THE GOOD NEWS
Dayton only loses senior forward Charles Little, which means the Flyers will again be a force in the conference next season. This group works amazingly well as a five-man unit on the court, no matter who is out there, and that should continue in 2009-10. Little was an integral piece to the Flyers' devastating defensive pressure, but freshman Paul Williams should be able to fill in nicely.

Rob Lowery will return from a knee injury next season, giving the Flyers the terrific depth at point guard that helped lead to victories over Marquette and Xavier when Lowery was healthy.

THE BAD NEWS
The Flyers still lack a consistent outside shooter that they can rely on when needed. Reserve forward Luke Fabrizius led the team behind the arc, shooting 38.1 percent. He came on strong toward the end of the year, including a 5-for-7 effort against Duquesne on March 7, but will need to prove that he can contribute in other ways in order to increase his playing time next year. Dayton shot 33.1 percent from long range in 2008-09, ranking 11th in the Atlantic 10.

KEY RETURNEES
Team co-MVPs Chris Wright and Marcus Johnson lead the Flyers back next season and will be joined by a superb supporting cast. Point guards London Warren and Rob Lowery, veteran post players Kurt Huelsman and Devin Searcy, guard Mickey Perry and freshmen Chris Johnson and Luke Fabrizius give Dayton a balanced squad that should be the favorite to win the Atlantic 10.

ROSTER REPORT

--F Chris Wright was fantastic in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game against WVU, scoring a game-high 27 points and hauling down 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. The sophomore then met Kansas' menacing center Cole Aldridge in the second round was held to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

--G London Warren flourished since taking over the starting point guard role. Warren dished out 69 assists while turning the ball over just 18 times after Rob Lowery was lost for the season with a knee injury.

--The Flyers signed prep star Juwan Staten of Dayton to join the team as a freshman in 2009-10. Staten was being pursued by Ohio State, Purdue and Xavier, but the 5-foot-11 point guard committed to Dayton on Feb. 27.

Copyright (C) 2009 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.