by Patrick Stevens
Jaiun Simon’s career path at Dayton has been downright old-fashioned.
He redshirted his first season, averaged 7.1 minutes in 2024-25, and then started for much of conference play last season, averaging 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds.
It’s clearly working for the fourth-year player, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward steeped in the culture and standards of coach Anthony Grant’s program.
“It’s been fun,” Simon said. “I love it at Dayton, and your journey is what builds you as a person and makes you who you are today. I love every step of the journey.”
It leaves him as one of the Flyers’ most trustworthy players heading into the 2026-27 season. Simon generally takes good shots, he knocked down 40 percent of his 3-pointers last season and he committed less than a turnover per game.
He’s also proven he can use his size to be a plus defender, a necessity for a program that usually operates from a position of strength at that end of the floor.
“To be able to be on the floor in critical moments, being able to be a guy that’s depended on out there to impact winning, I think he’s an experienced guy,” Grant said. “I think Jaiun is just a vet and who knows what we want and how we want to do it.”
The persistent Simon combined for less than 10 minutes in Dayton’s last two games before Christmas a season ago. He followed it up with four double-digit scoring outings in the next five games, and later had an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double against Davidson on Feb. 15.
That resilience will continue to serve him well as Grant continues to lean on him as an old-school program mainstay.
“I feel like every moment leading up to this I was staying ready,” Simon said. “Last year when I wasn’t getting a lot of minutes, I was still putting in the extra work to make sure I was ready for the moment that I got called on and I took advantage of it. Whatever the role presents me this year, just staying ready and taking advantage of it to the fullest.”
A LOOK AT THE FLYERS:
Coach: Anthony Grant, 10th season at Dayton, 197-95 with the Flyers and 390-205 in 18 seasons overall.
Last year: A late January swoon left the Flyers in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10, but they rattled off a six-game winning streak late in the regular season to finish fourth. They upset Saint Louis in the conference semifinals before falling to VCU in the league title game, then won a pair of games to advance to the NIT semifinals. Dayton finished 25-12 overall and 12-16 in the A10.
They’ll miss: Four of the Flyers’ top five scorers depart, a group highlighted by guards Javon Bennett (16.3 ppg, 3.0 apg, 1.5 spg) and De’Shayne Montgomery (13.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 spg). That pair combined to make 142 3-pointers, so Dayton will need some newcomers to emerge as perimeter threats.
Impact returners: The tallest player in Dayton basketball history, 7-foot-1 junior Amaël L’Etang returns after averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds while also averaging a little more than one block and one made 3-pointer a game.
He’s the Flyers’ lone preseason all-conference nominee, earning a first team all-Atlantic 10 nod entering his third season in the program.
“He’s very important,” Simon said. “His leadership is going to be very important. He’s one of the most experienced guys on the team and one of the most talented guys. He just has to bring his best game every day and know there’s a target on his back.”
Newcomers of note: Dayton lost much of its backcourt punch after last season, so picking up transfers like Landen “Dunk” Joseph (7.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg at Marshall), Zaide Lowery (8.1 ppg at Marquette) and Travis Perry (5.3 ppg at Mississippi) was vital.
Joseph had 14 double-digit scoring games as a freshman last season and has shown promise during the Flyers’ preseason slate.
“He has some innate talent,” Grant said. “I think as he gains more experience and more maturity, I think it will come out. The thing I’ve been impressed with is his willingness to grow and learn and understand.
Reasons to be optimistic: Grant often talks about the process of building a team, and it’s little secret that the way a team develops has changed some in an era when there aren’t as many holdovers.
Nonetheless, the Flyers have remained among the top programs in the A10 in part because of their ability to create cohesion, and they’re likely to do it again this season.
“I think we’ve been able to add some pieces along with some veterans that have returned, and I think they’ve jelled pretty well,” Grant said. “I think it’s a matter of us as a unit figuring out how to become the best version of what we have. It’ll be different than what we had in the past. I think we have a team that has a lot of versatility and guys that can play multiple positions.”
X factor: Junior Malcolm Thomas redshirted in his first college season at Villanova, then averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds last season upon coming to the Flyers.
He should be more comfortable on the court at this point and capable of hiking his production with more playing time available.
“Like most guys, I think you see after they get a level of experience kind of knowing what to expect and what’s expected of them on a daily basis in terms of work ethic, in practice, in the weight room and all that stuff, he’s taken advantage of the experience he got last year and now we’ re just trying to develop that level of consistency that he’ll need to be able to impact us the way we feel he can,” Grant said.
Circle the date: The Flyers have done fine work in maintaining a high-level schedule, with neutral-site meetings with Utah, Northwestern and Memphis and a trip to Florida State on tap. But the gem of the home schedule during nonconference play is a visit from Cincinnati on Nov. 14.
Bottom line: The Flyers will be asking plenty of their influx of guards. If enough of them pan out, Dayton will be a contender for an NCAA tournament berth.
Patrick Stevens is a veteran college basketball writer who oversees Mid-Atlantic College Hoops. Previously, he worked for The Washington Post, Syracuse Media Group and The Washington Times. Stevens has written selected pieces for the Atlantic 10 Conference since 2013.