Feb. 3, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Dayton Flyers return to the road Saturday when they visit the Charlotte 49ers in a game that will be televised on ESPN2. Game time is 2:00 p.m. EST. It will be the second leg of a home-and-home set with Charlotte. The Niners beat UD 73-65 in Dayton on January 7. Dayton comes into the game 11-11 overall and 3-5 in the Atlantic 10. The Flyers have won three of their last four. Charlotte is 12-8 this season, and is 3-5 in the A-10. UD is tied for 11th with Saint Joseph's in the league standings. Charlotte is tied for second.
Including Charlotte, five of the Flyers' final eight regular season games are on the road. The Flyers play at 10th-ranked George Washington Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST before returning home to face Saint Louis (February 11). The SLU game is a 4:00 p.m. EST start.
Dayton is led by sophomore guard Brian Roberts, who is the only player in the A-10 among the conference's top five in scoring, and top dozen players in assists, three-pointers, FG%, FT% and 3-pt. FG%. Roberts averages 16.6 points a game, which is fourth in the A-10. He is the only sophomore in the top ten. His nine games of 20 or more points this season are the most in the league, one ahead of 2005 A-10 Player of the Year Steven Smith.
UD's second-leading scorer, junior forward Monty Scott, is currently out with a stress fracture in his left foot. Previously limited by plantar fasciitis in the same foot, Scott is not expected back until at least the Saint Louis game. In addition, seniors Logan White (concussion) and Marques Bennett (ankle) are day-to-day. With those three injuries, the Flyers have started senior point guard Warren Williams and four sophomores in the last two games. In three contests Scott has missed, Roberts is averaging 23.3 points a game.
In the last two games, starting guards Roberts and Williams have combined for 149 minutes and 78 points.
Charlotte snapped a two-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 76-60 win at St. Bonaventure. Saturday's game is a matchup of the top two rebounding teams in the Atlantic 10. Dayton leads the league with a +6.0 rebounding margin, and Charlotte is an eyelash behind at 5.9. The 49ers are the only team in the A-10 with two players among the top ten in scoring. Junior guard De'Angelo Alexander is third (17.3) and senior forward Curtis Withers is eighth (15.7). Withers, a Wooden Award finalist, is also the only A-10 player averaging a double-double. He leads the conference in rebounding (10.7).
SERIES STUFF The series is tied 1-1. Dayton won the first meeting with Charlotte, 61-55, at UD Arena on January 5, 1978. Charlotte took the first matchup this season , 73-65 on January 7. The Atlantic 10's round-robin format includes home-and-home games with three teams. UD's are Charlotte, Saint Louis and Xavier. This is the Flyer's first game at Charlotte, but not the first game in Charlotte. Dayton played at the Charlotte Coliseum on February 21, 1972, losing to Davidson 85-69.
STORIES THE STATS TELL Dayton's 11 losses match last season's total, but eight of those losses have been by eight points or less. Five of the eight (Creighton, Vanderbilt, Richmond, Temple and Xavier) were a two-point game, or closer, in the final minute...UD's 77 points against Saint Joseph's was just the fifth time this year the Hawks have allowed more than 70 points. The others were Gonzaga, GW, Ohio State and Davidson in overtime...Brian Roberts leads UD in scoring (16.6), minutes (32.5), starts (21), three-pointers made (49), FTM (61) and FTA (75)...Norman Plummer has led UD in rebounding 14 times this season, including four of the last five, and six of the eight A-10 games...UD leads the A-10 in rebounding margin (+6.0).
GRAD RATES GREAT IN DAYTON Dayton was listed as one of the nation's leaders in the 2005 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report. The Flyers were one of 28 schools (out of 327) with a GSR of 94. UD's 91 percent graduation rate for its men's basketball program is the sixth-best percentage in the nation and the best in the A-10 (tied with Richmond). Overall, 11 Flyer athletics programs had a GSR of 90 percent or higher including six men's programs. Last year's report also noted that every one of the 229 scholarship student-athletes that entered UD from 1988-89 to 1997-98 and completed their eligibility at UD graduated.
