Dayton closes exhibition season with win; looks good for regular season to start
November 09, 2009
Well, the exhibition season is over for UD basketball, and the stuff that really counts is next, starting this Saturday.
What have we learned about our Flyers from their exhibition wins over Ferris State and Northern Kentucky? Lots, but not all of it is good.
UD has a long way to go to get back to the level of defense it was playing last season. They gave up 73 points to Ferris State and 61 to NKU. Now, obviously in exhibition games you are trying a lot of different things and mixing and matching lineups to see what works. When the regular season starts Saturday, there will be groups of players that match up well with the opposing team, and who play well as a unit, and that will make a difference. Still, that many points is way too many.
We also learned that the Flyers still don't look very good from the foul line. They are still giving away a lot of free points when they are fouled and sent to the line. That can't happen come A-10 tournament or NCAA Tournament time.
There are some positives to take away as well. For one thing, Dayton is still going to be incredibly deep, like last year. They will rotate tons of players in and out at a variety of different positions, and that will enable them to run opponents ragged. Despite the continued poor free throw shooting, UD's outside shooting appears to have improved. Mickey Perry, Luke Fabrizius and Paul Williams can all light it up from anywhere 25 feet and in, while Marcus and Chris Johnson are no slouches themselves.
As for players on this year's team, there is plenty to talk about and be pleased with.
Redshirt freshman
Josh Benson appears ready to contribute from day one. The 6'9'' forward has been impressive in both exhibition games, from both an athletic and aggression standpoint. He has come in and called for the ball, looked to score, and run the floor with the rest of the Flight Club.
The other big men have looked good as well, the best a UD frontline has looked in awhile.
Kurt Huelsman has showed much more of an offensive presence, and has shown himself to be a strong defender against some good big men (Ferris State center was an All-American. Other veteran center
Devin Searcy developed a good 15-foot jumper during the offseason, and has shown it in the games. If he has that all season, it will be a big weapon for UD.
Luke Fabrizius continues to shoot the ball extremely well, and has improved his defense and rebounding, making him a viable option at any point in the game.
Mickey Perry and
Paul Williams both look vastly improved from last season. Perry has shown more of what he did during the NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas, in which he scored 10 points. Williams has showed much more confidence in his stroke during games, and has looked for his shot more. The result has been both players scoring well in both exhibition games.
Perhaps the most exciting player to watch in the exhibitions was sophomore
Chris Johnson. The 6'6'' forward has attacked the basket, hit fadeaway jumpers, made threes, ripped down offensive rebounds and been stellar on defense. Look for big things from Johnson in 2009-10.
Brian Gregory will feel comfortable giving lots of point guard minutes to
London Warren before
Rob Lowery comes back from injury. Warren is still pushing the ball at every turn, but rarely turned it over, and is still one of the best on-ball defenders in the Atlantic 10.
The only true freshman on the team,
Matt Kavanaugh had a disappointing game against Ferris State, fouling out. However, he played much better, seeing the floor and passing well against NKU, as well as getting tough defensive boards down low. A lot of his difficulties will wear off after a couple games as the nerves become less and less.
While they only played in the game against Northern Kentucky, the team leaders from last season,
Chris Wright and
Marcus Johnson played as expected. They rose above the rim, created matchup problems, and played excellent defense. The jury is still out on Wright's jump shot, which was not showcased enough against NKU to make a call.
All in all, things are looking bright for the teams real debut against Creighton this weekend.
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