BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — To the casual college hoops fan, when they hear a player referred to as a “redshirt” the term is probably glossed-over with the simple thought “yeah, he had to sit out a year because he changed schools.” “FTS” is here to tell you that there is much more variety to chemise rouge (as the French would say) than just “sit one, play two.”
The Flyer Faithful might be surprised to learn that Head Coach Anthony Grant
University of Dayton Head Coach Anthony Grant is at the helm of his alma mater’s men’s basketball program after head coaching stops at VCU and Alabama. UD announced Anthony Grant as the 20th head coach in UD Basketball history on March 30, 2017. has used every available variation of the redshirt in his two plus seasons at the helm of the Good Ship Flyer Basketball.
How many different ways can a player redshirt? Let us count the ways:
The Traditional One Year Transfer Redshirt
Ibi Watson, Rodney Chatman and Jordy Tshimanga are current examples on the UD roster of of ‘sit one, play two’ transfers. Dayton has had a recent run of successful transfers such as Jordan Sibert, Vee Sanford and Charles Cooke.
The Injury Redshirt
Ryan Mikesell had to sit out an entire season after double hip surgery. Jhery Matos was a JC transfer (no one year sit out required) and actually played in six games last year. He was granted an additional year of eligibility because he had not played in 30% of the team’s tilts. Arch in The DDN fills in the background on Jhery:
The Redshirt Waiver
More and more, the NCAA is relaxing the one year sit out requirement for transfers. Chase Johnson is a great example of this new found leniency. Johnson had an injury plagued season and a half at Florida and came to UD for second semester last year. Rather than making him wait until the end of the first semester this season, the transfer gods at HQ in Indianapolis granted him a waiver, giving Chase a full three years of eligibility in a Flyer uniform. Jablo in The DDN digs into the details:
The Non-Qualifier Redshirt
Not as prevalent as it used to be, but they still happen. For the Red and Blue Obi Toppin6-9/220lb | Brooklyn, New York
Dayton 2018-2020
2020 Naismith National POY
2000 Wooden Award and Big Steve are the two most recent recipients. The advantage is that the player gets a season to learn the ropes under AG, as well as hit the books and get their grades in order.
The Developmental Redshirt
A lot of fans were disappointed when Moulaye Sissoko was designated as a redshirt this year. With Obi, Jordy and Chase ahead of him on the roster, there were not a lot of minutes that would be available to the young man from Mali. That and the fact that he has only been in the country for a few years mitigated his circumstances. Jablo with the announcement:
The Reversible Redshirt
The thing about redshirts is that they are not ironclad and in fact are easily reversible. Flyer fans saw this occur last year when Frankie Policelli was pressed into duty after Jhery Matos went down. Once Frankie stepped on the court in a regular season game, the redshirt option went out the window.
The Prep School Alternative Redshirt
More and more players are opting for a year at a prep school after they finish their HS eligibility. Class of 2020 recruit Koby Brea is an exception to this practice. AG recruited the young fella (he just turned 17 in November) with the idea that he would redshirt his first year. His HS coach Dwayne Mitchell had a great line:
“There’s no prep school in the country that can compare to Dayton.”
Jablo has the scoop:
The Grayshirt
This is a new one for college basketball, but has been utilized in football recruiting extensively over the years. Basically, the “grayshirt” player graduates HS early, enrolls in college in January and is able to practice with the football team in the Spring. At Michigan, they’ve taken it a step further as six players will participate in three bowl game practices here in December, leading up to the Wolverines’ appearance in the Citrus Bowl.
The timing really doesn’t work for a basketball prospect, as the player would miss a third of the season, but it did for AG when he was recruiting Zimi Nwokeji of SPIRE Academy. Since SPIRE is a non-academic, post-grad basketball program, Zimi was able to forego the second half of their season, sign with UD and start classes and practices in January, with an eye towards contributing immediately in the fall. Jablo once again has the story on Zimi:
There are only 13 scholarships available on the Dayton Flyers roster and the creative use of redshirts gives AG the flexibility he needs to maximize the on-court results.
That’s it “From the Swamp.”
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