Dayton Basketball: What’s next after Flyers loss to Fordham?

Dayton Basketball lost their first game to Fordham in over 15 years marking their second conference defeat in a week. What’s next for the Flyers as they try to salvage the rest of their season?

Dayton Basketball has already surpassed their loss total from last season in just eight games after their most recent defeat. Losses to Fordham and La Salle have all but put a dagger in the Flyers at large hopes a week into January. A program that was looking to ride the momentum following a historic season has done anything but that.

Claims will be made about losing Player of the Year Obi Toppin, Trey Landers, and Ryan Mikesell but the level of talent left in this program leaves no excuses for this ugly start to conference play and even lackluster start for the entire season. Offensively this team is poor beyond words, so poor that Anthony Grant had his team out on the court during halftime of the Fordham game running offensive sets. When’s the last time you’ve heard or seen of something like that?

The senior leader Jalen Crutcher has somewhat struggled to shoulder the load on his own but it’s hard to put the blame entirely on him. It’s obvious he’s missing his partner in crime Toppin and the absence of Chatman recently has been noticeable.

Crutcher has still been a bright spot leading the team in points per game, rebounds, assists, and minutes per game but he’s got to get some more help. The Flyers are averaging almost 13 points per game less than last season and the recent departure of Chase Johnson certainly doesn’t help a razor-thin Flyers rotation

Rodney Chatman has been missing the past two games with a hand injury, his absence has been daunting as the Flyers are missing his creativity and scoring prowess. Grant has been forced to lean on freshman Koby Brea and Elijah Weaver, Grant needs Weaver to step up as he gets more minutes. Grant hadn’t planned to play Weaver this season but the USC transfers help on offense was apparent early. He has just four points in two appearances playing just 26 minutes. Expect his role to grow over the next few games.

Perhaps the biggest glimmer of hope that the Flyers have through eight games is the emergence of star freshman Mustapha Amzil. The Finnish forward has put the A-10 on notice in just three games.

Amzil was an early enrollee and Grant could not pass up the immediate help. Amzil doesn’t look like a freshman, his ability to finish around the basket, create his own shot and knock down the three-ball provides Grant with a much-needed playmaker. Averaging 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds early on Amzil already looks like he’ll have a bright future as a Flyer.

If you’d watched any of Dayton at all this season then you know it’s not an enjoyable team to watch, the offense is stagnant and the lack of ball movement is painful. The clock management has been woeful down the stretch, and there’s been a lack of a spark off the bench. Amzil was thought of to be that spark early on but alas even his efforts haven’t been enough for Dayton to beat La Salle or Fordham.

So what’s next for Dayton? There’s a lot to figure out and not a lot of time. Anthony Grant was named the coach of the year last season and he’s got to prove his worth over these next few weeks. There was a lot of momentum for the Flyers after last season but in a matter of two weeks, it seems like the program has taken two giant steps back.

Dayton will face a Davidson team that will likely be favored given both teams’ run of recent results, another performance like the one against Fordham and the Flyers will lose by double digits easily. Dayton is nothing close to the A-10 giant they were last season.