DAYTON WRAPS UP EXHIBITION PLAY BY HOSTING GANNON
In their final tuneup before the start of the 2008-09 regular season, the University of Dayton Flyers face the Gannon Knights in exhibition action on Tuesday from Tom Blackburn Court beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be carried by WHIO Radio and available with live streaming video, stats on Gametracker and streaming audio at www.DaytonFlyers.com.

Dayton was 23-11 in 2007-08, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT, losing to eventual champion Ohio State in Columbus. The Flyers graduated All-Atlantic 10 guard Brian Roberts, but return their next three scorers and top three rebounders - forward Chris Wright (10.4, 5.7), guard Marcus Johnson (10.1, 5.1) and forward Charles Little (8.0, 4.6). Wright was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team even though he played in just one conference game.

Gannon, a Division II program, returns four starters and every player except one from last year's team that finished 26-5 overall. The Golden Knights won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division with a 15-2 league mark and recorded their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1995 with a convincing 73-56 decision over Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) champion Drury (Mo.) in the first round. The Golden Knights are ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, according to the Sporting News preseason poll. Division II Bulletin tabbed the squad 16th nationally in its preseason poll.

SERIES STUFF
The Flyers hold a 1-0 all-time series lead over Gannon.

FLYERS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN A-10 POLL
After a 23-11 season in 2007-08, the Dayton Flyers were picked to finish third in the league according to a poll of the Atlantic 10's head coaches and media. Xavier was named the preseason favorite, with 44 of the 61 first-place votes. Temple garnered 12 first-place votes and placed second in the preseason poll. Dayton garnered three first-place votes and was tabbed third. Saint Joseph's was tabbed fourth, while Charlotte earned a pair of first-place votes and was chosen fifth. Massachusetts was selected sixth in the poll, while Saint Louis was picked seventh. Richmond was selected eighth followed by Rhode Island, La Salle, George Washington, Duquesne, Fordham and St. Bonaventure.

FLEXING THEIR MUSCLE
UD will play a non-conference schedule that includes teams from the Big East, the Colonial Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the MAC, the Missouri Valley and the SEC. The Flyers will play home-and-home Atlantic 10 games with Duquesne, Saint Louis and Xavier. In addition, Dayton will play host to Fordham, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's and Temple in conference play. All three A-10 teams that played in the 2008 NCAA tournament will visit UD Arena. The Flyers will play at Charlotte, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in addition to the Dukes, Billikens and Musketeers.

A highlight of the non-conference schedule is UD's participation in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Dayton will have two extra home games against Bethune-Cookman and Mercer before traveling to Chicago to play Auburn and Marquette. UD will play one team who returns all five starters - Marquette, who not surprisingly is a pre-season Top Ten team. Dayton will play eight other teams who have four starters back: Charlotte, George Washington, La Salle, Miami, Richmond, Temple, Toledo and Xavier. In addition, the Flyers will play 14 games against teams that were in the post-season in 2008-09.

LITTLE BIG MAN
At 6-foot-6, 247 pounds, Charles Little might be one of the most inaccurately named players in the country. Little brings a powerful physical package to the floor and with the best measured vertical leap on the team, well off the floor too. As the lone senior on the team, Little will also be counted upon for veteran leadership. Despite missing two weeks with a fracture in one of the sesamoid bones in his right foot, and being hampered as the injury fully healed the rest of the season, Little finished the year fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.0 points per game and was third in rebounding at 4.6 per game. He started out A-10 action by averaging 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds against Rhode Island, Saint Louis and UMass, and was able to come back after missing just three games. But after the injury, his numbers fell to 7.7 and 4.3.

CHARLES IN CHARGE
In his last 33 games against Atlantic 10 competition, Charles Little has averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 147-of-282, (.525) from the floor. Last season against the A-10, Little averages 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting .527 from the field. In UD basketball history, Little is 67th on the all-time scoring list with 716 career points and needs six to eclipse Sedric Toney for 66th all-time. Little scored 10 points in the first exhibition game against Capital.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Displaying an NBA-like level of athleticism, Chris Wright looks to lead the Flyers back to the postseason and continue his progression as a dynamic all-around player. The sophomore forward is a Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection heading into 2008-09. Wright played in 15 games and led the team in rebounding (5.7), and field goal percentage (.602) after averaging 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Flyers certainly missed the presence of Wright after he broke his ankle midway through the season. UD was 13-1 before his injury and 9-9 since then. However, Wright returned to action against Illinois State on March 24 and chipped in with nine points, three rebounds and two blocks.

