Quick recruiting update...

While the Flyers missed out on one of the big JUCO prizes in Jeremie Simmons they did recently sign a PG from Cecil College in Maryland. Rob Lowery was a D-2 JUCO All-American and averaged 18 pts. and 9 assists a game leading Cecil to a 31-1 record last season. I haven't been able to find out much about Lowery, but he hit six 3's in the JUCO all star game so hopefully he's a PG who can actually hit the three. I'm hoping he can be a good complement to London Warren in the backcourt next season. I'm going to keep looking for more info about Lowery, but I at least wanted to get this out there. Anyone else know much more about him?

If I Were In Charge...

So, first some background. I'm a nerd. I'm a designer (well, page designer at least), so of course I'm a Uni Watch dork as well. I think baseball players should wear real stirrups. I hate drop shadows on logos and jersey numbers. I can't stand the unnecessary use of black in many logos, especially where it doesn't make sense (Yes, I'm looking at you, my beloved Cincinnati Reds). I get into athletics aesthetics. So I decided to redesign UD's uniforms because I don't like them. There are not that bad, but they're not that good either.

I, like several others, loved the return of Marian blue for at least one night last season. That's what got my mind going on a potential redesign. I know that many people think red first when they think about UD. That's ok, even if they are forgetting that Marian blue used to be as primary a UD color as red. I think both can co-exist, and I used both in my redesign.

Home jersey (Click on image for larger view)

I actually enjoyed Marquette's checkered look. And UD's other throwback jersey had a checkered look as well. I thought this look would be a good home jersey. I dropped the darker blue. UD doesn't need it.

Road jerseyThis one is actually my favorite. I think the Marian blue the UD red go great together. I think that the name on the back typeface possibly needs to be bigger, but this will do for now.

Third/road jerseyYeah, it's the return of the Marian blue. I love this one. The red really pops out against the blue jersey. I think UD should have went with red letters and numbers when they had the blue jersey last year. This is what I'd like to see. Maybe even wear it at Xavier to try to change our luck there.

Let me know what you all think.

Cordeiro to Transfer

No big surprise here, but Thiago Cordeiro has decided to leave UD. I suppose the thinking is that this opens up a scholarship for a potential junior college PG to transfer in. I'm having a hard time giving a crap, but this is an excuse to get a Xavier player's mug off the top of the page, so there you have it...

At least our players aren't getting arrested

This happened 3 or 4 days ago.

CINCINNATI — Police arrested Xavier University point guard Drew Lavender on charges of disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.

Cincinnati police arrested Lavender early Sunday morning. The police report says he was drunk and disorderly after they asked him several times to move out of a street intersection. Police say they found marijuana on Lavender after searching him. Lavender was released Sunday after posting $2,000 bond.

Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski say the school is aware of the charges and will review the matter before deciding if any disciplinary action is warranted.

Hard for me to get too up in arms about the whole ordeal. A college senior getting drunk and high? Shocking. Tell me you wouldn't trade an Elite Eight appearance for a London Warren arrest. Yeah, me too... Sweet mug shot, though.

My UD Fandom In A Nutshell

I finally got some photos of the OSU-UD game back for the place where I work. This photo really sums up my evening. I believe if you click on it, you'll see the full version.

The only thing missing is David West stomping on my hat while Sean Miller spits on me.

Ouch

There's really no joke or comment here. I just thought this photo was interesting.

A few notes my own...

Very disappointing way to end the season. I was fairly optimistic after the first half, but this team couldn't shoot to save its life in the second half and when you combine that with very weak defense any team is in a lot of trouble. On to the notes...

• As Uncreative Commuter said the atmosphere was great before the game and during the first half. I was there with a friend who is an ohio state fan and he commented that he's never heard an opposing team's cheers during a buckeye game before. The fans were pumped before the start and with the back and forth first half the intensity level picked up. I know my voice is a little weak today. You couldn't have asked for a much better college basketball atmosphere. I'm hoping that this atmosphere and great fan turnout (a sellout) will lead to a home and home series with the buckeyes. It makes no sense for these teams not too play. I'm hoping osu will step up and accept a home and home (but I doubt they will risk coming to UD Arena)...
  
• One thing I was very impressed with was watching London Warren defend jamar butler. I know butler finished with 12 points, but about part way through the second half he was stuck on three. butler ran Warren through a variety of screens and Warren always seemed to stick right with him. I've never really thought of Warren as a lock down defender but maybe he can develop into that...
• One pleasant surprise was the play of Devin Searcy in the first half. I've never been impressed with him all season, but he played a monster first half after Huelsman picked up his second foul. He defended koufos and hunter well and even added 4 points. (I could have sworn he had at least one block but he didn't get credit for any). I'm hoping this is a sign that he will be able to contribute important minutes next year...
  
