of Steely Dan. Here he is appearing with them and performing his signature CSN&Y hit Wooden Ships:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoebEunmPZ8

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: [email protected]