FIGHT FOR YOUR WRIGHT
On March 10, sophomore Chris Wright earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie team. The 6-8 forward from Trotwood, Ohio was the fifth Dayton player to be selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Tony Stanley (1998), Brooks Hall (2000), Keith Waleskowski (2001) and Brian Roberts (2005) are the previous Flyer A-10 Rookies. He played eight minutes in the A-10 opener against Rhode Island before fracturing a bone in his ankle that required surgery on January 14. But before that, he was chosen A-10 Rookie of the Week four times in the first six weeks of the season (the last player to do that was Jameer Nelson). Wright dazzled in the exhibition opener with 12 points.

BEING `KURT' TO THE OPPOSITION
As one of the most team-oriented players to wear a Flyer uniform, Kurt Huelsman looks to be counted upon more as a leader on both ends of the floor. Huelsman started all 34 games and averaged 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He shot .527 from the field and tied for the team lead with 59 offensive rebounds. Huelsman battled against DeJuan Blair, the Big East's Freshman of the Year, by recording 12 points and eight rebounds in UD's win over then No. 6 Pittsburgh. Not to be outdone, he responded with a career-best 18 points against Akron and 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting over Rhode Island. Huelsman tallied eight points, three rebounds and three blocks over Capital.

AN UP-HUEL BATTLE
Junior Kurt Huelsman was the only player to start every game in 2006-07 for UD and started all 34 games in 2007-08. Huelsman capped the season by earning the John L. McBeth Scholar Athlete Award., which goes to the team member with the highest cumulative grade point average based on at least five semesters of academic work.

MARVELOUS MARCUS
An athletic wing with shutdown defender talent, Marcus Johnson hopes the strong finish he had last season will propel him into the 2008-09 campaign. Johnson averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore. The 6-3 guard scored in double figures 17 times and in 15 of his last 24 games. He led the team with 174 total rebounds, second in rebounding average (5.1), minutes played (29.5), third on the team free throw percentage at (.760) and steals (23). Against Duquesne, Johnson tallied his team-leading third double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds to go with a career-best three blocks. Johnson recorded his third career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds against UMass. He added double-double game (15 points, 11 rebounds) in a victory over then No. 6 Pittsburgh.

MORE ON MJ
Last year Marcus Johnson was at his best from the line in the clutch, making 21-of-27 in the final minute of regulation. In the A-10 quarterfinals, Johnson netted career-highs of 26 points and 13 free throws. He nailed two in the final minute against Louisville and 4-of-4 to seal the win over American. Johnson scored 16 points versus Loyola and against Akron recorded 16 points and seven rebounds. In the Rhode Island game, Johnson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left. At Xavier, Johnson led all UD scorers with 12 points. Johnson dished out a career-best four assists at George Washington. In the Temple win, Johnson had 14 points and three rebounds. Johnson was just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards at Fordham. He added 13 points and four rebounds at St. Bonaventure. Finished the regular season with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds over Saint Joseph's. In the first exhibition game against Capital, Johnson had six rebounds and three assists.

THE JACKSONVILLE JET
Known as the "Jacksonville Jet," London Warren is an explosive point guard who has outstanding quickness on the offensive and defensive ends. Warren's energy, enthusiasm and creativity made him a favorite among the Flyer Faithful. Last season Warren earned the Flyers' Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the team with 45 steals. In the Atlantic 10, Warren ranked 17th with 1.3 steals per game. Warren tallied career-bests 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists at Rhode Island. He finished the year averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 34 contests. In the exhibition opener against Capital, Warren had 11 points and three assists.