• While the primary reason UD lost was their terrible shooting in the second half, I was very disappointed in their defense throughout the game. It seemed that as a general rule when osu ran a screen and roll, the Flyers did a terrible job of rotating their weakside defender over to take away the post rolling. Overall, the help side defense was pretty pathetic last night. The buckeyes played very well last night (and have been for a good two weeks now), but a decent defensive team could have held them to at least under 50% from the field. I've never thought of this team as a good defensive team I didn't think they were this bad...
• I will NOT miss Jimmie Binnie or Andres Sandoval. I've never been a big fan of theirs and if Binnie isn't hitting the three and Sandoval is on the court this Dayton team was in trouble. It's almost (and only almost) worth having Roberts graduate to get rid of these two. Addition by subtraction...
• One thing I noticed again last night and have seen a number of times this season is one of my new favorite players Stephen Thomas. The guy barely gets on the court and lost minutes once Mickey Perry started to find his footing, but if you watch, Thomas is the first guy up to meet a player when they are taken out of the game. When someone hits a big shot you almost have to hold the guy back from coming onto the court. He comes across as being a true team player who doesn't care about his minutes and just wants to see the team win. In today's game where everyone complains if they aren't starting I've enjoyed watching Thomas rooting on his teammates. Hopefully he can continue to improve and be an energy guy off the bench next season to spell London Warren...
• Finally, I would like to thanks Brian Roberts for everything he did over the last few seasons. It sounds like Stonemill is planning to post a much more eloquent look at Roberts career than anything I can write, but I wanted to throw my own thanks to Roberts out there. It pained me last night to watch Roberts walk through the line of coaches and teammates for the last time and I can't imagine seeing the Flyers on the court with out #2 on the floor. Thank you Brian Roberts and you will be missed...
  

Back From The Game

First, a couple of notes:
• The atmosphere was great. Tons of UD fans and the Flyers chants were sometimes louder than the OSU ones.
• Chris Wright is the real deal. I was happy to finally get to see him in person.
• Ohio State is probably better than UD. Kosta Koufos is really good. I told my coworkers that I was putting the over/under on his points tonight vs. Huelsman/Binnie at 20, and I took the over.

But it's fitting that UD's season ended tonight at Ohio State, a place where "nice guy" John Cooper was fired. Cooper had a nice overall record and got OSU to a few good bowls, but he couldn't beat Michigan and the Buckeyes usually struggled in the postseason.

To me, Brian Gregory is John Cooper. Gregory is a nice guy with a nice overall record at UD. But the man cannot coach/motivate. He can't get it done against Xavier, and I just got home from watching his Flyers once again play well in the first half only to come out in the second flat and uninspired. I'm just sick of it honestly. It's a broken record.

The game's result aside, I had a good time. Here are some photos I took:

I really did have great seats. It was in Section 131, in the first row of "real" seats (not folding chairs) on the aisle. I couldn't have had better seats I think. And there were many UD fans nearby.

One of my coworkers was nice enough to bring me UD's regular season and postseason media guides prior to the game. That Adam's a nice guy. As you can also see, I went with the navy blue hat, which was kinda tight on my Barry Bondsesque head. And, yes, I'm blinking. I always blink in pictures.

I'm short. Shorter than P.J. Hill even! Also that picture of P.J. Hill is factually inaccurate because he's not wearing his cool retro socks. I love those. (Uni Watch nerd) You can also see that the Flyer Faithful shirt also won in the voting. It was under my cool new Blue Jackets spring coat. (I love losing teams!)

The Flyers take the court. I would love to just have the "D" flag. I find that to be awesome.

Jimmy Binnie grabs the ball after the Flyers win the opening tip. It was the only non-awful thing he did all game.

UD led at halftime after a spirited first half. This is the last photo I took. Nothing worth watching happened in the second.

So that brings me back to the game itself. What can be said? I was angry at first, but I'm OK now. It doesn't change the fact that Gregory needs to go, but I'm over it. Basically everything I thought would happen did:
• UD would play well at first.
• The crowd would be great.
• Gregory would get outcoached.
• Koufos would run wild.

Finally, here are a couple of things I noticed that just drove me insane. I took a shuttle bus from the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe to and from Value City Arena, and on the way home I think I spoke for 15 minutes with an older couple of UD alumni and the same things bothered them and I:
• Why does this team always seem to come out flat after the first half? I know Ohio State made adjustments, but why doesn't UD ever make adjustments. The Flyers beat Illinois State in the second half earlier this week not because of halftime adjustments, but because the Redbirds couldn't hit the side of a barn.
• Why was Jimmy Binnie even on the floor? He was awful. Here's a text I got during the game at 9:21 p.m. from a different coworker: "Binnie is terrible." This from a guy who had not seen Binnie in person before and only saw a little bit of UD basketball on TV all year. Binnie had two measly points, was too scared to shoot most of the time and was a road cone on defense. Just awful. Charles Little may transfer, and I can't blame him because Binnie took his minutes all year.
• To Kurt Huelsman: Please get tougher. I'm just so tired of watching you go up to the basket like you're afraid of contact. That basically goes for all the forwards not named Charles Little, Marcus Johnson or Chris Wright.
• To London Warren: Learn how to play the point or learn how to shoot. If you can't do either, sit down. That's all.
• And finally, this bothered me most of all. With the game in hand, and Thad Matta ready to take out his seniors for the last time with under a minute left, Brian Gregory quickly pulls out his seniors at the same time. That's just dumb. Let OSU's seniors be honored by their fans, and then at the next stoppage, take Roberts out so the thousands of UD fans who made it to the game could properly say goodbye. It just really bothered me. Gregory couldn't even do that right, couldn't even let the fans give a proper goodbye.

