Dayton down to 11 players after Miller’s suspension

Flyers could still add player to roster if they choose

Two years ago, the Dayton Flyers played more than half the season with seven scholarship players. One of those, Bobby Wehrli, didn’t have a scholarship when the season began.

When the season ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, then coach Archie Miller said fans would never see another team like it. Despite their roster limitations, the Flyers finished 27-9.

New coach Anthony Grant will face a similar, if not quite so desperate, challenge when the season begins. Junior forward Ryan Mikesell will sit out the season after undergoing two hip surgeries. Junior forward Sam Miller announced Friday the University of Dayton had suspended him for a semester following an incident two weeks ago in the Greene County jail. His scholarship was revoked for the year.

Dayton will begin the season with 11 scholarship players unless it adds someone to the roster in the next few weeks. It now has one scholarship open. Three years ago, Dunbar grad Ryan Bass, a grad transfer, left Oakland University for Dayton in late August. Bass was limited to eight games because of concussion issues.

Six of Dayton’s scholarship players have never worn the red and blue. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the roster the Flyers will have when they open the season Nov. 10 against Ball State:

1: Number of seniors

Guard Darrell Davis averaged 5.5 points last season and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range. He's the only scholarship player who's a senior, but he will have company on Senior Night. Walk-on Joey Gruden will be a fifth-year senior.

6: Players 6-foot-7 or taller

Even without the 6-7 Mikesell and 6-9 Miller, this is a tall team. Freshman center Jordan Pierce (7-0) is the biggest of the bunch. Freshman Obadiah Toppin is 6-9. Freshman Matej Svoboda, of the Czech Republic, is 6-7.

Kostas Antetokounmpo, a 6-10 forward who sat out last season as a NCAA partial qualifier, is almost as big as Pierce. Antetokounmpo’s status is still unclear. He suffered an injury in Greece on July 10. UD will not release an update on him until he returns to campus later this month and gets examined.

OFFSEASON FEATURES: Josh Cunningham; Xeyrius Williams; Ryan Mikesell; John Crosby

8.2: Xeyrius Williams’ scoring average

The junior forward from Wayne was the team’s most improved player last season, and he’ll have to take his game to the next level if the Flyers hope to compete for an Atlantic 10 title.

12.5: Josh Cunningham’s’s scoring average in first two games

Cunningham opened his Dayton career by scoring 13 and 12 points against Austin Peay and Alabama. He tore a ligament in his ankle in the final seconds of the Alabama game. He returned for the final nine games but wasn’t the same player. He expects to return to the form he showed at the start of last season when this season begins.

26: Percentage of points returning

The four graduated seniors — Scoochie Smith, Kendall Pollard, Charles Cooke and Kyle Davis — plus Miller and Mikesell combined to average 61.9 points per game.

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