Dayton Gets Another 4-Star

[Taj79]

Point Guard Lynn Greer III has committed to YouDee.  Greer is 6'3", 185 and adds a third 4-star recruit to Dayton's freshman class of 3-star Malachi Smith (Scoochie's brother) and four-star forwards Kaleb Washington and DaRon Holmes II.  This has got to be on eof the highest rated future class in the history of the A10.  

[BilliesBy40]

32 minutes ago, Taj79 said:

Point Guard Lynn Greer III has committed to YouDee.  Greer is 6'3", 185 and adds a third 4-star recruit to Dayton's freshman class of 3-star Malachi Smith (Scoochie's brother) and four-star forwards Kaleb Washington and DaRon Holmes II.  This has got to be on eof the highest rated future class in the history of the A10.  

Greer is a 3-star recruit. Fringe top-250 guy. He’s a nice get but not all that noteworthy for a top-tier A-10 team.

[NH]

This seems like a good pickup by Dayton, though he isn't actually rated as 4-star by most of the recruiting services (I think he's a 3star on both Rivals and 247 which are the two most respected recruiting services). You raise an interesting question about highest rated classes in A-10 history. 247 currently has Dayton's class as 18th best in the country, and the only other class I could find that high from the last decade was Xavier in 2010. In 2014 VCU landed Terry Laurier and Justin Tillman, who were both 4-stars, as well as two other 3-stars.

I am sure that per usual this will spark plenty of comments about how ratings do not matter. And actually if you go back and look at the highest rated classes in the A-10 many of them were big disappointments. However it also seems that the few bona fide top 100 guys who do stick at A-10 schools tend to be very good players. For example, I can only think of five top 100 guys in the A-10 (not including transfers): Tre Mitchell, Jordan Goodwin, Kellan Grady, Bones Hyland and Jermaine Harris. Of those 5, four are all-conference caliber players and one is a colossal bust. I don't think I'm making any great point with this info, but it was interesting to look at. 

[CBFan]

9 hours ago, Taj79 said:

Point Guard Lynn Greer III has committed to YouDee.  Greer is 6'3", 185 and adds a third 4-star recruit to Dayton's freshman class of 3-star Malachi Smith (Scoochie's brother) and four-star forwards Kaleb Washington and DaRon Holmes II.  This has got to be on eof the highest rated future class in the history of the A10.  

I think coach Grant is doing a good job with Dayton, what is your opinion of coach Grant?

Coach Grant is able to recruit and last season’s team was probably a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.  I think coach Grant is getting the maximum out of this season’s team.

[HoosierPal]

2 hours ago, CBFan said:

I think coach Grant is doing a good job with Dayton, what is your opinion of coach Grant?

Coach Grant is able to recruit and last season’s team was probably a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.  I think coach Grant is getting the maximum out of this season’s team.

Amzil was supposed to be the lowest ranked recruit for 2021-2022 for Dayton.  Then he enrolled early at semester break and has a legit shot at ROY.  If he is the worst of the Dayton incoming bunch, look out.

[CBFan]

3 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Amzil was supposed to be the lowest ranked recruit for 2021-2022 for Dayton.  Then he enrolled early at semester break and has a legit shot at ROY.  If he is the worst of the Dayton incoming bunch, look out.

I hope coach Grant can keep building classes and coach Ford the same.

It would be nice if SLU and Dayton could be similar to Duke and North Carolina.  The problem is bigger programs poaching coaches.

[3star_recruit]

31 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

Amzil was supposed to be the lowest ranked recruit for 2021-2022 for Dayton.  Then he enrolled early at semester break and has a legit shot at ROY.  If he is the worst of the Dayton incoming bunch, look out.

It doesn't matter what your ranking is if you're 6'10, a decent athlete and can shoot the three.  That's a matchup problem in the A-10.  Dayton's issue for next year is replacing their point guard and go-to-scorer.  Crutcher plays both of those roles.  Lynn Greer III is a sporadic bench player at IMG Academy.  Malachi Smith can penetrate but isn't the shooter Crutcher is.  There will be growing pains.

