Dayton looked like a lock to make the NCAA tournament on Valentine’s Day with a record of 21-3. However, after losing 3 of their next 4 and then losing to St. Joe’s in the A-10 tourney semifinals on Saturday, they ended up avoiding heartbreak with an at-large bid and a #7-seed. The Flyers lost to Oklahoma last March but hope to advance even farther this week . Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Charles Cooke about his senior leader and everyone’s favorite team from West Long Branch, NJ.
In the 2013 NCAA tourney as a player at James Madison you scored 15 PTS in a win over LIU-Brooklyn and then scored 18 PTS in a loss to Indiana: what did that experience teach you about what it takes to win in March? It takes a clear mind and some confidence. You need focus/concentration, belief in your teammates and your coach’s game plan, and then go out and give it everything you got.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Dayton? I knew that I had more in me that needed to be pulled out, and Dayton was the top option to help me improve both personally as well as athletically. It has paid off so I feel that I made the right decision.
You play for Coach Archie Miller: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He is very persistent and is all about hard work: he has a laser-focus but is also great at seeing the big picture. What really helped me is his determination/will/attitude. I am more of a finesse player but he has helped develop my mental toughness every single day, both on and off the court.
You beat several good teams in non-conference play this season including Iowa/Monmouth/Vandy: which of these teams impressed you the most? To be honest, I would say Monmouth. They are undersized but got up and down the floor and made shots. They used their quickness to beat a lot of teams this year, which surprised me.
Dyshawn Pierre was suspended for the fall semester: how important has his return been to your team’s success over the past few months? It has been huge for him to stretch the floor and be a threat on both ends of the court. He is really versatile and can defend anyone from a 2 to a 5.
Dyshawn is the only senior among your top-11 scorers: do you think that your team is ready to win right now or do you think that you are a year away from being a serious contender? You never worry about next year: we have an opportunity right now and we want to make sure he goes out with a bang by making it really far. We have high hopes but will take it game-by-game.
Your team is among the best in the nation at defensive rebounding: how are you able to dominate the boards despite none of your top-5 scorers being taller than 6’6”? Whenever a shot goes up we just box our man out and try to get the rebound. Most of our losses this year have come when we were out-rebounded so everyone including our guards tries to be scrappy and hit the boards.
The A-10 was 1 of only 2 non-power conferences (along with the AAC) to have at least 3 teams make the NCAA tourney: what advice do you have for Cincy (who plays St. Joe’s on Friday) and Oregon State (who plays VCU on Friday)? St. Joe’s and VCU have a lot of offensive power. VCU will fight to the end and has a lot of talent on their bench. It is important to be playing very well at the end of the season, which is what St. Joe’s is doing right now.
You ended up with a #7-seed and will be playing in St. Louis on Friday: do you think that you deserved a better seed, and do you expect that a lot of your fans will be able to make the 5-hour drive to watch you in person? We have no problems with our seeding. I think St. Louis is a great area so I think we will have a lot of Flyer energy in the building.
You will be facing Syracuse: how do you plan to attack their famous 2-3 zone defense, and what will it be like to play against your former high school teammate Malachi Richardson? We need to move the ball a lot against the zone, make some shots, and try to get some points in the paint. I never thought that I would play Malachi and I just laugh about it now: it is a really cool thing to go against him for the 1st time in college.