Feb. 11, 2005
Dayton Flyers (13-8, 6-4 Atlantic 10) at La Salle Explorers (7-14, 3-7 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005 • Tom Gola Arena • Philadelphia, PA
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Listen Live on 1290 WHIO Radio
The University of Dayton men's basketball team (13-8, 6-4 A-10) returns to Philadelphia Saturday afternoon to take on La Salle (7-14, 3-7). Game time is 4:00 p.m. EST. Saturday's game is UD's third straight road game, and the Flyers are looking to bounce back from tough losses at Richmond last Saturday (61-58) and Temple on Wednesday (78-70). Dayton is currently tied for second with Richmond in the Atlantic 10 West Division, a half-game behind George Washington.
Dayton was 24-9 last season, winning the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the A-10 West Division and reaching the NCAA tournament for the third time in five years.
** With one of the youngest teams in the nation (eight freshmen, and 12 players in their first or second college seasons) it's no surprise that more than two-thirds (70.0%) of Dayton's points and rebounds (67.4%) are coming from those 12 players. For example, in the La Salle win, 60 of UD's 66 points were scored by first-or-second-year players, including both double-figure scorers. Second-year player Monty Scott leads the team in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (5.0). Eleven Flyers, including six freshmen, are averaging at least 12 minutes a game.
** Saturday's game is the final contest of a six-games-in-17-days stretch. Five of those games have been on the road, including the last three over the last eight days.
** Dayton's game at Rhode Island on January 27 was Brian Gregory's 50th game as UD's head coach, and his 36-14 record at the 50-game mark is the second-best in school history. Gregory trails only Don Donoher's remarkable 40-10 start.
** It was too much Temple to start the game Wednesday night in Philadelphia, as the Owls scored the game's first nine points and jumped out to a 21-4 lead en route to a 78-70 win over UD. Specifically, it was too much Dustin Salisbery, who scored a career-high 27 points, who hit his first seven shots (four from 3-pt. range). Flyer freshman Trent Meacham led Dayton with a career-high 17 points, and matched his career high of six assists. Junior Marques Bennett added a career-high 14 points (13 in the second half) and freshman Brian Roberts also had 14.
Probable Starters
Pos No. Name HT YR. PPG RPG APG NOTES
F 1 Monty Scott 6-6 So. 11.3 5.0 0.8 A-10 Co-Player of the Week 1/24
F 21 Norman Plummer 6-7 Fr. 8.8 4.6 0.4 Career-high 24 points vs. LAS
C 5 Nick Stafford 6-8 R-Fr. 2.3 2.6 0.3 Started last 11 games at center
G 14 Mark Jones 6-1 Sr. 8.0 3.3 1.9 .923 FT (12-13)on road
G 11 Warren Williams 6-0 Jr. 7.4 2.3 3.1 Career-high 18 points @ GW
Key Reserves
G 2 Brian Roberts 6-2 Fr. 9.1 2.8 1.4 A-10 Rookie of the Week 12/19
G 10 Trent Meacham 6-3 Fr. 6.8 2.0 3.0 Career-high 17 pts., @ Temple
G 15 Logan White 6-4 Jr. 1.0 0.3 0.0 First points of season @ Vandy
F 22 Marques Bennett 6-4 Jr. 4.1 3.3 0.9 `04 UD Defender of Year
F 32 Chris Alvarez 6-8 Fr. 3.2 4.0 0.9 Career-high 12 points vs. Fordham
F 33 Jimmy Binnie 6-6 Fr. 3.6 2.3 0.6 Career-high 13 points @ GW
C 44 James Cripe 6-11 So. 2.3 1.2 0.2 Has missed 9 games w/injuries
Head Coach: Brian Gregory - Second Year at UD (37-17)
Head Coach Brian Gregory Second-year head coach Brian Gregory led Dayton to a 24-9 record last season and the 2004 Atlantic 10 West Division Championship. The Flyers advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championship Game before making their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Gregory is the only coach to lead his team to the Maui Invitational championship in his first season as a head coach. Brian and his wife Yvette welcomed their second daughter (Elyse Brianna, the little sister of three-year-old Isabella) into their family on Wednesday, January 19, four hours before UD won at home over St. Joe's.
Stories The Stats Tell Eight different UD players have led the team in scoring this season, including four in the last five games. Monty Scott has led six times...Nine have led in rebounding. Norman Plummer has led seven times...UD has outrebounded 15 of 21 opponents this year, even though no Flyer averages more than five rebounds a game...Six Flyers are averaging at least one offensive rebound a game...Dayton has four players shooting 40% or better from 3-pt. range....Norman Plummer has attempted 29 more free throws than anyone else on the team this season. Brian Roberts is averaging a team-high 11.0 points a game on the road...In the three games so far in February, Trent Meacham is averaging 13.3 points a game.
