Dayton’s Grant: ‘Everything’s fluid’ in college basketball recruiting

Dayton considering what its best options are this spring

The long march to next March has begun for the Dayton Flyers. The team’s instagram account has shared numerous photos and short videos in recent weeks of players working out at the Cronin Center.

More than five months remain until the first game of the 2018-19 season, but the foundation of the season is being built now.

“We’ve got workouts twice a week,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Wednesday. “They’re in the weight room four times a week and taking care of their academic responsibilities to finish up the semester.”

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Meanwhile, Grant and his assistant coaches work the recruiting trail, sizing up prospects in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes and looking at junior-college players and grad transfers who can play right away, as well as transfers who would have sit out next season. With five open scholarships, some of which it may choose to leave open for 2019, Dayton has a lot of options.

“We’ve got priorities,” Grant said. “In the NBA, you get to pick exactly who you want. In recruiting, some of it has to play itself out.”

There were 462 players on the Division I transfer list on VerbalCommits.com as of Friday. The number changes every day. There are still players who have not made up their minds about whether to transfer.

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Many players have yet to narrow down the list of schools they want to visit. There are still a few members of the 2018 class, players finishing their senior years in high school, who have not committed, though it’s a dwindling number.

“Everything’s fluid,” Grant said. “We had some transition on our roster, so right now it’s more about seeing what options are the best options that are available for us to add to the roster. As this thing plays out over the next few weeks, we’ll know better in terms of what we choose to add or not add.”

Here’s a glance at a few players Dayton is recruiting or has contacted:

• Frankie Policelli, a 2018 recruit from from Long Island Lutheran High School (N.Y.), is visiting the Dayton Flyers this weekend, according to a report by Adam Zagoria. Dayton offered a scholarship to Policelli, a 6-foot-8 small forward, in January.

• Kennesaw State transfer James Scott, a 6-foot-5 guard with two seasons of eligibility remaining, narrowed his list of schools to six on Thursday: Dayton, Arizona, Temple, Virginia Tech, Nevada and Connecticut. He will visit Dayton on April 28, according to reports.

• Dayton is one of the schools — Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and San Jose are among the others — involved with recruiting Omar Silverio, according to a report by Adam Zagoria. Silverio, a 6-3 point guard in the class of 2018 from St. Raymond High School for Boys in Bronx, N.Y., received an offer from Dayton last September but signed with Santa Clara. He received his release from Santa Clara earlier this month.

• Dayton is one of many schools that have contacted Arkansas transfer Darious Hall, according to a report by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Hall, a 6-6 forward, averaged 5.1 points as a freshman last season.

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• Dayton does not appear to be in the running for Florida Gulf Coast transfer Zach Johnson, who has set up visits with the University of Miami, Creighton, Louisville and Arizona, according to reports. Dayton was one of the schools that contacted him, according to Borzello.

• Syracuse transfer Matt Moyer, a 6-7 forward, is another player Dayton contacted, according to Corey Evans, of Rivals.com. However, Moyer is considering Xavier, Vanderbilt, Kansas State and Texas.

• Dayton has contacted Anthony Tarke, a transfer from New Jersey Institute of Technology, according to CJ Moore, of The Athletic. Tarke, a 6-6 guard/forward, averaged 15.1 points per game last season as a sophomore.

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