[slu72]

UD reloading with Frosh does not concern me too much no matter how many stars they have behind their name. Just look at UK and Duke to see how well that's working for them this year. UK has 3 FR that are projected to go in round 1 or 2 of the draft. Big deal, it's not paying off for Calipari this year and hasn't worked out for him since 2012. The key these days is to have a mature team that stays together for 3-4 years. In any event, I think Grant is making a mistake in his strategy given the lax transfer rules now in place. I think the reason we're not hearing much from the recruiting front is due to a couple of factors. First, what are Javonte's plans for the future? Does he stay one more year to beef up his resume? Second, there are bound to be some really good transfers seeking a new home once the season ends. Guys like Fletcher are probably chomping at the bit to enter the transfer pool. Because of our depth, even if the Perkolater  opts to leave, we will have only a few holes to fill. Of course, that assumes none of our guys decide to seek greener pastures. I have concerns about a few of them, but they're minor at this point. I think our roster will stay pretty much intact as guys who are subs see minutes opening up if we lose our 2 or 3 seniors. Still, it would be nice to add 2 disgruntled 3 or 4 star players from the P6, or a high flying mid major who wants a change of scenery for whatever reason. A couple of Linssen or Okoro types who are solid players that can provide good minutes or step in to start due to injuries. All speculation on my part, but I think the staff is thinking that plugging roster holes with players who have gone thru the D1 experience is a better way to go for us at this time. . 

[3star_recruit]

13 minutes ago, slu72 said:

UD reloading with Frosh does not concern me too much no matter how many stars they have behind their name. Just look at UK and Duke to see how well that's working for them this year. UK has 3 FR that are projected to go in round 1 or 2 of the draft. Big deal, it's not paying off for Calipari this year and hasn't worked out for him since 2012. The key these days is to have a mature team that stays together for 3-4 years. In any event, I think Grant is making a mistake in his strategy given the lax transfer rules now in place. I think the reason we're not hearing much from the recruiting front is due to a couple of factors. First, what are Javonte's plans for the future? Does he stay one more year to beef up his resume? Second, there are bound to be some really good transfers seeking a new home once the season ends. Guys like Fletcher are probably chomping at the bit to enter the transfer pool. Because of our depth, even if the Perkolater  opts to leave, we will have only a few holes to fill. Of course, that assumes none of our guys decide to seek greener pastures. I have concerns about a few of them, but they're minor at this point. I think our roster will stay pretty much intact as guys who are subs see minutes opening up if we lose our 2 or 3 seniors. Still, it would be nice to add 2 disgruntled 3 or 4 star players from the P6, or a high flying mid major who wants a change of scenery for whatever reason. A couple of Linssen or Okoro types who are solid players that can provide good minutes or step in to start due to injuries. All speculation on my part, but I think the staff is thinking that plugging roster holes with players who have gone thru the D1 experience is a better way to go for us at this time. . 

Regarding the bolded, that's the team Grant built:  4 year players + three transfers.  Last season's glory was stolen from him and this year they've had injuries and a starter quit for personal reasons.  Those are the breaks.  Grant and Ford have built their roster the same way.  And now Grant is starting all over again, this time with higher-rated freshmen.  They will take some lumps and then have 2-3 years together coupled with transfer reinforcements to compete for an A10 title. 

We also had injuries last year but they happened to underclassmen, so we get the benefit of them being experienced players next year.  Pairing them up with experienced transfers gives us a chance to replicate this year's success.  Again, those are the breaks.

[CBFan]

6 minutes ago, slu72 said:

UD reloading with Frosh does not concern me too much no matter how many stars they have behind their name. Just look at UK and Duke to see how well that's working for them this year. UK has 3 FR that are projected to go in round 1 or 2 of the draft. Big deal, it's not paying off for Calipari this year and hasn't worked out for him since 2012. The key these days is to have a mature team that stays together for 3-4 years. In any event, I think Grant is making a mistake in his strategy given the lax transfer rules now in place. I think the reason we're not hearing much from the recruiting front is due to a couple of factors. First, what are Javonte's plans for the future? Does he stay one more year to beef up his resume? Second, there are bound to be some really good transfers seeking a new home once the season ends. Guys like Fletcher are probably chomping at the bit to enter the transfer pool. Because of our depth, even if the Perkolater  opts to leave, we will have only a few holes to fill. Of course, that assumes none of our guys decide to seek greener pastures. I have concerns about a few of them, but they're minor at this point. I think our roster will stay pretty much intact as guys who are subs see minutes opening up if we lose our 2 or 3 seniors. Still, it would be nice to add 2 disgruntled 3 or 4 star players from the P6, or a high flying mid major who wants a change of scenery for whatever reason. A couple of Linssen or Okoro types who are solid players that can provide good minutes or step in to start due to injuries. All speculation on my part, but I think the staff is thinking that plugging roster holes with players who have gone thru the D1 experience is a better way to go for us at this time. . 