Series Stuff The Dayton-La Salle series dates back to the 1952 NIT finals. The Flyers hold an 18-11 edge, thanks to a ten-game winning streak in the series. UD won this year's first meeting, 66-58, on January 22 in Dayton behind 25 points by Monty Scott and 24 by Norman Plummer. Each team has won six of the twelve games played in Philadelphia. The Flyers are 4-1 in Tom Gola Arena.
Three-Point String UD has made a three-pointer in 486 straight games, which is the ninth longest streak in Division I. Through games of February 11, UNLV has made at least one it its last 590 games, followed by Vanderbilt (589), Kentucky (559), Arkansas (538), Duke (537), Western Kentucky (528), Princeton (512), North Carolina State (490), Dayton (486) and Charlotte (479). Only Vandy, UNLV and Princeton have hit a trey in every game since the three-point line was added in 1986-87.
Strength of Schedule The Flyers' four non-conference losses were to teams with a combined record of 61-26 (games through 2/11). UC is 18-5 and ranked 20th, DePaul is 15-5, Eastern Kentucky is 14-7 and Vanderbilt is 14-9.
Dayton An NCAA Tournament Regular UD has made 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the past two seasons, and three of the last five. UD has also been rather successful in its previous trips to the NCAA's, making it to six Sweet Sixteens and the 1967 Final Four.
UD A Proven Winner The Flyers are one of just 17 teams to earn 20+ wins in each of the last five seasons. Dayton is one of an elite group of Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
Top Fifty Flyers Dayton entered the 2004-05 season as one of the Top 50 Division I schools in all-time wins. UD is 49th with 1,330, two behind Michigan State and eight shy of Minnesota (games through 2/11).
Close Calls Under Gregory Dayton is 13-6 in games decided by five points or less at the end of regulation under second-year head coach Brian Gregory. In fact, three of those losses came at the buzzer (two on the road) and the other two are in double overtime.
Eye 75 On The Scoreboard The Flyers are 11-1 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points. The only loss was January 5's 94-93 double overtime loss vs. Duquesne. In contrast, UD is 26-16 when scoring less than 75 points in the last two years.
Did You Know? UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers' .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the decade of the 1960s. Dayton holds a 103-45 (.696) record since Jan. 1, 2000.
Traveling In Style For the first time this season, Dayton will travel to all but two of its away games by charter plane. Other than bus trips to Duquesne and Xavier, UD will charter to all other away games to limit the amount of time spent away from campus and missed class time. To help defray costs, selected donors will be offered the chance to join the Flyers on the trips.
A Senior Moment Guard Mark Jones is the only senior on the UD roster. He is fourth on the team in scoring (8.0) and third in assists (1.9) and minutes (23.3). He played just eight minutes and did not start against Cornell, due to the flu. Although he had been going through a shooting slump since the first of the year, he has made his buckets count. He scored five points in UD's game-clinching run in the Fordham win. At Rhode Island, he nailed a pair of momentum-swinging threes on successive possessions. He scored eight of UD's last 17 points in that game, and assisted on Marques Bennett's three that gave UD the lead for good. Jones has reached double figures six times in 2004-05. Against Northwestern State, Jones scored 12 points in a nine-minute second-half stretch that took UD from four down to five up. Last year's winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship and Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy, Jones finished the 2003-04 season ranked second on the team in assists, and fourth in scoring and rebounding.
Monty, Monty, Monty Second-year forward Monty Scott was named as one of the "top breakout candidates for 2004-05" by CBSSportsline.com. He's started breaking out after the first of the year, scoring a career-high 25 points in a career-high 40 minutes against Duquesne, and recording his first career double-double (10 points and career-high 12 rebounds) in the Cornell win. All ten of his points vs. the Big Red came in the second half. He matched that 25 in the first La Salle game and was named A-10 co-Player of the Week. He led all scorers at Rhode Island with 16 points. The only frontcourt player to start every game this season for UD, he leads the Flyers in scoring (11.3), rebounding (5.0) and minutes (24.8) and is second in FG% (.439, 87-198). He has almost doubled his scoring average from a year ago (6.3). He scored 18 points (17 in the first half) in the TSU win. He led UD with 14 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds at DePaul, and led the Flyers with 14 points (6-12 FG) vs. EKU. Last season, Scott earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors coming off the bench and scoring a then-career-high 20 points (8-10 FG, 2-2 FT) in UD's win over Temple on Jan. 10. Scott won the 2003-04 Thomas M. Luppe Memorial Award, which is given annually to the team's best first-year player.