I guess overall it was a fitted end to one of the most disappointing seasons of UD basketball I can remember.

The End

It looked promising for a while, but even when things were going their way in the first half, the Flyers never built a lead. When things started going Ohio State's way, the Buckeyes did build a lead.

Ohio State made nine of its first 12 shots in the second half and never really cooled down, shooting 60 percent from the field after halftime. Their defense, which looked occasionally lost in the first half, was significantly better after the break. A couple of times, it looked like the Flyers might make a run, but something always seemed to go wrong.

But I can't really find much fault in what the Flyers did. Their effort was there, and aside from a sluggish start to the second half, the intensity level was there, too. They just got beat, pure and simple. Ohio State fixed its defense and rebounding issues in the second half, and shot lights out on top of that. There didn't seem to be a whole lot that Dayton could do.

And so that's that. It doesn't feel like the season just ended. For all the frustration and the ups and downs, it was a fun year, not to mention a fun NIT run, and I'm sad to see it come to an end. I guess that's the feeling you get when seasons end, but damn, we haven't gone more than a week without Dayton basketball since October, and just like that we're done.

A few more notes. I'll keep them brief since we'll probably get some eyewitness reports from our people on the scene.

• I don't really want to talk about how this was Brian Roberts' last game in a Dayton uniform, so we'll save that for another post later this week or next. I will say that Roberts moved into fourth on the all-time scoring list with his 20-point performance tonight. Congratulations, Brian.
  

• Chris Wright looked a little rusty in spots -- dropping the ball out of bounds and traveling when he went to make a move -- but he still brought a lot to the table. He ended up as the Flyers' second-leading scorer with 12 points. If he wasn't there tonight, the Flyers probably lose by 20.

• The Brian Roberts-Andres Sandoval-Marcus Johnson-Charles Little-Chris Wright lineup that played late in the first half may be the most athletic lineup the University of Dayton has ever put on the floor.
  

• In case you missed it in the game thread, Kurt Huelsman's new nickname is "Johnny on a Pony."
  

Dayton vs. Ohio State Open Thread

Let's get there.

So We Meet Again, Matta

I'll be honest, Thaddeus. I'm glad we're official enemies again. With you off in Buckeye Land and doing things like beating Xavier last year, it almost seemed like the hate was fading. But once I see you argue a call tonight or make a face like the one above, all those feelings will come rushing back.

When I saw the NIT pairings and saw that Ohio State had stolen UD's No. 1 seed, I was hoping we'd get this match-up. Really, it's about as good a match-up as you could hope for in the NIT. Small private school going up against the gigantic state school. Teams that could be rivals if they actually played each other finally playing each other. A trip to Madison Square Garden on the line. The first chance since non-conference play for the Flyers to knock off a power-conference team. And, of course, Thad Matta. It's all pretty fantastic, and I get the feeling we're all legitimately looking forward to it.

On paper, the teams look pretty evenly matched. From watching the Buckeyes a few times on TV, they always seemed like a solid team, but one that could never quite get over the hump. That must have been especially frustrating, considering where the Buckeyes were this time last year. But when you lose two lottery picks, that's what happens.

Ohio State could present a tough match-up inside. Othello Hunter is a true power-forward type, the kind that could give our non-power forward types some trouble. And Kosta Koufos, while a few inches taller than Kurt Huelsman, is also more athletic.

In the backcourt, Brian Roberts will go toe-to-toe with Jamar Butler. Like Roberts, Butler shoulders the scoring load for his team. He averages 14.9 per game but isn't quite as efficient as Roberts, especially from behind the arc, where he's taken 245 shots. I guess he's allowed to do that, though, since he's the school's all time leader in three-point field goals.

The wild card for the Flyers is Chris Wright. I haven't heard anything about how he was feeling after his 10 minutes of action Monday, but hopefully he's ready for more tonight. Twenty solid minutes from Wright -- regardless of how many points he scores -- would give the Flyers a significantly better chance to win this game.

It sounds like PB&aB will be well-represented at the game tonight, so hopefully we'll get plenty of first-hand accounts in the days to come. I'll be watching on TV, and searching for more ridiculous Thad Matta pictures.


EDIT (by Uncreative Commuter): Matta photos?! You want ridiculous Matta photos?! I got yer Matta photos right here: