There are two times in every season when you can be on top of the world — the beginning and the end; when you have been invited to the NCAA Tournament and only have to win six games to be National Champion. In the beginning, you may have questions, but the optimist in you puts those on the back burner. This is the time of the season that only good things can happen. You never worry about a season-ending injury. You never worry about the fact that your star player may have trouble with grades and not see the court after December 31th. It is now that you have that great feeling about a newcomer who will take your team to that next level. It is now that the player who seemed to blossom at the end of last year will really show all of your friends that you knew what you were talking about last season when you said that he would be a star. It is now when the loss column still says zero.

As usual, you have already taken out the schedule and started putting W’s and L’s next to each of the games. Everyone has his own technique, but usually you just try to remember how good a team was last year and use history as your guide. This is one of those years that you may not be too far off on your expectations for the home team. At this point, you know they are better than they were last year, while most of the teams you will play have slipped a notch. You run through it the first time and put down all of the home games as wins and most of the away games as close but still winnable. You finish it up and come to the conclusion that your team is only going to lose four games all season. Knowing that losing only four games would put your team in the top five or six teams in the country, you go back and decide that you were just a little too optimistic. You work hard at finding that one home game that they will have to lose, because they never win all of their home games. Throw in a couple of more road losses and you feel that you have been more realistic and can sleep well at night.

Last year was truly a year of transition for the University of Dayton. The Flyers went from being an also-ran to a team that could play with just about anybody. The fans felt that they were there two years ago, but things came crashing to earth when it was discovered that it’s not easy to replace the leading rebounder in the country. Certainly, there are replacements to be found, but it seems that the replacements are there and more. Last year, when Cain Doliboa went down, the Flyers were reduced to using the non-shooting point guard as the number two guy at the 2 and 3 positions. We began the season thinking that there was a good deal of depth, but soon found that it was no more than a house of cards. It became a marathon and we were short on horsepower. A team that started out 16-3 finished at 6-6. Still a great season, but not as good as it could have been.

The difference between two years ago when the Flyers fell flat on their face and this season is that the core is back and better than ever. We lost two starters, but still return four. Of course that doesn’t add to five, but everyone that followed the Flyers last season knows that David Morris was the true point guard last year. Mark Ashman will not easily be replaced on the offensive end, but the replacements are there to make the transition a relatively painless one. It’s with this in mind that I sat down and put the season together. Unlike last year, when they truly had two directions in which they could go, this year will only have one set of predictions. There is only one way to go with this team and that is up.

NOVEMBER

Maui Classic

The 2000 Maui Classic has been labeled as one of the best, if not the best preseason tournaments of all time. The field: Arizona, Connecticut, Louisville, Illinois, Dayton, Maryland, UNLV, and host Chaminade contains seven teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. Arizona has been picked by many as the #1 team in the country, Illinois as high as #4, Maryland at #4, Connecticut as high as #8, and the list goes on. If you come out of this tournament with three wins you should be in everyone’s top five or ten no matter where you started.Connecticut

This is a game that the Flyers have been pointing to for some time. This would be the first opportunity to show the world that last year was not a fluke and that they were a team to get worried over. The game started quickly with Tony Stanley hitting a long three from the left corner. The Flyers opened with full-court pressure to see what the young Huskies were made of. The press quickly paid off as Brooks Hall stole the inbounds pass and laid it in for a 5-0 lead. The two teams then traded baskets until the 10:15 mark when Keith Waleskowski drew two fouls within 30 seconds on Edmund Saunders — making it three infractions for the game. With Saunders on the bench, the inside game became unstoppable as Green and Holland used their superior ability to pull the Flyers out to a 12-point lead. The Huskies put on a little run at the end of the half and moved to within seven.

Early in the second half, with the score 48-42, Stanley showed his senior leadership and led the Flyers on a 10-2 run. The closest the Huskies got after that was 73-65 with less than 90 seconds showing on the clock. With a final of 79-69 the Flyers began preparing for #1 Arizona who beat Chaminade by 47. Stanley led the Flyers with 19 and Waleskowski added 12.

Arizona

There haven’t been too many times in the last 25 years that the Flyers found themselves up against the number one team in the country. A couple years ago, UC was that team, but the Flyers lost by a point at Gund Arena. Arizona was going to be loaded even before Loren Woods decided to come back for his senior year. When he passed on the NBA draft for another shot at collegiate glory, it became easy to pick the #1 frontcourt in the country, and it was that #1 frontcourt that was going to be the undoing of the Flyers on this November afternoon.

Although the Flyers were shooting well, the battle of the boards was more like the Battle of Little Big Horn and you only have one guess who was Custer. When we would miss, we would rarely get a second shot. When they would miss, they would always get a second shot. Only the outside marksmanship of David Morris and Brooks Hall kept the Flyers within shouting distance. Arizona took a 45-32 lead in the locker room and aside from a three minute spurt in the late stages of the second half when the Flyers scored eight straight points, it was a game that the Wildcats never really felt threatened. The final of 89-81 was somewhat deceiving by the fact that UD scored the last six points on two long threes by Stan King. Morris led the Flyers in scoring with 18 and Hall followed with 17. Holland led the team in rebounds with five.