HEY MICKEY
Known as a strong outside shooter, team-first player and a quality individual, Phillip "Mickey" Perry looks to build upon a sophomore season in which he made strong strides on-and-off the court. In 23 games, Perry averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game while shooting .391 from the field. He recorded a career-high 11 points in the Atlantic 10 Conference opening round versus Saint Louis. He enjoyed a memorable UD debut when he knocked down a 3-pointer, grabbed two rebounds and recorded a block in the Flyers win against Coppin State. The Flyers were 7-1 when Perry knocked down a three-pointer. In the annual Red & Blue game, Perry tied for the team lead with 22 points hitting 8-of-10 three pointers. Perry then had five points and two assists over Capital.

THOMAS THE TRAIN
A heady player with a classic Hoosier-guard game, Stephen Thomas is a quick, shifty point guard who can also play at the two spot as well. In 23 games last season Thomas averaged 0.7 points and 0.5 rebounds. He made his UD debut against E. Tenn St. and recorded his first collegiate field goal at George Mason. In the exhibition opener, Thomas played well with eight points and three assists.

DIAL IN WITH DEVIN
Devin Searcy is back to patrol the paint and provide the Flyers with solid post depth, defense and length on the floor. Searcy owns a fundamentally sound game by being able to set screens, fight for position on the interior, and hustle after loose balls. His "lunch pail" mentality garners respect from both coaches and teammates alike. Searcy averaged 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 25 games last season. Against Captial, Searcy led the Flyers with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

CRAZY LIKE A FOX
A gritty, hard-nosed worker on-and-off the court, Dan Fox brings a high level of intensity to the program. In 2007-08 Fox played in six games took two shots and went 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Fox also hauled in two offensive rebounds.

COOL HAND LUKE
Although Luke Hendrick is a walk-on who played a limited role his freshman and sophomore campaigns, he remains a favorite of the Flyer Faithful. In 2007-08 Hendrick corralled four rebounds in four games and posted a career-best two boards over SMU.

BIG SHOT ROB
Junior college transfer Rob Lowery, a 6-2, 165 pound guard from Cecil College in North East, Maryland, will join the Flyer backcourt in 2008-09. Lowery averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game last year. Lowery was chosen to play in the national junior college all-star game in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 20, where he scored 19 points and had eight assists. Lowery had nine points and three assists over Capital in exhibition play.

OFF TO A FROSH START
Flyer freshmen Paul Williams, Chris Johnson, Luke Fabrizius and Josh Benson are ready to hit the ground running and help UD during the 2008-09 men's basketball campaign.

Williams, one of the top prep recruits out of Michigan, will bring a reputation as a clutch shooter and lockdown defender to this year's Flyer backcourt. An athletic 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Detroit's Renaissance High School, Williams was one of four finalists for the title of Michigan's "Mr. Basketball" during his senior year. Williams was also a Preseason Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection.

Johnson joins the Flyer recruiting class of 2008 from Columbus Brookhaven High School with a reputation as a high-flying, explosive scorer endowed with the ability to take over a game. Johnson was a First Team, All-Ohio selection last season. Johnson tallied eight points and four boards over Capital.

Benson is the second in a line of highly-anticipated local talents who have made the decision to "stay home" and committed early to the Flyer program. The 6-foot-10 big man was an ESPN Top 150 recruit out of Dunbar High School where he averaged of 18.9 points, 11 boards and four blocks during his senior year. However, Benson will be out 3-to-6 months following shoulder surgery performed on Nov. 3.

Fabrizius joins the Flyers from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois and following Fabrizius to Dayton will be his highly respected inside and outside game. At 6-foot-9, he has shot-blocking ability, but most scouts gush about his range from beyond the arc. Fabrizius had seven points and three rebounds over Capital in the first exhibition.

NEW MANN IN TOWN
In the off-season, the Flyers announced the addition of assistant coach Cornell Mann to the Flyer basketball coaching staff. Mann, 36, has spent the last five seasons as an assistant at Western Michigan, where he helped the Broncos win three Mid-American Conference West Division championships. With Mann on the staff, WMU experienced some of the most sustained success in school history with five-straight top-two finishes in the MAC West, including division titles in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Prior to his arrival at CMU, Mann spent two seasons as the head coach at Oak Park High School near Detroit. During the same time he was also an assistant coach with the Michigan Mustangs (17-and-under) AAU team. Mann's collegiate experience also includes assistant coaching stops at Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas (1998-99), and Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y. (1997-98).

