Delaware St Preview
CINCINNATI (OH) -- Dayton faces the Delaware St Hornets (1-2) Wednesday night at UD Arena.
Under Head coach Greg Jackson (296-190) the Hornets are perennial contenders in the MEAC, but after three straight regular season Conference titles the Hornets tumbled to a fourth-place finish last year at 10-6 (14-16 overall). Still, last year's fourth-place finish was the first time since 2000 they had finished lower than third in the conference.
The Hornets were picked to finish third this year despite not receiving any first place votes or placing any players on the pre-season All-Conference team.
"I was kind of surprised that we have been ranked so high," said Jackson. "The coaches in the league have a lot of respect for what we have done here at Delaware State and what has been accomplished since I got here."
Last year Jackson allowed the Hornets to defer too much to all-Conference forward Roy Bright. Bright was a spectacular talent, but too often his teammates were content to let him carry the offense to the detriment of the team and their development.
Jackson took the fourth-place finish to heart and he has re-focused his efforts to get the Hornets back on top.
“Last year was the worst job I've ever done coaching,” Jackson said. “I just didn't do a good job of teaching the kids.”
Eight players return from the 2007-08 squad, including one of the MEAC’s most accurate three-point shooters and top point guards.
Senior shooting guard Donald Johnson (6-4 190) is the top returning scorer and he has had back-to-back strong outings. After failing to make a shot in the opener, Johnson has scored 26 and 16 and remains the Hornets most potent deep threat. Look for Johnson to come off the bench providing instant offense as the team’s sixth man.
Sophomore point guard Trevor Welcher (5-11 160) was a pleasant surprise during last year’s disappointing season. The precocious frosh showed composure rarely found even in upper-classmen. Welcher made more than half of his shot attempts, played excellent defense (22 steals) and made good choices with the basketball logging a stellar 1.84 A:TO ratio.
Jackson saw untapped potential in Junior guard Marcus Neal (6-5 205) who showed an inconsistent, but well-balanced game last season. While Neal struggled with the slow, methodical pace Jackson prefers, he remained coachable.
"It takes a while sometimes for players to understand what we want them to do," Jackson said. "It requires a lot of discipline.”
Though Neal averaged only 5.4 points a year ago in 30 games, Jackson wants Neal to be the all-important on-court vocal leader, a role that demands much more from a player than just points.
While Neal has been the Hornet’s best defender and offensive rebounder, he still hasn’t gotten on track at the offensive end. Despite making 40% of his three-point attempts last year, Neal is 0-for-7 to date.
Juco center Arturo Dubois (6-7 240), who sat out last season after transferring from Manhattan College, has made an immediate impact for the Hornets.
"Playing with him opens up a lot for everyone else," Neal said of Dubois. "It really opens up the entire team"
Dubois averaged 12.2 points and a 6.0 rebounds per game for the Jaspers during the 2006-07 season. He was a two-time All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Second Team selection at Manhattan.
With his long arms and quick first step, Dubois provides the Hornets with a shot-blocking presence and consistent rebounder.
Redshirt junior forward Frisco Sandidge (6-6 210) is relentless on the boards, but lacks the body control to finish effectively.
While Dubois and Sandidge have done an excellent job controlling the glass, neither is a threat to score on the blocks.
The Hornets have enough experience to give the Flyers problems in the backcourt. Welcher is generally steady at the point and will flat pick an opposing players pocket if they get careless even for a second. Johnson is the type of shooter Dayton always seems to let get on a roll. Like Junior Salters from Wofford, Johnson is lethal when squared up. The Flyers can’t leave him open on rotations and need to deny him on the perimeter. Johnson is far less effective when he has to put the ball on the floor, especially in traffic.
The Hornets are effective at controlling the paint where they crash the boards with abandon and contest most shots inside the three-point arc. They are holding opponents under 43% on two-point attempts. If Dayton doesn’t get a body on Dubois and Sandidge they will again lose the battle of the boards to an under-sized frontcourt.
Outside of Johnson, the Hornets don’t have a reliable three-point threat and they don’t have any reliable options in the post. This makes the Hornets overly dependent on creating offense off the dribble. Jackson has seen too many turnovers and bad shots as players try to go 1-on-1.
The new three-point line has been a problem for the Hornets. As a team, they are only shooting 33% from behind the new arc, and on defense have seemed a step late on rotations. If the Flyers don’t prove they can hit the triple early, the Hornets are pesky enough to hang around.
Dayton can expect a battle on the boards and scoring inside of 15 feet should be tough for both squads. This game will be decided from downtown and the team that shoots the three-ball better should win.
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