There are few hard-core college basketball fans that don’t take a quick look at the schedule before the start of the season and make some decisions on what the team’s record will be after each game. The same holds true for the University of Dayton’s Flyer Faithful. With four games on the road, there were but a handful of those Faithful that truly expected to return home with an unblemished record. Yet, that is where the team stands today.

With one of the most difficult opening games ever scheduled by UD, starting head coach Brian Gregory’s career with a loss at Pepperdine would not have been unexpected. That was not to be the case, however, as the Flyers played well for virtually the entire game and won going away on the home court of a team that could very well make a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The last time that happened, Gregory had yet to be blessed with his first gray hair.

Not a bad start, but keeping the young Flyers’ collective minds on the task at hand with the beaches of Maui crying out, was not going to be an easy task. Seeded third, Dayton would have to get by second seeded Ohio State and top seeded Villanova to take the coveted Maui Invitational crown. Central Michigan offered little resistance in the opening round and both OSU and Villanova took a nosedive in their opening matches to make the road to the top perceivably much easier.

That was not to be the case, as both San Diego State and Hawaii gave UD stiff resistance. In both cases, the Flyers utilized their senior savvy to pull out hard fought victories. Starting the season 4-0 is certainly a joy, and being rated as high as number 1, if only for a day, in the Sagarin ratings is enjoyable, but let’s not print those NCAA tickets up just yet.

This is a team that can put five potential scorers on the court at any time. Yet, this is a team that is but one key injury away from being not much better that mediocre. Although Keith Waleskowski was named the MVP of the Maui Tournament, there is little doubt in the hearts of Flyers fans as to who the MVP of this early season is. Ramod Marshall is showing the potential of taking this good team to levels only seen by great teams. Dayton could easily be 2-2 without his clutch performances.

That is not to say that other starting Flyers are not highly valuable. Marshall just has the ability to take over a game. When Dayton couldn’t find the bottom of the basket for a ten-minute stretch in the first half of the championship game, it was Marshall that kept the boat afloat with seven consecutive points. With the ball in his hands, the defense can never rest and they also know he just won’t turn it over. If this team is going to make noise in the post season it will be through Marshall with his appointed deputies at his side.

With Marshall willing to be the point man on any offensive, the rest of the supporting cast can utilize their talents without being the center of attention. Finn, Waleskowski, Jones and Scott should all be looking at double digit scoring throughout the season.

This is a team that is no more than eight deep with the eighth being a less than reliable option at times. Gregory prefers a tempo that pushes the opposing team into making mistakes on the defensive end of the court. It hasn’t taken Gregory long to realize that he will not be able to run up and down the court as much as he would like. Although the team is averaging in the neighborhood of 80 points per game, it is highly likely that that number may drop as the season wears on. The one thing that Gregory does not want in March is a team that is ready to fall over due to exhaustion.

Unless the Iguodalas, Whites, Bennetts and Spears on the team begin to step up, oxygen will be a requirement at courtside for the regulars. Although both Iguodala and White have had their moments, there is a true lack of consistency off the bench after Cripe and Williams. Seven players are not enough and more help is needed in the Flyer’s hanger. The addition of Nick Stafford may help, but it would be unwise to expect too much from a kid that will not have his first practice with the team for another two weeks.

Currently 4-0, this is a team that could easily be 9-0 when they make the trip to Cincinnati to play UC. If that is the case, both teams should be ranked and the game will really tell us a great deal about this veteran team. Between now and then, the bench needs to become more consistent and Finn and Cripe need to do a better job of rebounding. Seven rebounds a game in forty plus minutes will not be enough when the tougher teams come calling.

The Flyers have shot over 50% from the field, 37% from the land of the three and almost 77% from the free throw line, all of which is outstanding. They are out rebounding their opponents by just over five per game, which is good, but the chief area of concern has to be the assist to turnover ratio. For a team that is shooting this well, the lack of assists has to be a worry. The fact that they have committed 25% more turnovers than their opponents has to be keeping Brian Gregory up at night. He knows that there will be games in which the shooting will be in the low 40%’s and turning the ball over will not be acceptable.

This is a fun team to watch that may even make the Flyer Nation forget about last year’s fall from the fourth seed. To do that, however, all cylinders must continue to fire with the current precision. The four seed last year seemed to be a stretch. This year it may not.