ANALYSIS: An early look at Dayton’s 2024-25 roster

The coaches still time to add to the group, but now is as good a time as any to look at the 2024-25 team. The 12-man group includes five players (Nate Santos, Zed Key, Posh Alexander, Enoch Cheeks and Uhl) entering their final year of eligibility, so Dayton likely will have another busy recruiting period next spring.

The team has one true freshman, two redshirt freshmen, three juniors, one redshirt junior, one senior and four fifth-year seniors/graduate students. The years listed are the years these players will be next season.

Returning starters

Santos, 6-foot-7, senior, forward: Santos, of Geneva, Ill., ranked second on the team in scoring (11.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.3) in his first season at Dayton. He was the team’s second-best 3-point shooter (51 of 122, 41.8%). He led the team in minutes (33.5).

Santos was one of four players to start all 33 games last season for a team that finished 25-8. The Flyers played in the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years and won a tournament game for the first time in nine years.

Santos played his first two seasons at Pittsburgh and transferred to Dayton last June. He announced April 28 he would enter the portal but changed his mind and announced six days later he will play his final season of college basketball at Dayton.

Cheeks, 6-3, fifth-year senior, guard: Cheeks, of Providence, R.I.: ranked sixth on the team in scoring (8.1). He led the team with 40 steals. He shot 30.4% from 3-point range (24 of 79). He ranked third on the team in minutes (30.6). He started all 33 games.

Cheeks played his first three seasons at Robert Morris, averaging 15.4 points, 3.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his third season at Robert Morris. Like Key, Alexander and Uhl, he has a fifth season of eligibility because the NCAA didn’t count the 2020-21 season, his freshman season, against anyone’s eligibility.

Javon Bennett, 5-10, junior guard: Bennett, of Orlando., Fla., ranked fifth on the team in scoring (8.4) and second on the team in assists (3.3) behind Kobe Elvis (3.5), who transferred to Oklahoma after the season. Bennett shot 31.6% from 3-point range (42 of 133).

Bennett took over the starting point guard role when Malachi Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the season. Bennett missed the last two games of the regular season with a thumb injury.

Bennett played his freshman season at Merrimack, averaging 9.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals.

Other returners

Isaac Jack, 6-11, junior, forward: Jack, of Port Alberni, B.C., appeared in all 33 games in his first season at Dayton, averaging 8.5 minutes per game. He averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds. He backed up the All-American Holmes, who averaged 32.5 points and led the team in scoring (20.4) and rebounding (8.5).

Jack played double-digit minutes six times in 12 non-conference games but only four times in 18 Atlantic 10 Conference games. He played a total of 14 minutes in three postseason games but had six points in eight minutes in the victory against Nevada.

Jack played his freshman season at Buffalo, averaging 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Malachi Smith, 6-0, redshirt junior, guard: Smith, of Bronx, N.Y., suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee on Nov. 6 and underwent surgery two days later. During the NCAA tournament, he gave this update on his rehabilitation.

“I’m probably a couple weeks out from getting on the court and doing skill stuff,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing some change of direction, some functional stuff. I’m just getting used to moving. I’m trying not to rush it.”

Smith received a medical redshirt because he played in only one game last season. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He battled ankle injuries in his first two seasons but started 46 games and averaged 8.6 and 5.4 points.

Uhl, 6-2, fifth-year guard: An Alter graduate, Uhl averaged 2.7 points in 12 appearances last season. He sometimes filled the role of designated foul-giver at the end of the first half. When Bennett missed a game at Saint Louis in March, Uhl played 13 minutes and made 1 of 3 3-pointers.

Uhl has played three seasons at Dayton after starting his career at the University of Cumberlands, a NAIA school in Kentucky.

Jaiun Simon, 6-6, redshirt freshman, forward: Simon, of Mableton, Ga., has four seasons of eligibility remaining because UD redshirted him last season. He played with the scout team most of the season but underwent surgery March 8 to fix a chronic injury. He had an extra bone in his ankle that needed to be removed. It started bothering him in December, and he was told he would need surgery in February.

Simon had enough recovery time to travel with the team to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the NCAA tournament. He said then the rehabilitation process will take about 2½ months.

Marvel Allen, 6-4, redshirt freshman, guard: Allen, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also redshirted last season. Like Simon, he has four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Allen suffered a lower-body injury in the week before the season opener and returned to practice Dec. 12. The decision to redshirt him was made final in late December.

“I want to play, but unfortunately for me with the injury, the best thing for me was to redshirt,” Allen said in March. “It’s just been a learning experience. Seeing the system, learning where I can fit in and just practicing the routines daily.”

Newcomers

Zed Key, 6-8, graduate student, forward: Key, of Bayshore, N.Y., played the last four seasons at Ohio State. He scored 895 points in 121 games. Last season, he averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 36 games.

Jacob Conner, 6-10, junior, forward: The Alter grad Conner played the last two seasons at Marshall. He started 32 of 33 games as a sophomore and averaged 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Posh Alexander, 6-0, fifth-year, guard: Alexander, of Brooklyn, N.Y., played his first three seasons at St. John’s and last season at Butler, where he averaged 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals and started all 32 games.

Hamad Mousa, 6-7 guard/forward: Mousa is from Qatar but played the last three years at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia. He had a breakout performance at a Basketball Without Borders event in Indiana in February and also played at the Nike Hoop Summit in Oregon in April.