HEAD COACH Brian Gregory Third-year head coach Brian Gregory (53-31 overall) is off to one of the best coaching starts in UD history. He reached 50 wins faster than all but one coach at Dayton. Only Flyer Hall of Famer Don Donoher (63 games) got to 50 faster than Gregory (73) at UD. He led a veteran team to a 24-9 record and the 2004 Atlantic 10 West Division Championship in his first season. Last year, with one of the youngest teams in the country (six freshmen averaged at least 11 minutes a game), he guided the team to an 18-11 record, and was in the race for their second straight division title right up to the last weekend of the regular season. For his performance in 2004-05, he was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year by CBS SportsLine and collegeinsider.com. Gregory is the only coach to lead his team to the Maui Invitational championship in his first season as a head coach.
COMMITMENT EQUALS CONTRACT Just after practice began in October, UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Ted Kissell announced that the University and head men's basketball coach Brian Gregory agreed to a new contract that will run through the 2012-13 season. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but it reflects increases in length and compensation. "This new contract includes incentives for performance and longevity. It is not just based on what Brian has accomplished in his first two years as our coach, but also for what we believe is to come," Kissell said at the announcement of the new contract. "Brian Gregory is the right man to move our men's basketball program to a position among the nation's best."
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE Dayton has held its opponent under 50 points five times already this season. That had happened a total of five times in Flyer coach Brian Gregory's first two seasons at UD.
NON-CONFERENCE NEWS Before conference play began, UD had six games against teams in the top 30 of the RPI. Only Memphis, also with six, played as many.
B-ROB B-GOOD Flyer sophomore guard Brian Roberts has led the Flyers in scoring 14 of the 22 games this season, including a career-high 34 points at Creighton, and 24 at UC. He scored a then-career-high 28 points in UD's 81-60 win over Tennessee Tech in the season opener and was named this year's first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. He actually had scored more than his previous career best of 17 by halftime, with 18 points. He scored 28 of UD's 50 points at Richmond. At Xavier, he played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 20 points. In the St. Joe's win, he scored 20 of his 22 in game's last 20:03 (including 15 straight UD points in the second half). SJU held him without a field goal until a long trey just before the halftime horn, and he simply exploded in the second half. On the year, he leads UD in scoring (16.6) and minutes (32.5), and is second in assists (3.5). He is fourth in the A-10 in scoring, and is the only player in the top five who is also in the A-10's top 12 in assists, three-pointers, FG%, 3-pt. FG%, and FT%.
B-ROB LIKES TO B-GONE Brian Roberts has played in 21 games away from UD Arena in his career and has scored in double figures in 15 of them. He averages 14.1 points a game away from UD Arena, and 10.6 at home. In seven games away from home this season, he is averaging 21.0.
BRIAN'S BURSTS Brian Roberts has demonstrated a knack for scoring his points in short amounts of time. He has scored at least ten points in 14 halves this season. He scored all nine of UD's points in the second overtime at Creighton, and has had at least seven points in less than a four-minute stretch 11 times this season, including seven in 2:07 vs. Tennessee Tech, seven in 2:46 vs. CMU, ten in 2:50 vs. Arkansas-Monticello, ten in 2:52 vs. Northern Iowa, seven in 2:59 vs. Vanderbilt, eight in 3:23 at Richmond, seven in 2:57 at Xavier and 12 in 3:46 vs. St. Joe's. He actually scored 15 straight points for UD in the win over the Hawks, taking UD from one down to nine up in just under five minutes.
GREAT SCOTT Junior forward Monty Scott is out until at least February 11 with a stress fracture in his left foot. He had already missed time due to plantar fasciitis. He was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 at the league's pre-season media day on November 3. Scott, UD's 2004-05 MVP, led the Flyers in scoring (11.1) and rebounding (4.6) last season. This season, he is second on the team in scoring (11.4) and FT% (.813, 26-32), and is third in rebounding (4.5) and minutes (25.5). He had his first double-double of the year (and second of his career) with 21 points and 10 rebounds at Creighton. He opened A-10 play with 17 points at Fordham. He has scored double figures in 12 of his 19 games.
STORMIN' NORMAN Norman Plummer is UD's leading rebounder (6.8) and field goal shooter (.541, 85-157), and is third in scoring (10.3). Over the last five games, he is averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds, while shooting .596 (28-47) FG, .773 (17-22) FT and 500 (1-2) 3-pt. FG. Against Duquesne, despite battling strep throat, he had 18 points and eight rebounds. He bettered that in the first half alone last Wednesday in the SBU win, scoring a season-high 23 points (19 in the first half). He made 10 of 12 shots from the field. He had 15 points in the St. Joe win. Earlier in the season, he was limited to just 17 minutes, three rebounds and a season-low four points in the Vanderbilt loss after being bedridden for three days after Christmas. He bounced back with 11 points (3-5 FG, 5-6 FT) and nine rebounds in a season-high 35 minutes at Fordham, and led UD with 14 points against Charlotte. He also had 10 points and eight rebounds versus Temple. Before getting sick, he turned in three double-doubles in the four-game Las Vegas Holiday Classic and was named to the all-tournament team. He has at least eight rebounds in nine games this year, including a career-high 11 twice. Sixty-eight of his 149 rebounds this season are off the offensive glass. He averages 3.1 offensive boards a game.