Putting It On The Line Seven of UD's 11 players who have attempted a free throw this year are shooting .750 or better, led by Logan White's 1.000 (2-2) and Trent Meacham's (.905, 38-42). James Cripe is shooting .875 (7-8), followed by Mark Jones (.804, 37-46), Brian Roberts (.783, 36-46), Jimmy Binnie (.765, 13-17) and Warren Williams (.761, 35-46).
Something About Birthdays Junior Warren Williams has a knack for making a happy event even better. The DeMatha grad started for the first time in his hometown and scored a career-high 18 points and passed out seven assists at GW. His previous career high came when he celebrated his 21st birthday on January 12 with 17 points (6-8 FG, 3-5 3-pt., 2-2 FT) and eight rebounds (also a career high, and both leading the team) in the win over Richmond. A week later, on the day Brian and Yvette Gregory's baby daughter was born (Elyse Brianna), he matched the 17 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt., 4-5 FT) and added four assists in the win over Saint Joseph's. Since turning 21, Williams has reached double figures four times in nine games, shooting .500 (15-30) from three. He did not score in the first La Salle game, but had a career-high nine assists. He leads the team in assists (3.1) this season. He scored ten points (8-11 FT), including four straight free throws in the last 1:21 to clinch the NW State win. He shared UD's Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with Marques Bennett last season.
Bennett A Big Contributor Junior Marques Bennett came off the bench score a career-high 14 points (13 in the second half) at Temple. Bennet hit three of four three-pointers in the game. He had a then-career-high 12 points and then-career-high eight rebounds and lead UD to its first win of year over Coppin State. He upped his rebound best to nine against Duquesne. He also had four steals vs. Duquesne. Against Texas Southern, he had six points, five rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes. For the season, he leads the team in 3-pt. FG% (.425, 17-40). He has played all three frontcourt positions (yes, even center at 6-4) at times this year for UD. Last season, he was the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award winner, sharing it with Warren Williams. He was also named the team's best defender.
Clutch Marquesmanship In three of UD's last four wins, Marques Bennett's only field goal has been a late-game three-pointer that could be considered the biggest bucket of the game. At Duquesne, he drilled one (his only field goal attempt of the game) with 1:44 left to turn away the Dukes' final comeback. His trey with 5:21 left gave UD the lead for good in the St. Joe win, after UD came back from eight points down. He was one-for-two from the field in that game. At Rhode Island, a bomb with 3:02 to go (his only three attempt of the night) gave the Flyers the lead for good after URI led by as much as four.
For Cripe's Sake Redshirt sophomore James Cripe missed seven games from UC to Duquesne with a bruised hamstring, and then was out against URI and GW with a sprained ankle he suffered in practice. He's played 21 minutes in the last three games, (eight minutes at Temple). Cripe scored seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 FT) versus Duquesne at home. He had six points and three rebounds in 16 minutes in the SJU win. Last year, he sparked UD with a career-high nine points (4-4 FG) in the XU win.
And You Are.... Dayton has one of the nation's youngest teams with eight newcomers to the roster this season. Coach Brian Gregory's regular rotations have at least three freshman on the floor nearly 50% of the time. UD's five signees from last season are the core of a recruiting class that ranked as high as 17th in the country. The group of Chris Alvarez, Jimmy Binnie, Trent Meacham, Norman Plummer and Brian Roberts were ranked 20th by PrepSpotlight and 29th by Hoopscoop.
Recognized Rookies Flyer newcomers Trent Meacham and Norman Plummer were both named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team at the conference's media day on Nov. 4 in Philadelphia. The team was selected by the A-10's coaches and media.
Familiar Freshmen UD freshmen Jimmy Binnie and Trent Meacham played together before they arrived in Dayton. They were teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team that was the 17-and-under AAU National Runner-up in 2003. In the fall of 2003, they were Co-MVPs of the "Hoops in the Heartland" tournament.
Meacham Makes His Mark Freshman guard Trent Meacham stepped up his game at Temple, scoring a career-high 17 points, tying his career high with six steals and also getting two steals while committing just two turnovers. He has come off the bench to score double figures nine times, including the last three games. He has led UD in assists 11 times this season, and is second on the team in that category (3.0). After having four assists and five turnovers in the opener, he has gone nearly 2-to-1 in A/T ratio (55 assists, 33 turnovers) since. He had a team-high five assists (against one turnover) and piloted the Flyers down the stretch in the Coppin State win. He also had six assists in the Akron win.
Believe In Binnie Freshman forward Jimmy Binnie scored a career-high 13 points in 16 minutes at GW. He had nine points and five rebounds at Richmond. He had nine points in the first half of the Coppin State win, and then was shut down as Eagle coach "Fang" Mitchell resorted to a box-and-one defense when Binnie was in the game. Binnie also had seven boards vs. CSU. He had four points, three rebounds and three assists in the Akron win. He also had six points against La Salle. After not getting any assists in the first seven games, he has had 13 in his last 14.
