Flyers expect to have Charles Cooke back for A-10 opener

Dayton’s leading scorer missed last week’s game with wrist injury

Dayton Flyers coach Archie Miller says he needs “all hands on deck” for Friday’s Atlantic 10 conference opener against La Salle.

Fortunately, it seems Flyers leading scorer Charles Cooke should be back after missing last week’s win against Virginia Military Institute with a wrist injury.

Dayton (9-3) faces a challenge in hosting the high-scoring Explorers (6-4), who rank second in the league with 84.2 points per game. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Friday at UD Arena.

“He practiced yesterday on the way back from Christmas break, and I think he’s still a little bit sore, but he’s progressing well,” Miller said Wednesday. “All things considered, hopefully the next couple days continue to go well, but we expect him to play.”

Cooke, a senior guard, paces the A-10’s third best scoring team with 19.2 points per game, including four games with 20 points or more, and also plays a significant role on defense as a first team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Defensive Team selection last year and this preseason.

He’s one of three Flyers averaging in double figures, joined by Scoochie Smith (13.3) and Kendall Pollard (11.0). Dayton faces a tough matchup with La Salle guard/forward B.J. Johnson, a transfer from Syracuse, and guard Jordan Price, both of whom are averaging close to 20 points a game. Johnson leads with 20.2 points and Price adds 18.5 points per game with Pookie Powell (12.7) and Cleon Roberts (9.1) also consistent contributors.

“You need all hands on deck,” Miller said. “We’ve been short-handed at times, and in some cases haven’t played as well because of it, but when you get into league play, you need your best guys ready to go. LaSalle’s best guys have been playing terrific, and they play very unselfish as a team, and I think the thing we had going last week was a very unselfish group as well, so we have to stay with that, keep building on that, and having our best guys play consistently.”

Dayton had seven players score in double figures in the 92-56 win over VMI even without Cooke, but the Flyers are clearly stronger with him on the court and La Salle appears better than its four-loss record. Three of the losses came against teams ranked in the Pomeroy rankings top 100, including No. 1 Villanova by 10, Georgetown and Temple.

UD has won 30 straight games when scoring 80-plus points, including five times this season, and could be in for an offensive showdown against the Explorers . The Flyers are 37-1 when limiting opponents to 60 points or less in the last five seasons under Miller, but no one has held La Salle under 68 points yet.

“They’ve always had a unique spread look to their floor, but they’ve really put shooting all over it,” Miller said. “… It’s one of the more talented lineups. They’ve bolstered their team from a year ago with some guys that were sitting out and they’re making a big impact.”

Sophomore forward Ryan Mikesell said with Dayton’s tendencies during the non-conference slate to start off slow, it will be especially important to get off to a fast start Friday.

La Salle could be difficult to catch up to if the Explorers are allowed to take a big lead.

“They are a really good team,” said Mikesell, who averages 7.0 points per game. “Coach was telling us some of the different players they have. They can really stretch the floor. They have four or five shooters on the court at all times, so it’s going to be a tough challenge that we’re looking forward to and hopefully we can get our conference season started off on the right way.”


FRIDAY’S GAME

La Salle at Dayton, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO

About the Author