9th Place - Dayton Flyers

Head Coach: Brian Gregory
Record at UD: 98-60 (6)

Home Court: UD Arena (13,409)

Roster:

0 Mickey Perry Jr G 6-2 197
1 London Warren Jr G 6-0 185
3 Rob Lowery Jr G 6-2 165
4 Chris Johnson Fr G/F 6-5 176
11 Stephen Thomas So G 6-1 170
15 Charles Little Sr F 6-6 247
22 Paul Williams Fr G 6-4 213
23 Luke Fabrizius Fr F 6-9 205
32 Marcus Johnson Jr G 6-3 196
33 Chris Wright So F 6-8 226
34 Devin Searcy So C 6-10 220
41 Kurt Huelsman Jr C 6-10 245
44 Josh Benson Fr F 6-9 205

First 5:
1- L. Warren (The 'Jacksonville Jet' is a superb defender who really likes to push the ball in transition. He needs improvement on his outside shooting so teams don't pack it in on Flyer big men.)
2- M. Johnson (this versital wing was second on the team last season in rebounding and blocked shots. look for him to improve his double figure scoring from last year and make a very nice 1-2 punch with Wright.)
3- C. Wright (won the A-10 ROY award and only played in one league game due to breaking his ankle. he is who the Flyer Fans look to lead this team and he has all the athleticism and tools to do it.)
4- C. Little (he is a bull of a man also blessed with a hell of a vertical jump. he is plagued by inconsistency at times but look for him to have a solid senior season.)
5- K. Huelsman (i have read the big man has shed some weight to get lighter on his feet. he has experience on his side starting every game in his first two seasons. he is fundamentally sound.)

Second 5:
1- R. Lowery (the juco recruit was brought in to push Warren for the starting job. if he can defend and shoot the trey he may be starting by the time A10 play rolls around.)
2- M. Perry (i look for this to be the season he lives up to his reputation as an outside shooter. the Flyers need him to deliver on that promise.)
3- P. Williams (this guy is a scorer with a great skill set. he came to UD looking for immediate playing time and he will get it.)
4- L. Fabrizius (he was recruited by several big 10 and pac 10 schools due to his ability to create mismatches with his long range shooting acumen. needs to add weight so he doesn't wear down in February and March.)
5- D. Searcy (big man has added some more weight and will need to contribute behind Huelsman for the Flyers to realize post season hopes.)
* (C. Johnson and S. Thomas could easily be in the second 5. I believe Johnson has the ability to make an impact this season depending on who wants to play defense for BG.)

Outlook:
Any time you have two potential all conference players in your starting lineup you have a shot night in and night out. Then why did I pick them 9th overall? First off I think the A10 is going to be ultra competetive this season. 6th - 11th are all easily interchanged in my mind. But more importantly the Flyers have too many questions at point guard. Lowery was successful at the D2 level in JUCO ball and was a second choice to the Flyers behind Jeremie Simmons who signed with the Buckeyes. Warren is a good change of pace guy to give a spark for 8-12 minutes a night ideally. Also Josh Benson is taking a redshirt season most likely after injuring his shoulder which required surgery. That was a tough blow but Gregory should have the depth to overcome that most nights. Speaking of Gregory he needs to take the next step this season to satisfy the rabid Flyer faithful. They have the best home court advantage in the conference but they also have NCAA expectations each and every season. The non conference schedule is not quite as challenging as last season but it should give this team confidence come A10 time.