Above Normal Norman Rookie forward Norman Plummer was the first Flyer freshman to start in his first college game since Tony Stanley did so in 1997. After scoring just four points in the first two games, he scored 22 in the next two. He leads UD in FG% (.441, 67-152, is second in rebounding (4.6) and minutes (23.7) and is third in scoring (8.8). He erupted for 24 points in the first La Salle game, making his first ten shots from the field. He has scored in double figures in four of the last nine games. In the Texas Southern win, he had his first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). He scored 19 points in the Akron win, leading all scorers in the game. He had 14 points in the Richmond win in Dayton.
B-Rob B-Good Freshman guard Brian Roberts is the Flyers' top scorer off the bench (and second overall), averaging 9.1 points a game. He has had ten double-figure games (seven in his last 12) - including 10 in his first college game vs. EKU, a team-high 13 points and career-high eight rebounds at Vanderbilt, a career-high 17 points vs. Duquesne, 14 vs. Richmond, and in the last two games, 13 at GW, 11 in the Fordham win and 14 at Temple. Five of his double-figure efforts have come on the road. He was A-10 Rookie of the Week on 12/19.
You Can Call Me Al-varez Freshman forward Chris Alvarez scored a career-high 12 points while getting eight rebounds and two steals to lead the Flyers to the win over Fordham. He led UD in rebounding (9) in the EKU game, making him the first freshman to lead Dayton in rebounding in his first college game since Ryan Perryman had 15 against Howard in 1994. Alvarez is third on the team in rebounding (4.0). At Vanderbilt, he scored eight points with six boards. At Duquesne, he had seven points and eight rebounds and followed with seven and seven vs. SJU. He started both exhibitions for UD, and started seven straight games after James Cripe's injury.
Staf'ford' Tough Redshirt freshman Nick Stafford had a big hand in the Wyoming win, getting seven points and seven rebounds (tops on the team) off the bench. He played 24 minutes, (nine more than he had in the season's first four games). Versus Texas Southern, he had five points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 14 minutes. He had four points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 15 minutes in the Akron win. He has started the last 11 games, and had two points, four boards, an assist, a block and a steal against Cornell. At Rhode Island, he played 24 minutes (matching his season-best) and had six points and five rebounds. He led the team and matched his career high in rebounds (7) at GW.
UD Inks Two Recruits For 2005-06 Season University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff continue to make a national impact on the recruiting front with the signing of their second recruiting class. Both Flyer recruits -- 6-9, 260-pound center/power forward Desmond Adedeji (pronounced ADD-ah-dee-gee) from DeMatha High School in the Washington, DC area, and 6-6, 220-pound forward Charles Little from Cleveland (TN) -- signed National Letters of Intent. "Our adding Desmond and Charles completes a two-year recruiting cycle for us," Gregory said, "filling the roles of a versatile big man and a powerfully athletic wing player. In these past two classes we have added just about every type of player a team needs." DeMatha is currently 20-1 and ranked #1 in DC and 10th nationally. Cleveland is 15-6 so far this season.
A Diverse Dayton Roster The Flyer basketball program boasts (counting the fall signees) 18 players from ten different states. Seven UD players hail from Ohio, and two are from Illinois and Maryland. One player each is from Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.
Atop The A-10 UD leads the Atlantic 10 (games through 2/11) in three-point field goals made per game (8.14). The Flyer are second in FG% defense (.410, 432-1054) and fewest turnovers per game (12.9). The Flyers are also third in scoring defense (63.2), 3-pt. FG% (.378, 171-452) and A/T ratio (1.04). Monty Scott is 28th in scoring (11.3), ninth in 3-pt. FG% (.381, 37-97) and 15th in three-pointers per game (1.76). Warren Williams is 12th in assists (3.14). Among freshmen, Trent Meacham is third in assists (3.00) and 14th overall. Meacham is also eighth in A/T ratio (1.50), and best among freshmen in that category. In A-10 games only, UD leads in 3-pt. FG's per game (9.10). Meacham is perfect from the line (14-14) in league play, but is well below the minimum needed to be ranked (2.5 FTM per game).
Dayton A National Leader In NCAA Graduation Rate Report The University of Dayton was listed as one of the nation's leaders in the 2004 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report. UD tied for 15th nationally in the four-year average at a rate of 81 percent. Dayton was also tied for 19th in the one-year average with an 84 percent graduation rate. The report also noted that every one of the 229 scholarship student-athletes that entered the UD from 1988-89 to 1997-98 and completed their eligibility at UD have graduated.
