This 7-3 team looks very average, but there is a way to ring in the New Year on a happy note that doesn’t include renting a tuxedo and staying up till midnight: go 4-1 in five remaining nonconference games.
Hold on to that happy thought as you finish up your Christmas shopping. And while you’re out, here are some things you can pick up for your Flyers:
A big man: If you’re not a perennial top-20 program, it’s difficult to lure legitimate post players to your team. Schools such as UD need height, of course, but sometimes big guys don’t work out.
After I mentioned in my column Sunday in the Dayton Daily News that Chris Wright can’t do it alone inside, a loyal reader examined the box score from the Flyers’ 74-71 loss at Old Dominion and came up with this stat:
The four Flyers other than Wright who stand at least 6-foot-8 combined for 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 of 9 shooting from the field.
UD’s lack of quality big men — or even 6-7 guys who can get physical — is magnified against good teams such as ODU.
Wright is very good, but he’s not an “All-American candidate,” as two TV types have referred to him in the past couple weeks.
Leadership: Juwan Staten is going to be a very good college point guard. He shows flashes of greatness, and at times he is the only Flyer who can score three feet from the basket.
But Staten is a freshman, which means it’s tough for him to be leader. Basketball teams usually look to the point for leadership, but Staten — even with his Oak Hill pedigree — is not going to yank a teammate’s jersey and get in his face.
Shooting touch: Maybe the Old Dominion game is the turning point for UD’s shooting, which has been poor. The Flyers are shooting 39 percent from the field — one of only two teams in the Atlantic 10 worse than 40 percent.
A time machine: These are tough to find, but wouldn’t it be great if Brian Gregory could go back four years and put the hard sell on Norris Cole?
I recall watching Cole in one of those great Trotwood-Dunbar games at UD Arena. Wright and Daequan Cook were wowing the crowd, but Cole was controlling the game. He even had a one-handed jam while directing Dunbar’s half-court offense.
He’s an excellent senior point guard. Everyone could use one of those.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or bkollars@dayton dailynews.com
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