Illinois

Although few outside the program really felt that the Flyers would be able to stick with Arizona, most thought that Illinois would match up well despite their Top 10 ranking. Although the Flyers have probably the best backcourt in the A-10, Illinois has the best backcourt in the Big 10 with Cory Bradford and Frank Williams. In this battle, the Big 10 easily came out ahead. Stanley continued to show some of the difficulties that he’s had in the past when playing on unfamiliar courts — shooting just 3-14 and 1-9 on threes. Morris had difficulty with the press as the Flyers continually turned the ball over in the backcourt when King or Marshall subbed for Stanley. In a game the Flyers trailed from the opening tip, Illinois ran away with an 80-67 victory. The Flyers boarded the plane the next morning with their tails between their legs wondering which game was the fluke, Connecticut or Illinois?

Cincinnati

There is no one on the UD schedule that brings out more passion in the fans than the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats have been hated by the Flyer Faithful since the 50’s. They have been a team that could beat us when we were good and destroy us when we were bad. It wasn’t too many years ago that Huggins kept his starters on the court and full-court pressed with a 50-point lead. It’s that type of tactic that makes many glad that UC and UD are no longer in the same league.With that and a 1-2 record in mind, this game quickly became a must win for the struggling Flyers. After the difficulties in Maui with rebounding, Purnell decided that it was time to give Sean Finn more playing time so he gave him a start. It didn’t take Mr. Finn long to realize that Division I basketball is not high school ball in Kansas.

Three minutes into the game Finn was saddled with his second foul and found himself sitting on the bench. When reinserted into the lineup with 10 minutes to go in the first half, foul number three took less that 30 seconds on an over-the-back call on the offensive glass.Finn was not the only player having problems with the Bearcats as the first half statistics found the Flyers shooting only 29% from the field and 15% from behind the three-point line. The only thing that kept them in the game was the fact that they were perfect on their 12 free throws as UC led 34-29 at the half. The second half found both teams shooting much better from the field as Stanley hit four threes in a five minute sequence and the Flyers found themselves with their first lead with 8:15 left in the game, 57-56. The rest of the game seesawed back and forth as neither team could sustain their shooting touch. UC took their last lead (72-70) with just under 30 seconds left in the game on a three by Kenny Satterfield. Trailing by two, the Flyers ran the clock down to 15 seconds and called timeout. Purnell designed a play for Stanley to either take a game-winning trey or look for Waleskowski underneath for a tie. He found neither and was stripped of the ball with five seconds left. UC successfully played keepaway as the clock ran down and the Flyers were left standing at 1-3 but 26th in the country in the RPI index.

DECEMBER

Marshall

After playing four Top-25 teams, the Flyers were due for a break. The only break that the Flyers got however was a date with the top team in one of the most underrated conferences in the country. Marshall returned four starters from last year and was loaded for bear as they entered the Arena. There is nothing like getting a team while it is down and the Thundering Herd wanted to do their best to keep the Flyer losing streak intact. With the top two NBA prospects in the league in Tamar Slay, a 6’ 9″ guard, and J. R. VanHoose, a 6’ 10″ center, the Herd would scare a number of top teams.This was not to be as UD came out with fire in their eyes and wings on their feet. From the opening minute of the first half, the Flyers pressed the full 94 feet. While moving people in and out, the easy baskets came to just about everyone in the game. Even when the press didn’t work, Marshall had trouble finding the bottom of the net. The lead reached 18 just before the half as three different Flyers were in double figures. The second half was less of a shooting match as neither team scored more than five points in a row. The Flyers won their second game 89-72 behind Tony Stanley’s 25 points, Brooks Hall’s 18 points, and David Morris’ nine assists. Sean Finn contributed seven rebounds while limiting his fouls and bench time.

At Miami

UD won its first game over Miami in a decade last year and they realized that they needed another win to keep their momentum. Miami had one of their best recruiting classes in a number of years, but freshmen will be freshmen. UD started the same five that they had for the last two games with Morris, Stanley, Hall, Holland, and Finn. Finn surprised a few people with his rebounding during the Marshall game, but not the UD staff. Purnell and company felt coming into the season that Finn would eventually win the starting job; it was just a question of when. It was in Oxford that the offensive side of the 6’ 11″ freshman began to emerge. Instead of controlling the outside before looking inside as they had the previous five games, the Flyers immediately started pounding the ball inside. With Finn, Holland, and Green alternating through the 4 and 5 positions, the Flyers controlled the boards and almost scored at-will under the hoop.When it was all over, Finn had 13 points but would have had more with better free throw shooting. Green added 12 and Holland led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds. The Flyers won 69-64 in a game that wasn’t decided until Stanley hit a three with just under two minutes left in the game.