UD Arena - A Home Court Advantage Like No Other The Flyers have been winning at an above average rate at UD Arena ever since the building opened on December 6, 1969 when UD defeated Bowling Green, 72-70. Dayton holds an all-time winning percentage of .717 (430-170) at home. UD has defeated a ranked team on Tom Blackburn Court 22 times.
We Were First UD is one of only two colleges in the country using LED boards across the scorer's table. UD has had its boards since the beginning of the season. North Carolina is the other, debuting its boards just after the holidays. (Kind of like the airplane--Started in Dayton, then used in North Carolina). The LED boards are the next step up from the now-popular rotating signs many schools use. Made by Daktronics, the 32-foot-long screen can display stationary signage, animation, and even pre-recorded video.
Flyer Faithful For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the January 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD's fans were tabbed as college basketball's best. Close to 300 of the "Flyer Faithful" made the trip to Maui last season to watch UD win the Maui Invitational. Duke's Cameron Crazies got a taste in 2002-03 when about 500 Flyer fanatics followed the team to Durham, the most visiting fans at Duke in over 20 years. At Duquesne this year, UD had easily half the crowd as Pittsburgh was turning its attention to a Steelers-Jets playoff game later in the day. UD Arena has 73 sellouts in its 34-year history. UD's last 84 regular season home games have had an attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 13 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (322 of 325), including the last 122 regular season games. For the entire 2003-04 season, Dayton was ranked 25th in attendance with an average of 12,597 fans per game.
Tourney Town The NCAA Division I Tournament will make its start at UD Arena this season for the fourth year in a row. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee has announced that the University of Dayton Arena will host the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2005 and 2006. UD has hosted the game since its inception in its current form in 2002. Dayton will also be a First and Second Round site for the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. When the 2006 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 20 of the last 37 years and will have hosted 72 NCAA Tournament games. That will make UD Arena the third-most prolific NCAA Tournament venue behind Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81).
Dayton to Host 2005 Las Vegas Classic The University of Dayton Arena will also serve as one of the four early-round hosts for the 2005 Las Vegas Classic on December 17 and 19. The Flyers will host two early round games before the entire eight-team field heads to Las Vegas for the final two games on December 22 and 23. The LVC is currently the only exempt tournament that guarantees four games to all of its participants. This year's field included #1-ranked Illinois and #20 UC.
Atlantic 10...Neither Atlantic, Nor 10...Discuss Amongst Yourselves The Atlantic 10 Conference will become an even less accurately-named league, but an obviously-improved conference in the 2005-06 season when Saint Louis and Charlotte join the A-10. The addition of the two schools from C-USA will bring the A-10 membership total to 14. In men's basketball, UD and Saint Louis met for the 33rd time this season, while Charlotte and the Flyers have only played each other once, in the 1977-78 season. With the additions of Charlotte and Saint Louis to the Atlantic 10 in 2005-06 season, the A-10 has adopted a new scheduling model for men's basketball. Instead of divisions, the teams will play in one 14-team league race with each school playing each other once and an additional game against three opponents. UD will play its extra games against Charlotte, Saint Louis and Xavier.
Follow UD Online All UD home and selected away regular season games can be followed live online with Gametracker. The live stats will be available along with season statistics, box scores, game stories and photos at the newly-designed www.daytonflyers.com.
Upcoming Schedule After a week between games, the Flyers host Xavier on ESPN on Saturday, February 19. Game time is 2:00 p.m. EST. The Flyers are at St. Bonaventure on February 22, then return to UD Arena to face George Washington on February 26 and UMass on March 1. Dayton will finish the regular season at Xavier on March 5.
#1 Monty Scott • So. • F • 6-6 • 220 • Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg HS Douglas Lamont "Monty" Scott brings athleticism and a confident shooting stroke to the court for the Flyers. He leads Dayton in scoring (11.3), rebounding (5.0) and minutes (24.7). He is nearly doubling his scoring average from a year ago (6.3). He is the only frontcourt Flyer to start every game in 2004-05. He had a career-high 25 against Duquesne, and matched it in the first La Salle game. He was named A-10 Player of the Week after La Salle. Scott had his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the Cornell win. All 10 of his points vs. Cornell came in the second half. He led the Flyers with 14 points (6-12 FG) against EKU, added 11 (4-8 FG) in the Coppin State win, and again led with 14 (and eight rebounds) at DePaul. He scored 18 (17 in the first half) in the Texas Southern win. He scored 11 vs. NW State, with nine coming in 66 seconds on three straight threes. He led all players with 16 points at Rhode Island, and had 10 points at GW. Scott had some explosive games that provided evidence of that potential last year. Exhibit A was the 20-point effort he had in the Temple win. Not only did he establish then-career highs in points (20) and minutes (31) in the game, but he clinched the four-point win with a pair of free throws with 9.0 seconds left. As a senior at Reynoldsburg High School in 2002, Scott was named Third Team All-Ohio Division I, averaging 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 blocks and 2.1 steals a game. He was named to the Columbus Dispatch Super 5, and the Columbus Suburban News Super 12. He led his team to a 19-4 record and the district finals.
