Dayton dismisses its only two scholarship big men
Dayton's basketball team became a lot smaller Wednesday. So did the Flyers' NCAA tournament chances as a result.
Starting center Devon Scott and top backup Jalen Robinson have been dismissed from school, Dayton announced Wednesday afternoon. The school did not specify what led to the punishment, but CBSSports.com reported that Scott and Robinson were caught stealing various items from on-campus dorms.
Scott, a 6-foot-9 junior, started every game so far this season for Dayton and averaged 9.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. Robinson, also a 6-9 junior, averaged 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds off the bench. Without them, Dayton has no scholarship players taller than 6-foot-6 in their rotation, leaving the Flyers at a massive size disadvantage against almost every upcoming opponent on the schedule.
Dayton burst onto the national radar last March when it earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight, toppling Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford in the process. Three starters from that team are gone, but the Flyers still had NCAA tournament aspirations after a 7-2 start that includes decent wins against Texas A&M and Boston College.
Living up to those expectations will be tough now.
Jordan Sibert and Dyshawn Pierre form a solid backcourt, but Dayton was an inefficient offensive team that won with defense prior to the dismissal of Scott and Robinson. That formula seems untenable going forward without a single big man on the roster.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