Prairie View A&M

For the first time this season, UD faced a team that didn’t belong on the same court as them. Although Prairie View returned the SWAC’s top player in Trenton Hassell, this one was over in the first eight minutes as the Flyers won 98-65. Stanley, Hall, Morris, Waleskowski, and King all scored in double figures while Finn added 10 rebounds. For the first time since the first game of the season, the Flyers were back over .500 at 4-3.

At St. Louis

The Flyers were flying high when St. Louis came to town last year and pulled an upset that few expected. It was one of those defeats that made you scratch your head as the Billikens struggled for the rest of the season. It wasn’t until the Conference USA Tournament that the rest of the country saw the same St. Louis team that came into the Arena and left with a win. In four days, the Billikens pulled off the “Miracle in Memphis” and won their way into the NCAA Tournament. This year it is a different story as St. Louis lost four of five starters and entered the game at 3-4 with no impressive wins.This was the game when the Flyer outside game came together. With St. Louis starting twin towers in 6’ 11″ Chris Heinrich and 6’ 10″ Chris Braun, UD immediately attacked from the outside as Morris, Hall, and Stanley connected with threes the first three time down the court. Trailing 9-0 just 90 seconds into the game, St. Louis called a timeout hoping to find a way to stop the assault. The timeout seemed to help as the Flyers maintained their lead but couldn’t pull away. UD led 39-30 at the half.The second half started the same way the first half did, with Dayton scoring the first eight points as the Flyers went on to an easy 82-61 victory. Stanley and Hall led the way with 23 and 17 points respectively. Finn again ran into foul trouble, but the combination of Holland and Waleskowski more than made up for his absence with a combined total of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Old Dominion

Despite their 5-3 record, the Flyers were beginning to gather some attention in the national polls. The USAToday poll had them listed at 31 and the writers’ poll released earlier in the day had them at 27. This was to be a big game for Purnell as he faced his alma mater for the first time since coming to Dayton. The Monarchs come into the game at 2-7 because of a difficult early schedule. Old Dominion is experienced as four starters return from last year’s 11-19 team. The Monarchs like to run, but unlike past Flyer teams, Dayton could run too and did exactly that.Despite 23 points from Andre McCullum, the Flyers took an early lead and never looked back. David Morris showed that he and Finn were beginning to learn how to work together as he found the freshman four times under the basket for easy lay-ups. Morris was easily the star of the game with 15 points and 10 assists. Holland added 13 points and nine rebounds in the 87-70 Flyer win.

Morehead State

When you only return four players from the previous year, it’s usually not a good sign. However, when you are only 9-18 the previous year, maybe it’s not so bad. The Eagles come to town 3-3, but have not played particularly well against the better teams on the schedule. OSU was victorious 87-50 and Samford won by 27 against undermanned MSU. It was to be more of the same as all 13 members of the active Dayton roster saw playing time. Running with ease, Stanley led the Flyer attack with 18 points as six players ended in double figures. The 7-3 Flyers won going away 108-65.

At Louisville

With their fourth game in eight days, the Flyers were hoping that a seventh straight victory would get them into the Top-25. Normally, going into Louisville and expecting to leave with a win would be unheard of for a team representing the University of Dayton. But this is a different year and the two teams have reversed roles. The Flyers come in as 3-point favorites and the Cardinals are still struggling after losing their entire frontcourt from last year’s NCAA team.The game started off with each team struggling from outside but moving the ball inside with relative ease. Stanley missed his first four shots and Hall his first three. Luckily, Finn and Holland kept things interesting by scoring the first 10 points for the Flyers. Louisville led 17-12 when Stanley once again found that magic hand. Alternating baskets with Sammy Smith — who spelled Hall for four very productive minutes — the Flyers pulled even and opened a three-point lead. The last four minutes of the first half saw both teams finding the range from downtown as each hit several threes. The score was knotted at 40 when the buzzer sounded.

The second half was a different story as Waleskowski and Marshall played their best games of the season. Marshall spelled Stanley and scored a season high nine points while Waleskowski scored 10 points in the second half. Although Louisville made a run in the final minutes, Dayton escaped with a 79-75 victory and improved to 8-3.

Marquette

Having already played three teams from Conference-USA, Dayton was ready to take on another in the Marquette Golden Eagles and attempt to extend their seven-game winning streak. Marquette has struggled to get back to the days when the NCAA Tournament was a foregone conclusion and this year is no exception. The Eagles come into the game at 4-4 with the tough conference schedule ahead of them.

Now in the Top-25 at #24, the Flyers didn’t want to stub their toe against a longtime rival that, at least this year, is very beatable. Marquette started off well as the Flyers refused to move the ball inside and struggled from three-point land. The Golden Eagles opened up a ten-point lead midway through the half and settled for an eight-point lead at the half. Purnell was visibly upset with his team and started two freshmen in the second half. The unit of Morris, Smith, King, Holland, and Green started the second half and pressed every in-bounds pass through the first five minutes. The resulting turnovers and adept passing into the interior provided the Flyers with their first lead with 15:13 left in the game. Stanley, Hall, and Waleskowski entered at that point and continued the pressure. The resulting barrage of three pointers provided UD with a 10-point cushion and they coasted to a 78-64 victory.