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Dayton Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Flyers

By Jerran Anderson

DAYTON, OH - DECEMBER 7: Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant looks on during the game against the Dayton Flyers at University of Dayton Arena on December 7, 2011 in Dayton, Ohio. Dayton defeated Alabama 74-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - DECEMBER 7: Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant looks on during the game against the Dayton Flyers at University of Dayton Arena on December 7, 2011 in Dayton, Ohio. Dayton defeated Alabama 74-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images /

Projected starters

The Flyers will return four of their five starters from their 2017-18 rotation. For the 2018-19 season, they’ll lose guard Darrell Davis, but return a ton of experience looking to play better defense. Their trajectory should be upward but they’ll need to do a much better job of defending the basket. Dayton gave up more points than they scored on average last season. As a team, they allowed 73.5 points per contest and scored 72.4 points themselves.

Forward Josh Cunningham leads the way after earning third-team All-Atlantic 10 honors and leading the team in scoring (15.6 per game) and rebounds per game (8.4 per game). He had a breakout junior season with the Flyers which should pay off in 2018-19. He was a model of efficiency when he touched the basketball, shooting 64.6 percent from the field which led the conference and was fifth in the nation.

Rising junior guard Trey Landers will also be back after having a breakout season of his own. Landers averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game during his sophomore season and returns as the Flyers second-leading scorer and rebounder on offense. Jalen Crutcher will fill the point guard role alongside Landers in the backcourt. He produced 4.4 assists per game as a freshman in 2017-18.

The last position in the frontcourt looks to be a toss-up between Ryan Mikesell and Obi Toppin. Both players are coming off redshirt seasons although Mikesell has the upper hand with a season of experience under his belt.