#2 Brian Roberts • Fr. • G • 6-2 • 175 • Toledo, OH/St. John's HS Brian Roberts is UD's top scorer off the bench, and second overall (9.1). He has started one game--Cornell--replacing a flu-ridden Mark Jones. In the last 12 games, he has established career-bests in scoring (17 in the double OT loss to Duquesne) and rebounding (8 vs. Vanderbilt) and reached double figures seven times. He is averaging 11.3 points a game over his last four contests, including 13 points at GW, 11 vs. Fordham and 14 at Temple. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the week ending December 18 after scoring a team-high and then-career-high 14 points in the Saint Louis win. He scored ten points off the bench in his college debut vs. EKU. Roberts is averaging 11.0 points a game on the road (8.0 at home). He's played eight college games away from UD Arena, and reached double figures in five of them. In high school, Roberts was the 2004 Ohio Division I Co-Player of the Year after guiding Toledo St. John's High to the state championship game. Roberts had a 70-11 career record in his three seasons as his team's starting point guard. In addition to reaching the 2004 state finals, TSJ was ranked #5 in 2003 and #1 in the state in 2002. He was a three-time Associated Press All-Ohio selection (honorable mention, third team, and first team in 2004).
#5 Nick Stafford • R-Fr. • F/C • 6-8 • 210 • Springfield, MA/Worcester Academy Nick Stafford brings quickness and jumping ability to the post position. So much, in fact, that he might be the best jumper ever to play inside for UD. He has started the last 11 games. Stafford had a career-high matching seven rebounds vs. George Washington. He came off the bench with a huge effort in the Wyoming win. He played 24 minutes (15 more than he played previously this year) and had seven points and seven rebounds. Against UC, he had three rebounds and his first college point. He blocked two shots in 14 minutes in the TSU win. Versus Akron, Stafford had four points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 15 minutes. He had his first career start against Duquesne. Stafford played 24 minutes with six points and five rebounds at Rhode Island. He was a unique mid-year recruit in 2003-04. A 2003 graduate of Worcester Academy, he joined the University of Dayton basketball program on December 18. After graduating in June and not getting his eligibility initially approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse, Stafford filed an appeal. When the appeal was granted, Stafford was cleared to play NCAA Division I basketball and signed with UD. Stafford was a three-year starter for Worcester Academy where he played for former Dayton assistant coach Mo Cassara. Stafford was the team captain of the 2002-03 Worcester team that went 25-4, won the New England Prep School championship, and was ranked #2 in the nation among prep schools. He averaged 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game for Worcester and shot 48% from the floor. As a junior, Stafford played alongside Craig Smith (now at Boston College) and Jarrett Jack (now at Georgia Tech).
#10 Trent Meacham • Fr. • G • 6-3 • 185 • Champaign, IL/Centennial Trenton Meacham gives the Flyers an end-to-end point guard who can not only lead his team and run the offense, but be the offense, if needed. He scored a career-high 17 points and matched his personal best six assists at Temple. Meacham has scored in double digits in seven times this season, including the last three games. In those three games, he's averaging 13.3 points a game, shooting .609 (14-23) FG and .714 (10-14) 3-pt.. In the Fordham win, he had 10 points, a career-high six rebounds and four assists. He leads the team in FT% (.905, 38-42). He is perfect from the line in A-10 play, and has made his last 24 overall over the last 14 games. He has come off the bench to lead UD in assists 11 times this year, including a career-high six in the Akron win and at Temple. He is second on the team in assists (3.0). He had seven points (5-6 FT) and four assists against EKU in his first college game. Meacham and Flyer teammate Jimmy Binnie were first teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team. They closed out their AAU careers by leading Martin Brothers to the 2004 Senior Boys (19-and-under) AAU national championship in June. Meacham scored 33 points in the final game. The year before, they were runners-up at the AAU 17-and-under nationals. At Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois, Meacham averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game as a senior. He shot 79 percent from the line, 60 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range. He was First Team All-Illinois, leading his team to 22 wins.
