Dayton Basketball adds Georgia transfer Toumani Camara to boost frontcourt

After a phenomenal 2019-20 season in which Dayton Basketball went 29-2 as a legit national title contender before the canceled season, the Flyers had a disappointing 2020-21 season. Dayton finished 14-10 overall, 9-7 in the A-10, and ended their season with an opening-round loss in the NIT Tournament to eventual NIT Champion Memphis.

Dayton Basketball and head coach Anthony Grant however got some good news as they added a massive piece to their 2021-22 roster this past week when they secured a commitment from Georgia transfer Toumani Camara.

Camara, a former 4-star prospect out of high school, originally committed to Georgia and head coach Tom Crean back in 2018 where he has shown flashes during his first two seasons with the Bulldogs. Camara averaged 24 minutes per game while starting 23 of 32 games during his freshman season where he averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.3 RPG on 49.4% shooting from the field.

While slightly overshadowed by a few players, including future #1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, during his freshman season at Georgia, Camara showed flashes of how good he could be. As we saw this past season, Camara took the next step and emerged as one of the more underrated forwards in the SEC.

Camara started in 24 of the Bulldogs’ 25 games during the 2020-21 season where he averaged 12.8 PPG and 7.7 RPG on 48.6% shooting, while also improving in almost every other major statistical category. Camara put up very good numbers this past season in the SEC, could he put up even better numbers in the A-10? If you think about it, Camara could play a similar role to what former Dayton star Obi Toppin did for the Flyers.

Now obviously it’s hard to compare Camara to Toppin before he even steps on campus, but it’s very possible he plays a very similar role to what Toppin did. While he won’t provide the 3-point shooting mainly among other things, Camara will arguably be a better rebounder and could put up similar numbers offensively to what Toppin did.

Toppin averaged 20 PPG and 7.5 RPG in the A-10 during his sophomore season, while Camara averaged 12.8 PPG and 7.7 RPG in the SEC during his sophomore season. Who says Camara doesn’t dominate the A-10 next season? The skillset is there, why not?

This move is bigger than you think for Dayton Basketball. The addition of Camara along with returning players and a top 20 recruiting class makes the Flyers a legit threat, and arguably a favorite in the A-10 next season.