Lately, most of my friends are from the pickup basketball court. We have a dedicated group of guys who play hard, sweat a lot, and occasionally give each other a hard time over tough fouls. While we aim to win, for me, it’s more about burning calories than racking up points.
Dean, our standout rebounder who reminds me of Dennis Rodman, often says, “Ball is life,” in our group chat.
Another player, Ben, once jokingly suggested that everyone should quit their jobs to just focus on basketball—though there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.
What does this have to do with the Dayton Flyers? Well, basketball is a constant for us—we typically play twice a week at the Jewish Community Center near my home in Bexley—and the same holds true for Division I college basketball teams.
The Flyers kicked off their official preseason practices for the 2024-25 season last week with minimal fanfare, having already practiced for eight weeks this summer before returning to campus in August. They’re now allowed to practice more frequently, which makes a difference.
Coach Anthony Grant welcomed local media to the sixth preseason practice on Wednesday. We had a chance to speak with him and two fifth-year guards, Posh Alexander and Enoch Cheeks, beforehand. I asked Alexander, who transferred from Butler, about the potential of this Dayton team.
“I’m not going to say too much, but I truly believe we’re going to surprise everyone,” he stated. “We’re all eager to showcase our talent on the court. I really think it’s going to be a fantastic year.”
For me, these initial interviews of the 2024-25 season mark the beginning of a lengthy journey toward March. I’ll be covering two preseason exhibition games, 31 regular-season games, and any postseason games that come after.
In my first 11 seasons on this beat, I’ve covered nearly 350 games. Generally, I miss about one game each season, usually to attend our large annual family Christmas gathering. I also skipped some road games during the 2020-21 season due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic.
It’s tough to miss even a single game because, after all, basketball is life.
On Wednesday, my 6-year-old son Chase shared that he had a dream the night before about an angry tractor chasing him and his classmates around the playground. They managed to escape by hopping on a train.
Chase is a big fan of trains—whether it’s toy trains like Thomas or stories like “Two Little Trains”—and on Thursday, he got to ride one.
Chase, my wife Barbara, and I flew to Washington, D.C. (which Chase refers to as George Washington) for a short family getaway. We took the Metro from Ronald Reagan Airport to our hotel downtown. We decided to let Chase skip Friday from school, affecting his perfect kindergarten attendance, but he’s technically only missing one day since there wasn’t any school on Thursday.
While they will head home on Sunday, I’m staying for the Atlantic 10 Conference Media Day on Monday at Capital One Arena. All 15 schools will send their head coach and one player to the event, and I’ll be working extra hours since, for the first time, the A-10 will host a women’s basketball Media Day at the same place on the same day.
This will be the first Media Day in Washington, D.C., since the 2017-18 season, when first-year coach Anthony Grant’s team was projected to finish fifth. I suspect Dayton will be predicted to come in third this season behind Saint Louis and Virginia Commonwealth. Many Dayton fans won’t mind that, considering the last two preseason favorites (Dayton) didn’t end the season on top.
At Media Day, Anthony Grant and Nate Santos will represent the Dayton men’s team, while Tamika Williams-Jeter and Ivy Wolf will represent the women’s team.
On Wednesday, the Cronin Center saw a larger media presence as local news stations, which usually don’t cover basketball interviews, attended to speak with Grant about the second mental health event he helped organize at UD Arena.
“The Spotlight: To Shine A Light On Mental Health” was first held last year, and the 2024 event is set for next Wednesday.
“Mental health is very important to my wife and me,” Grant expressed, adding, “I am grateful to Caresource, the university, and everyone involved who has partnered with us to help spread the message and reduce the stigma associated with mental health.”
Dayton Daily News columnist Tom Archdeacon interviewed Grant and his wife Chris about the event and their commitment to mental health issues, with the story scheduled to run on Sunday.
I’ll also be writing a piece about the event for next week, focusing on Brandon Saho, a former TV sports broadcaster from Cincinnati who started The Mental Game Podcast. He will moderate a panel discussion at The Spotlight event for the second consecutive year.
Following the tragic loss of their daughter Jay, who died by suicide in 2022, the Grants quickly became advocates for mental health awareness. Their efforts have expanded to other campuses, with charity exhibition games featuring Ohio State vs. Cincinnati and Kansas vs. Arkansas happening this month.
The Dayton Daily News is contributing to the awareness effort through comprehensive reporting in its Mental Health Matters: Kids in Crisis series, which focuses on children’s mental health.
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