No disrespect to Linssen and Okoro I would prefer Javon Bees type of transfers.

I agree with you that our coach will go the transfer route and probably our coaches already have a good idea who they will be talking to once they find out how many spots they have open.

The freshman class my not work out for Grant their first season but after a year of experience should be in good shape.

[hmart23]

1 minute ago, CBFan said:

No disrespect to Linssen and Okoro I would prefer Javon Bees type of transfers.

I agree with you that our coach will go the transfer route and probably our coaches already have a good idea who they will be talking to once they find out how many spots they have open.

The freshman class my not work out for Grant their first season but after a year of experience should be in good shape.

But we needed a big and not a wing. Linssen is exactly what we needed. 

[HoosierPal]

50 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

It doesn't matter what your ranking is if you're 6'10, a decent athlete and can shoot the three.  That's a matchup problem in the A-10.  Dayton's issue for next year is replacing their point guard and go-to-scorer.  Crutcher plays both of those roles.  Lynn Greer III is a sporadic bench player at IMG Academy.  Malachi Smith can penetrate but isn't the shooter Crutcher is.  There will be growing pains.

Weaver will run the point next year.  He has been handling it some already this season with decent success.  I see no way Crutcher returns, so he and Watson will be two large holes to fill.  The obvious wildcards for every NCAA team are the transfer situation and the free year.  Who will return, who will transfer in or transfer out?  Total unknows for the 350 plus or minus D1 teams.  

[3star_recruit]

2 hours ago, CBFan said:

No disrespect to Linssen and Okoro I would prefer Javon Bees type of transfers.

I agree with you that our coach will go the transfer route and probably our coaches already have a good idea who they will be talking to once they find out how many spots they have open.

The freshman class my not work out for Grant their first season but after a year of experience should be in good shape.

Considering the position he plays, Okoro is a Bess type of transfer.  Assuming he's healthy, he projects as a near double-double player at this level.

[brianstl]

43 minutes ago, CBFan said:

No disrespect to Linssen and Okoro I would prefer Javon Bees type of transfers.

I agree with you that our coach will go the transfer route and probably our coaches already have a good idea who they will be talking to once they find out how many spots they have open.

The freshman class my not work out for Grant their first season but after a year of experience should be in good shape.

Okoro is the most talented big man with size SLU has had since Anthony Bonner.  Heck, he is bigger/taller already than Bonner was leaving SLU and is more naturally skilled than Bonner.  I think people look at his numbers at Oregon and don't realize how good he can actually be.  There is a reason why he started every game last season for the team that was ranked 13th in the country until the injuries from getting hit by a car really started to impact his play too much. 

[slu72]

I should have said Grant’s recruiting of high ranking FR doesn’t concern me too much next season. I doubt they are one and doners so going forward UD will be a force. Still, getting transfers seems to be a smarter way to go these days. If you can pick up a 3-4 star transfer with 1-2 years in a D1 program that is a big advantage over a 3-4 star FR. The transfer, even if he never got many minutes, has learned what it takes to compete at the D1 level. How important to play D becomes. How important weight room work is. How important playing within the system becomes. How much more intense practices are. How much more time and focus u must put into individual workouts. These lessons learned are invaluable to a coach and his team. They are all things most incoming FR must learn coming off their HS glory days. 

[A10Ref]

Good for dayton... We're going to get some splashes soon, and I am hoping they are transfers... Dreaming of Cam Fletcher

I can't wait to see Okoro next year. His frame is unlike anything we have seen in a Billiken jersey.

[slufanskip]

1 hour ago, CBFan said:

No disrespect to Linssen and Okoro I would prefer Javon Bees type of transfers.

I agree with you that our coach will go the transfer route and probably our coaches already have a good idea who they will be talking to once they find out how many spots they have open.

The freshman class my not work out for Grant their first season but after a year of experience should be in good shape.