GREGORY A PART OF OPERATION HARDWOOD
Following the 2007-08 campaign, head coach Brian Gregory was selected as one of eight college basketball coaches to travel to the Persian Gulf and visit troops as part of the fifth installment of "Operation Hardwood," a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour.

The tour featured a week-long basketball tournament and championship game with some of the best military players stationed overseas. Joining Gregory on the tour were Fran Fraschilla (ESPN Basketball Analyst and former St. John's head coach), Jeff Jones (American), Reggie Minton (National Association of Basketball Coaches Deputy Director and former Air Force head coach), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Barry Rohrssen (Manhattan), Tom Schuberth (Texas-Pan American) and Jerry Wainwright (DePaul).

LET'S GO DANCING
To show how strong of a schedule the Flyers played last season, UD had 12 of its 23 wins this season against teams selected to the NCAA, NIT and CBI Tournaments. UD picked up victories over NCAA Tournament selections Louisville, Coppin State, American, Pittsburgh, Temple and Saint Joseph's, NIT selections Illinois State, Cleveland State, Charlotte, Akron and Rhode Island and CBI selection Miami Ohio.

EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD
The Flyers are 29-4 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Last season the Flyers ranked third in the A-10 in scoring defense, allowing 63.9 points per game. UD was 11-2 when holding opponents to 59 points or less.

FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET
With the loss of First Team, All-Atlantic 10 selection Brian Roberts to graduation, Dayton will need to continue its philosophy of a balanced scoring attack. Last year UD had five different players lead the team in scoring - Roberts (25 times), Marcus Johnson (four) Chris Wright (twice), and former Flyer Jimmy Binnie, Kurt Huelsman and Charles Little (once each). In rebounding, 10 players have taken honors in at least one game - Johnson (nine), Binnie (eight), Little (seven), Wright and Huelsman (five), former Flyers Andres Sandoval and Thiago Cordeiro, London Warren and Roberts (twice), and Devin Searcy (once). (Note: rebounding numbers add up to more than 34 due to seven games where more than one player tied for the team-high).

UD AMONG THE BEST IN NCAA ATTENDANCE
The University of Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men's basketball attendance for the 11th straight season in 2007-08. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 12th straight season. UD averaged more than 2,400 fans a game better than any other team in the conference. In conference games only, Dayton averaged 13,220 (up 625 from a year ago).

CHALK IT UP
College Chalktalk, a college basketball website specializing in coverage of the Atlantic 10 Conference, has selected University of Dayton sophomore forward Chris Wright as one of the top five players returning to A-10 competition this season. Joining Wright in the Top 25 was teammate Marcus Johnson at No. 14.

DAYTON TO PLAY IN THE 2008 CHICAGO INVITATIONAL CHALLENGE
The University of Dayton will play in the third annual Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Sears Centre Arena this November. The other teams in the field will be Auburn, Marquette, Northern Iowa, Chicago State, Mercer, Texas Southern and Bethune-Cookman. Rounds one and two will be played on the home courts of Marquette, Dayton, Auburn, and Northern Iowa. Dayton will host Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, November 23 and Mercer on Tuesday, November 25. The final rounds of the tournament will be during Thanksgiving weekend. UD will play Auburn on Friday, November 28 and Marquette on Saturday, November 29 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

THE FLYER FAITHFUL
For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the Jan. 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD's fans were tabbed as college basketball's best. And they prove it to everyone the Flyers play.

