The good times are rolling in Dayton, where the 13th-ranked Flyers are in the midst of another winning streak (six, right now) and firing on all cylinders (sixth in NCAA NET, fifth in KenPom). Anthony Grant’s team just disposed of VCU by 14 on Tuesday night and now sits at 15-2 overall, 4-0 in the Atlantic 10 with an ESPN2 Friday night showdown at Saint Louis (14-3, 3-1) looming.
Obi Toppin enters the week as the No. 1 player in all of college basketball by ESPN and battled through a gimpy ankle to help UD terminate its previous four game losing streak to VCU. Veterans Ryan Mikesell, Trey Landers, and Jalen Crutcher continue producing at high levels. Sophomore Dwayne Cohill is a valuable rotation player. And UD’s transfer group is a massive reason the bracketology hype crew can hardly contain itself about UD’s NCAA Tournament ceiling.
But we know adding talent alone isn’t a recipe for success. The individuals you bring in must be skilled, but also tote the soft-skills that make them capable of integrating both on and off the court with the existing unit and personalities. That’s how you raise the program floor.
Rodney Chatman, Ibi Watson and Jordy Tshimanga have done just that. So who better to share some insight on these fine fits than David Jablonksi. A consummate professional who spends more time with these guys than anyone, he and I chatted about how each player’s contributions are mapping directly to team performance. Here’s what he has to say:
Ibi Watson - 6-5, 205 (11.1ppg, 2.8rpg, .507 FG, .478 3PT, .902 FT)
The best of Dayton's newcomers has been Ibi,” he says. “He has accepted a reserve role without complaint, though he's obviously one of the team's top five players, and provided a big scoring punch off the bench. His teammates described him as a lights-out shooter in the offseason, and he has lived up to that billing. He might be the best shooter I've seen in the seven seasons I've covered the Flyers.”
Rodney Chatman - 6-1, 180 (8.7ppg, 4.0apg, 1.4spg)
“The Chattanooga transfer Chatman was described as a defensive stopper in the last year as hype began to build about him and the other transfers set to make their Dayton debuts. He has been just that, helping the defense rise in the rankings. The offense was great last year and is even better this year, but the defense has made the Flyers hard to beat. Chatman also has helped Jalen Crutcher by taking some of the point guard load off his shoulders. That has made Crutcher more effective for the whole 40 minutes. Chatman has struggled in recent weeks with his outside shot but still finds plenty of ways to contribute.”
Jordy Tshimanga - 6-11, 268 - (3.0ppg, 2.1rpg, .654 FG)
“Center Jordy Tshimanga missed the entire preseason with a knee injury and didn't practice until two days before the Maui Invitational. He's still catching up here in January but is playing his role, which is giving the starters a break and providing a big body on defense in the paint. At this point, he's not going to play a lot in the close games (six minutes against VCU, for example), but there will be plenty of opportunities for him to get minutes in the long A-10 season, and he'll be a big part of the equation next year..”
Coach Quote of the Week. “It’s funny how things change,” said Dambrot. “Before, Duquesne was 15-2 and everybody would be pretty excited. Now we’re worried about how we’re playing which is good. My job is to have high expectations and make sure they’re good. We don’t want to be a non-tournament team, so we’ve got to play better. I’m glad you guys have that expectation, because I have it too.”
Duquesne Coach Keith Dambrot, speaking to the media post-game after Duquesne’s overtime win against Fordham. Here he’s addressing the changing expectations in Pittsburgh -- with the Dukes off to their best start in 48 years at 15-2, 5-0
Doubling-down on seasoned communication skills. One of the traits of a confident leader is vulnerability. If you spend five minutes with Keith Dambrot, you see this in spades. He’s had success, built programs, failed and learned, and - like the quote above - understands how to lean-in to scrutiny and lines of questioning in a way that’s refreshing, often disarming, and most importantly - authentic. Coaches, administrators, executives and professionals across the board can learn a great deal about effective communication from the Duquesne head coach.
Name you should know. Onyi Eyisi, Fordham. Just a sophomore, the 6-9, 225 pound forward from California offers the Rams a budding interior presence. Eyisi is averaging 6.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game -- most recently snaring 14 boards in the Rams overtime loss earlier this week. A rim protecting presence, he ranks ninth in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game and has improved his ability to stay on the hardwood and avoid foul trouble. He’s collecting nearly a full foul less per game than a year ago, despite playing almost double the minutes -- a sign of growth. Keep an eye on the development progression of big fella in the Bronx.
No easy looks; especially from deep. As Ashley Howard firmly imprints his culture and signature on the La Salle program, the Explorers are making significant strides defensively.
“Defense has been our constant this season,” he says. “With such an emphasis on the 3-point line in the college game, we want to be a team that makes it hard for opponents to get quality looks from three. As we continue to add length and athleticism to our young roster, expect our defensive approach to remain consistent.”
Howard’s team is making good on those remarks, borne out in both the eye test and by the numbers. La Salle ranks seventh in the A-10 in field goal percentage defense and a staunch third in defending the three-point arc, permitting opponents to shoot only .296 from deep.
Focus on… Bill Koch of the Providence Journal made an astute point about the 3-point line relocation this year to me a few weeks back. Foot on the line sideline violations are real - and on the upswing. Now it’s impossible for me not to be trained in on this occurrence. Seems like we’re seeing one or two per game as players continue to adjust to the amount of space they have to get the puppies organized, as Bill Raftery says. Now you’ll never “un-see” this either.
We’ll do this again in two weeks. By then we’ll be in at the midpoint of conference play with tiers of contenders on down becoming more pronounced -- or maybe not. See you then.
Chris DiSano, is an Atlantic 10 studio/radio analyst and writer. He has served as the host of A-10 Live! at Men’s Basketball Media Day and founded the former College Chalktalk. DiSano, who was named an NBC Sports top Atlantic 10 basketball follow, can be found on Twitter at @CDiSano44