#11 Warren Williams • Jr. • G • 6-0 • 195 • Gaithersburg, MD/DeMatha HS Warren Williams shared UD's Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with Marques Bennett last season, and could be considered a candidate for the same award this season. He has started all 21 games at point this season, and leads the team in assists (3.1). In A-10 games, he is averaging 8.0 points and 3.6 assists, and is shooting .528 (28-53) from the field even though he was scoreless vs. La Salle and at Richmond, shooting a combined 0-for-8 in those games. In front of the hometown fans, the DeMatha grad scored a career-high 18 points (5-7 3-pt.), had seven assists, three steals and his first career block. He gave himself quite a birthday present in the first game against Richmond. On the day he turned 21, he led the Flyers in points (17) and rebounds (career-high 8), while shooting 6-8 FG, 3-5 3-pt. and 2-2 FT. A week later, he matched the 17 (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt., 4-5 FT) in the SJU win. He had a career-high nine assists in the La Salle win. Williams came to UD from renowned DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland where he led his team to two straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and city basketball titles. He scored 16 points in last year's Temple win.
#14 Mark Jones • Sr. • G • 6-1 • 180 • Taftville, CT/Norwich Free Academy Mark Jones scored eight of UD's last 17 points at Rhode Island, nailing back-to-back threes and then hitting a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left. He has missed only one start this season (Cornell, flu). Even though he only had four points in the St. Joe win, both were critical, late-game buckets. At Vandy, he had 13 points, sharing team honors with Brian Roberts. He scored 17 points in each of the last two home games of the 2004 calendar year (including 12 points in an eight-minute stretch that took UD from four down to five up vs. NW State and eight straight points with UD down nine early vs. Akron). He is third on the team in minutes (23.3) and assists (1.9) and fourth in scoring (8.0). In 2003-04, he earned the Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy, improving more than 100 percentage points (.661 to .766) from his sophomore year to his junior year. He also was named the 2004-05 winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship. The 2001 Connecticut Player of the Year, Jones is the first player from that state to play at UD. He needs eight points to join UD's top fifty in scoring.
#15 Logan White • Jr. • G/F • 6-4 • 180 • Chagrin Falls, OH/University HS Logan White has played in four games so far in 2004-05, including two of the last three. He had a solid start to his sophomore season, but a mid-season wrist injury sidelined him for three games and hampered him longer than that. He opened the season with a career-high six points at Pepperdine and knocked down two treys for another six points in the Maui-opening win over Central Michigan. Later in the season he had five points and a career-high four rebounds in his first career start against Prairie View. After playing limited minutes in 21 games as a freshman, White played more substantial minutes (9.8 a game) in 20 games last year. White played with poise in limited action as a freshman. He made 11 of 12 free throws (.917), including two at Duke with a minute left during UD's frantic comeback there. Among his better performances were a season-high 15 minutes at George Washington, getting highs in rebounds (3) and steals (2), and coming up with two points and two assists in the GW win at home. A Third Team All-Ohio performer as a senior at University High School in Cleveland, White averaged 20.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.5 steals as a senior.
#21 Norman Plummer • Fr. • F • 6-7 • 215 • Fairfield, OH/Hargrave (VA) Military Acad. Norman Plummer made his first ten shots (finished 10-13 FG) and scored a career-high 24 points in the January 22 win over La Salle. He was the first Flyer freshman to start a game since Tony Stanley started his very first game in 1997. After getting a total of four points and five rebounds in the first two games, he had 22 and nine in his next two. At DePaul, he had 12 points (5-7 FG), six rebounds and four steals. Against then-#24 UC, he had 10 points. He had his first double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) vs. TSU. He had 19 points in the Akron win. He second on the team in rebounding (4.6), and minutes (23.7), and third in scoring (8.8). Plummer came to Dayton after an impressive season at last year's prep school national champion, Hargrave Military Academy. Plummer was Hargrave's captain, leading scorer (22.8 ppg.) and rebounder (9.6 rpg.) in 2003-04. He led them to a 25-1 record and was one of eight Division I players on the team. In 2002-03, Plummer played for Brewster Academy in Brewster, New Hampshire. He averaged 26.0 points and 9.1 rebounds a game, and was the leading scorer among New England prep schools. He had 14 points in the first Richmond game.
#22 Marques Bennett • Jr. • G/F • 6-4 • 200 • Indianapolis, IN/Brebeuf Jesuit Marques Bennett has been UD's "big-heart" player this season, playing through the pain caused by calcification around a titanium plate that was placed in his leg after he fractured it playing youth soccer. Even though he is only 6-4, he has played both forwards and even center at times for UD this season. He has hit game-altering three-pointers down the stretch in three of the Flyers' A-10 wins. He scored a career-high 14 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 3-pt.) at Temple. He had a career-high nine rebounds and four steals against Duquesne on January 5. Twenty-two of his season's 23 steals have come in the last 17 games, including 12 in the last 11. He is the only non-starter among the conference leaders in steals. He came off the bench to lead UD to the Coppin State win, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. He shot four-for-four from three-point in the game. He had three key steals in the Wyoming win, including two on the Cowboy's last two meaningful possessions. He has made 16 free throws (in 23 attempts) already this season, after shooting just 3-13 from the line the entire 2003-04 season. After playing just 12 minutes in six games as a freshman, he moved into the starting lineup (played in 27 games, starting 22 of the last 23) and increased his productivity to 2.9 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. His move from the bench to the starting lineup was thanks to his defense. Bennett was named UD's Defender of the Year. Bennett was also named co-winner (with classmate Warren Williams) of the Chris Daniels Memorial Most Improved Player Award. He led Brebeuf to the #2 ranking in the state before the team was upset in overtime in the state tournament.