As others have stated we don't get bigs with Okoro's upside. I'll take him all day long. 

[Slu let the dogs out?]

Forgive me but how many schollies will we have heading into the offseason? 4? Would be nice to snag McKissic. I assume we'll try and grab a few grad transfers and possibly a traditional transfer? Leave a spot open for a Frosh? I still have 4 years of eligibility left...

[RUBillsFan]

2 hours ago, CBFan said:

I hope coach Grant can keep building classes and coach Ford the same.

It would be nice if SLU and Dayton could be similar to Duke and North Carolina.  The problem is bigger programs poaching coaches.

There are some things that Dayton/Grant and SLU/Ford have going that I think each could stay a while:

1. Both Ford (at Ok St) and Grant (at Alabama) have already "failed" at he Power 5 level.  Much more likely to get a hired as by a Power 5 as a hotshot up & coming coach who might be the next Bill Self or Chris Beard than a guy who has already been fired by a different Power 5 school.  If you actually look at their records, I don't think they faired too poorly at the Power 5 level, but they still have the stain of being fired on them.
2. Because they've already gotten a taste of Power 5 coaching & gotten fired.  Both may be hesitant to jump for that opportunity again rather than stay in a place that has much higher job security.
3. SLU & Dayton both have considerable resources to retain them.  They may not be able to match Power 5 schools dollar or dollar, but Ford and Grant are already paid very well.  It is not a situation where either of them would be jumping to get that "set for life" money because they already have that from previous stops & their current pay.
4. Grant is a Dayton alum, so they have that going for them as well.  Ford seems to really like St. Louis & his alma mater (Kentucky) is not likely to come calling unless he has an insane amount of success at SLU.

[cheeseman]

8 minutes ago, Slu let the dogs out? said:

Forgive me but how many schollies will we have heading into the offseason? 4? Would be nice to snag McKissic. I assume we'll try and grab a few grad transfers and possibly a traditional transfer? Leave a spot open for a Frosh? I still have 4 years of eligibility left...

3 assuming all 3 seniors leave

[Slu let the dogs out?]

1 minute ago, cheeseman said:

3 assuming all 3 seniors leave

Thanks, for some reason I thought Hightower had been given a scholarship.

[CBFan]

2 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

There are some things that Dayton/Grant and SLU/Ford have going that I think each could stay a while:

1. Both Ford (at Ok St) and Grant (at Alabama) have already "failed" at he Power 5 level.  Much more likely to get a hired as by a Power 5 as a hotshot up & coming coach who might be the next Bill Self or Chris Beard than a guy who has already been fired by a different Power 5 school.  If you actually look at their records, I don't think they faired too poorly at the Power 5 level, but they still have the stain of being fired on them.
2. Because they've already gotten a taste of Power 5 coaching & gotten fired.  Both may be hesitant to jump for that opportunity again rather than stay in a place that has much higher job security.
3. SLU & Dayton both have considerable resources to retain them.  They may not be able to match Power 5 schools dollar or dollar, but Ford and Grant are already paid very well.  It is not a situation where either of them would be jumping to get that "set for life" money because they already have that from previous stops & their current pay.
4. Grant is a Dayton alum, so they have that going for them as well.  Ford seems to really like St. Louis & his alma mater (Kentucky) is not likely to come calling unless he has an insane amount of success at SLU.

Great post, hopefully both coaches have great success in the A10 for many years.

[CBFan]

4 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

3 assuming all 3 seniors leave

Isn’t the NCAA allowing expanded roster scholarships if the seniors decide to stay or is it just everyone gets a another year and 13 scholarships?

[billiken_roy]

2 hours ago, 3star_recruit said:

It doesn't matter what your ranking is if you're 6'10, a decent athlete and can shoot the three.  That's a matchup problem in the A-10.  Dayton's issue for next year is replacing their point guard and go-to-scorer.  Crutcher plays both of those roles.  Lynn Greer III is a sporadic bench player at IMG Academy.  Malachi Smith can penetrate but isn't the shooter Crutcher is.  There will be growing pains.

malachi smith?   the belleville west kid?   i thought he was at chatanooga?

[Littlebill]

16 minutes ago, cheeseman said:

3 assuming all 3 seniors leave

Isn't Russell getting one of those?