In 2007-08 UD had the second-best average home attendance in school history (12,801). UD Arena has 85 sellouts in its 38-year history and seven in 2007-08. The record for sellouts is eight held in the Arena's first season 1969-70. UD's last 135 regular season home games have had attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 14 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (373 of 376), including the last 172 regular season games.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Flyers' started off the season 10-0 at home for the second consecutive year. Dayton composed a 15-3 home record this season with victories over NCAA Tournament teams Pittsburgh, Saint Joseph's, Temple, American and Coppin State. Last year UD's 15-2 record at home matched the 4th-best efforts in UD Arena history in home court wins in a season and home court winning percentage in a season (.882). Dayton won its first 14 home games during the 2006-07 season, the second-best streak in UD Arena history (behind only the 15 from December 17, 1984 to March 3, 1985).

TOURNEY TOWN
The NCAA Division I Tournament will make its start at UD Arena for the eighth year in a row as the University of Dayton Arena hosts the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2009. In addition, the Arena will be a First and Second Round site for the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, and a regional site for the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. UD has hosted the Opening Round game since its inception in its current form in 2002. When the 2009 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 23 of the last 40 years and will have hosted 84 NCAA Tournament games. That will make UD Arena the most prolific NCAA Tournament venue ahead of Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81).

HEAD OF THE A-10 CLASS
The University of Dayton Division of Athletics continued its long tradition of success in the classroom by placing 99 student-athletes on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the Spring 2008 semester. UD Athletics has traditionally been one of top academic performers in the nation and that was backed by the NCAA with the release of the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) reports in early May.

DAYTON 98, CAPITAL 73
The Dayton Flyers defeated the Capital Crusaders, 98-73 in exhibition action led by sophomore Devin Searcy recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Chris Wright scored 12 and junior London Warren added 11 points in the Flyer victory. UD head coach Brian Gregory used his entire roster, as all 14 active roster players saw time, 12 of whom scored. The Flyers as a team shot 56 percent from the floor, and were 6-of-16 from beyond the arc.

SEASON PREVIEW
The Dayton Flyers will try and build on last year's midseason national ranking with a new look. Dayton jumped out to a 14-1 record and a No. 14 ranking before an onslaught of injuries and illnesses decimated the team. UD finished 23-11, advancing to the NIT quarterfinals before losing at eventual champion Ohio State. The Flyers return 11 lettermen from that team, including three of their top four scorers and top three rebounders. But even with all this firepower returning, the Red & Blue will have a new look to them in 2008-09.

For the first time in four years, Dayton will step onto the UD Arena's Tom Blackburn Court without Brian Roberts. With the graduation of Roberts, UD lost one of the top players in its history and one of the top guards in the country last year.

If the Flyers were guilty of anything other than spending too much time in the training room last year, it was that they sometimes stood around and waited for Roberts to make things happen. With head coach Brian Gregory and his staff assembling the most athletic team in school history, there will be little standing around of any kind in 2008-09.

After Roberts, UD's next three leading scorers and top three rebounders - forward Chris Wright (10.4, 5.7), guard Marcus Johnson (10.1, 5.1) and forward Charles Little (8.0, 4.6) - are all back and all have 40-inch (or better) vertical leaps.

Wright was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection even though he played just eight minutes in one conference game, due to a fractured ankle suffered in the A-10 opener. He returned to average double figures in the NIT. Wright also led the UD in FG% (.602, 59-98) and was second in FT% (.804, 37-46).

Johnson reached double figures in 17 of the 34 games he played in during the 2007-08 campaign, including 15 of the last 23 contests. He had a team-high three double-doubles last year, including a 15-point, 11-rebound performance in UD's 80-55 win over then-sixth-ranked Pitt. One of the best rebounding guards in the nation, he also was second on the team in blocked shots (14), third in steals (23) and third in FT% (.760, 98-129).

Little was the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year two seasons ago, and played through a broken sesamoid bone in his foot in conference play. He started out A-10 action by averaging 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds against Rhode Island, Saint Louis and UMass, and was able to come back after missing just three games. But after the injury, his numbers fell to 7.7 and 4.3.

The high-flying trio, along with juniors Kurt Huelsman, Mickey Perry and London Warren, sophomores Devin Searcy and Stephen Thomas, and newcomers Josh Benson, Luke Fabrizius, Chris Johnson, Rob Lowery and Paul Williams, are the most athletic team in UD history and one of the deepest.

DID YOU KNOW?
UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers' .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the 1960s.