Svoboda’s family watching as his college career begins

“My parents, my grandparents, everybody was watching,” Svoboda said Tuesday.

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The family most likely will tune in again Friday as the Flyers open the season against Ball State. The game will air on Spectrum Sports, and a live stream of the game will be available on the Atlantic 10’s website.

Svoboda, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward, led all of Dayton’s newcomers with 13 points in the exhibition game. He made 6 of 10 shots from the field but 1 of 5 3-pointers. He also had five rebounds, one block and one turnover in 19 minutes.

“I was really, really nervous,” Svoboda said. “You could see that when I air-balled my first shot. Then when I made my first basket, I felt like I was ready to play.”

Svoboda experienced one of the team’s traditions before the game, joining the players as they walked down the tunnel to the court with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They sang the whole way. He didn’t know the words.

“Maybe I have to learn the lyrics,” he said.

The rest of the night was less of a surprise. He talked to sophomore guard Trey Landers, who tried to calm him down. All the upperclassmen prepared the newcomers as best they could.

“I knew it was going to be crazy,” Svoboda said, “because when I was here on my visit, I saw a game against Duquesne, and I think it was a sellout.”