THE MAYOR Sophomore center Chris Alvarez's outgoing personality may get him elected to office someday (if he decides to run for office, that is), but for now he is campaigning for votes as the team's hardest-working player. He led the Flyers with eight rebounds vs. SJU. He had a season-high ten points (4-4 FG, 2-2 FT) in the Bona win. He grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds in the Grambling win. In the season-opening TTU win, the number three came up big in his performance. Alvarez scored three points, had three assists, had a career-high three blocked shots and showed his versatility by guarding all three frontcourt positions at different times during the game. He had eight points and six rebounds in a career-high 30 minutes at Richmond. He is second on the team in rebounding (4.8) and sixth in scoring (3.9).
DUBYA-DUBYA'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE UD point guard Warren Williams scored a career-high 19 points (5-6 FG, 8-11 FT) in the win over Saint Joseph's. He has 24 assists against eight turnovers in UD's last four games. At Xavier, he scored nine points and dishing six assists. He established a career high in minutes (36) at X, and then played 38 four days later vs. St. Joe's. He scored 12 points (4-6 3-pt.) in the first Charlotte game. That matched what he had scored in the previous seven games combined. He opened the year with his first career double-double in the Tennessee Tech win, scoring 10 points and passing for a career-high 11 assists. Most importantly, he had just two turnovers in 32 minutes. He had five assists against one turnover in 12 minutes vs. Vanderbilt.
BINNIE OFF THE BENCH After shooting .250 (7-28) from beyond the arc in the first 18 games, sophomore forward Binnie has shot .500 (11-22) in the last four games. He had nine points (three threes) in the SJU win, and also helped hold Hawk sharpshooter Chet Stachitas in check. Binnie scored all ten of his points at Xavier in the game's last 4:38, leading UD back from 13 down to a one-point deficit. He came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points, all in the second half, in the FAMU win. He was the spark that ignited UD's 25-5 closing run in the CMU win. He had seven points, four rebounds and a career-high three steals in 16 minutes of action. He's been doing a little bit of everything this season. In 21 minutes in the win over Tennessee Tech, he scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists. In Vegas, Binnie had five points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists in the Cincinnati game. He had nine points (3-5 3-pt.) against Duquesne, and six points (2-5 3-pt.) vs. SBU.
LOGAN'S RUN After playing in just six games and a total of 18 minutes a year ago, Logan White has already seen action in all 20 games (with eight starts) and logged 331 minutes in 2005-06. He's actually had nine games where he played more than the 18 minutes he played all season in 2004-05. He scored a career-high 11 points (5-7 FG) in a career-high 28 minutes at Fordham. He began his move from garbage time to prime time when he was one of the few bright spots at Miami. He came off the bench to score five points and hand out two assists in seven minutes at Miami. Since then, he has played at least 14 minutes in all but one game. He is recovering from a concussion suffered in the St. Bonaventure game (he missed the Xavier and Saint Joseph's games) and is currently listed day-to-day.
ADEDIESEL Freshman center Desmond Adedeji took a big step forward in the Northern Iowa game, playing a season-high 16 minutes and getting 10 points (4-4 FT) and a career-high six rebounds. He also had 13 (6-6 FG) vs. Morehead State. He made his first career start vs. Vanderbilt. In his first road start at Fordham, he had seven points (all in the second half) and three rebounds in 16 minutes of play. In the Duquesne win, he had 10 points (4-4 FG, two dunks) in 14 minutes.
NO LITTLE THING Freshman forward Charles Little had his best game in a Flyer uniform to date in the CMU win, with ten points (4-6 FG) and four rebounds, and two blocked shots. He also had a strong effort against Charlotte, with six points (3-5 FG) and three rebounds in 13 minutes. He added nine points (4-5 FG, three dunks) against Duquesne. At Xavier, he had six points (two dunks) and four rebounds in a career-high 17 minutes. He's had six rebounds twice (NIU & SBU).
