Four years after dream season was cut short, Dayton Flyers are having another special year

DAYTON − Anthony Grant doesn’t look at the magical season his Dayton men’s basketball team had four years ago and wonder, “What if?”

That Obi Toppin-led team went 29-2 and was in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the COVID pandemic shut down the season. It might have been the best in school history. But it's not in the Flyers coach’s nature to look too far back or forward.

On top of which, the team Grant has now is special, too.

In a year in which Ohio State’s swoon cost Chris Holtmann his job, Xavier is barely above .500 and Cincinnati is on the wrong side of the bubble, Dayton is the only program in the state that looks assured of earning a spot in March Madness.

The No. 16 Flyers are 21-4 and tied for first place in the Atlantic 10. They are projected to be a No. 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Flyers fans are savoring this season, especially because the one in 2020 was cut short. Venerable UD Arena, with its capacity of 13,409, is sold out for the third straight season. Dayton is 14-0 at home with an atmosphere often described as one of the best in the country.

“Just being able to run out there, it really feels like NBA game,” sophomore guard Javon Bennett said. “You feel like you're in the NBA, playing in front of this many fans. They help us win games.”

Passion for UD basketball in Dayton is similar to that for Ohio State football in Columbus, even if national champions aren’t expected in the Gem City. Fandom is passed down from generation to generation.

“We take a lot of pride in that,” said Grant, who played for UD in the 1980s. “Being a former Flyer, I know the history. I’m familiar with what this basketball program means to the community at large and the investment that people make.

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“I can’t tell you how many people have told me that their parents used to bring them to the games to watch me play, and now they're bringing their kids to watch the Flyers play. Over the course of my career, I've been in different places. This is unique, what we have here. It’s a love affair the community has for Dayton Flyer basketball."

Like the 2019-20 team, the current Flyers are led by a star big man. Junior DaRon Holmes II averages 20 points and 8.0 rebounds and is a likely All-American. A limited player offensively when he arrived as a top recruit, the 6-foot-10 Holmes has expanded his shooting range and ballhandling since deciding to forgo the NBA draft last year.

“I think he’s one of the best players in the country,” Grant said. “He’s added more to his game. To me, that’s what college is supposed to be. You’re not supposed to be the best version of yourself (as a player) at 18 or 19.

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“He’s a humble young man. He’s a personable young man. He wants to be good, and he’s willing to put the work in.”

Holmes is the centerpiece, but the Flyers have surrounded him with a capable supporting cast. Junior Koby Brea leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (48.6).

Bennett is one of several impact transfers. He transferred from Merrimack expecting to be a backup to Malachi Smith. That changed when Smith was lost with a knee injury seven minutes into the season opener.

Forward Nate Santos, who hardly played in two seasons at Pitt, is UD’s second-leading scorer and rebounder. Enoch Cheeks transferred from Robert Morris and has become a key glue guy. Kobe Elvis, a streaky scorer, transferred from DePaul two years ago. Buffalo transfer Isaac Jack has been able to give Holmes breathers in the post.

“Credit to our staff for doing a good job of getting guys that fit our culture, that fit Dayton,” Grant said. “Probably the biggest thing is that guys understand it’s bigger than them as individuals.”

None of the current Flyers played on that ’19-20 team, but they’ve lived with its memory.

Holmes, for instance, has immense admiration for Toppin. He also knows he and this team must chart its own path.

“I’m not Obi,” he said. “I’m just trying to better myself and help this team win with the guys we have right now. Congrats to that 2020 team. They were amazing, and they set the tone for us. But we’re going to try to do special things as well.”

Four years ago, Grant handled the abrupt ending with perspective. He recognized that basketball was insignificant when the world had been turned upside down. Time hasn’t changed that.

“We got a chance to do a lot,” Grant said of that ’20 team, which was undefeated in the A-10. “What we didn’t get a chance to do, nobody knows what the outcome would have been. Nothing’s guaranteed, so I’m grateful for what we did get a chance to do.”

This Flyers team will get a chance to do what that one couldn’t. Dayton will be an intriguing team in the tournament because of Holmes, its 3-point shooting and its solid defense. But the Flyers have deficiencies, particularly rebounding.

Whatever happens in March, the Flyers will be happy just to be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Dayton was the first team left out of the field two years ago. Last year, they lost a double-digit second-half lead to VCU in the A-10 tournament finals.

“I told the guys today that they need to enjoy this,” Grant said.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: In Ohio's down year for college basketball, Dayton stands alone