#32 Chris Alvarez • Fr. • F/C • 6-8 • 210 • Miami, FL/Blair (NJ) Academy Chris Alvarez led Dayton with nine rebounds in the EKU game, becoming the first freshman to lead the Flyers in rebounding in an opener since Ryan Perryman did vs. Howard in 1994. Alvarez scored a career-high 12 points and added eight rebounds in the Fordham win. He also had eight rebounds, with four assists and two blocks in the Texas Southern win. He scored eight points (with six rebounds) at Vanderbilt. After playing just a scoreless five minutes (he did have one rebound) against Richmond, he came back to total 14 points (6-8 FG) and 13 rebounds (nine offensive) in the next two games against Duquesne and Saint Joseph's. Alvarez came to UD from the powerhouse Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. As a senior last season, he was all-state and all-league after averaging 14.3 points and 11.1 rebounds a game. The Miami, Florida, native was team captain on a team that had four other players who went on to Division I. During his junior year, Blair produced six D-I players; but Alvarez still saw 20 minutes a game. He averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in games, but games were only part of the Chris Alvarez story in 2002-03. Every day in practice, he went up against two McDonald's All-Americas Luol Deng (who played at Duke and then was drafted by the Chicago Bulls) and Charlie Villaneuva (now at UConn).
#33 Jimmy Binnie • Fr. • F • 6-6 • 200 • Johnston, IA/Johnston Jimmy Binnie came off the bench to score 13 points in 16 minutes at GW. He is one of five Flyers shooting 33% or better from 3-pt. range (.381, 16-42) and is actually shooting better from three than inside the arc (.250, 7-28). He came off the bench to drain three three-pointers in nine minutes in the first half during the Coppin State win. CSU coach "Fang" Mitchell pulled out box-and-one for Binnie in the second half. Binnie finished with nine points and seven rebounds. At Richmond, he had nine points and five rebounds. He had six points and five rebounds vs. Cornell. Binnie and point guard Trent Meacham were teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team. In fact, they closed out their AAU careers by leading Martin Brothers to the 2004 Senior Boys (19-under) AAU national championship in June. Binnie was named the Most Valuable Player of that tournament, putting the cherry on top of an excellent prep career. Binnie was First Team All-Iowa and the Iowa Class 4A Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game for Johnston High School, leading his team to an 18-6 record. A deadeye shooter, he finished as Johnston's all-time leading scorer and was three-time first team all-conference. Binnie scored a school-record 45 points (regulation game) as a senior against rival Des Moines East.
#44 James Cripe • So. • C • 6-11 • 250 • Loveland, OH/Loveland HS James Cripe returned to action versus Duquesne on January 5 after missing seven straight games with a bruised hamstring. He also missed the Rhode Island and GW games with a sprained ankle, but has come back and played 21 minutes in the last three games. When he came back against Duquesne after the hamstring injury, he played 15 minutes, and scored a season-high seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 FT). Then in the next game against Cornell, he turned his left ankle and was limited in the next two games (10 minutes, one rebound and zero points). In the St. Joe win, he played 16 minutes, with six points (including a pair of key free throws down the stretch) and two rebounds. Then in practice before Rhody, he turned his right ankle. He made his first career start and played a career-high 23 minutes in the opener vs. EKU. He played in all of last season's 32 games, averaging 8.2 minutes a game as seniors Keith Waleskowski and Sean Finn closed out their careers. Cripe averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in this role. Two of the strongest efforts for the Cincinnati native were against Xavier and Cincinnati. He had nine points and three rebounds in the win over Xavier at UD Arena, and had five points and four rebounds in a career-high 20 minutes at Cincinnati. He also had eight points and seven rebounds vs. Wofford. The year he spent in transition from high school to college should serve him well, since Cripe was barely 18 when he graduated from high school (he turned 18 in May of his senior year). He also came to basketball late. He did not play organized basketball until his freshman year of high school, and he grew from 6-4 to 6-10 from his sophomore year to the beginning of his senior year. Cripe averaged 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds as a senior at Loveland High School (near Cincinnati), his first and only season as a starter. He played in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game following his senior season.