YOUNG STUFF UD has had 11 dunks in the last four games, and ten were by Flyer freshmen Charles Little (7) and Desmond Adedeji (3).
SPEAKING OF NEW GUYS An unfamiliar face with a familiar name to long-time Flyer fans can be found on UD's bench. Monroe Douglass, Jr., son of SLU star Monroe Douglass, is now with the team as a practice player. Douglass, who is attending the University on an academic scholarship, is not practicing full-time or dressing for games to allow him some academic flexibility.
FLYERS SIGN FOUR IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD Flyer coach Brian Gregory and his staff landed another impressive group of recruits during the early signing period. The four players who signed are another highly-touted class. The newest official members of the Flyer family - 6-9 center/forward Kurt Huelsman of St. Henry (OH) High School, 6-3 guard Marcus Johnson of Akron (OH) St. Vincent/St. Mary's High School, 6-4 guard Andres Sandoval of Winchendon High School (Milford, MA)/Santa Fe (FL) Community College and 6-2 guard London Warren of Jacksonville (FL) Raines High School - are collectively ranked tied for the nation's 33rd-best, according to HoopScoop Online. All four committed verbally to UD this summer after getting scholarship offers from schools that included members of the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Sandoval played his first two years at Richmond before going to Santa Fe.
NOW THAT'S A PEER GROUP HoopScoop Online ranks seven Atlantic 10 schools in its Top 50 rankings of early recruiting classes. In addition to UD, they are Charlotte, Duquesne, La Salle, Rhode Island, Richmond and Saint Joseph's.
A DIVERSE DAYTON ROSTER The Flyer basketball program boasts (counting the fall signees) 19 players from nine different states. Eight UD players hail from Ohio, and two each are from Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee have one.
...THEY BECOME SOPHOMORES UD's 2004-05 freshmen were the most productive freshman class in school history. They scored 51.4% of the team's points, grabbed 50.3% of the rebounds and shot 55.5% of the free throws.
EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD The Flyers are 15-2 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points. The only losses are both in overtime.
TOURNEY TOWN The NCAA Division I Tournament will make its start at UD Arena this season for the fifth 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 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). The Arena is also one of four 2008 NCAA Division I NCAA Women's Regional tournament sites.
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. And they prove it to everyone the Flyers play. The approximately 600 Flyer fans at the final rounds of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic were more than the other teams in the tournament combined. Close to 300 of the "Flyer Faithful" made the trip to Maui in 2003-04 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 last year, UD easily had half the crowd as Pittsburgh was turning its attention to a Steelers-Jets playoff game later in the day. UD Arena has 75 sellouts in its 34-year history. UD's last 101 regular season home games have had attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 13 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (339 of 342), including the last 138 regular season games. For the entire 2004-05 season, Dayton averaged 12,569 fans per game, which was ranked 18th nationally. This year's opening night attendance of 13,040 was UD's largest first-game crowd in five 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 1960s.
LAST GAME -- DAYTON 77, SAINT JOSEPH'S 69 Warren Williams scored a career-high with 19 points and Brian Roberts exploded for 17 of his 22 points in the second half as the Dayton men's basketball team defeated Saint Joseph's 77-69 Wednesday night at UD Arena. Roberts scored 15 of UD's points in a row during a 15-4 second half run in which the Flyers took control. Dayton shot 53 percent from three-point range (9-of-17) to improve to 11-11 overall and 3-5 Atlantic 10. Williams, who entered with 20 assists against just four turnovers in his previous three games, turned in his top scoring effort of the season on five-of-six shooting. He was eight-of-10 from the free throw line and one-of-two from three-point range. Norman Plummer added 15 points for the Flyers to go with five rebounds and his 11th game in double-figure scoring. Roberts hit 20 points for his ninth game this season with 20 or more points. Dayton has now won three of four, and three-consecutive home games. Down 38-37 with 18:09 to go, Roberts hit four-straight field goals and four straight free throws. He started with a jumper with his foot on the line, then added a three. After SJU's Chet Stachitas answered with a three, Roberts hit four-straight free throws and nailed a three to cap the 15-4 Dayton run and the Flyers never looked back. Dayton shot 46 percent from the field (23-of-50) and hit 22-of-28 free throws. UD connected on 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the second half, including four-of-six from three-point range. The 22 free throws made by the Flyers were the most UD has made all season. Saint Joseph's was led by Abdulai Jalloh's 20 points.
