Tag: Dayton

Warriors select high-flying forward in latest NBA Mock Draft from CBS Sports

In the latest mock draft from Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, the Golden State Warriors landed Dayton’s high-flying prospect Obi Toppin with the No. 2 pick.

With more teams being eliminated from the 2020 edition of the playoffs, draft season is beginning to heat up outside of the Orlando Bubble. Following the lottery, mock drafts are rolling in with predictions for how the board will read in November.

After the first overall selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves, eyes immediately shift to what Bob Myers and the Golden State Warriors will do at No. 2. With the championship core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green still in place, the Warriors are in a unique situation for a team on the clock early in the draft.

If they don’t opt to trade the pick, Myers and Steve Kerr could look for a prospect that can contribute to Golden State’s climb back to the playoffs as soon as next season.

In Matt Norlander’s latest mock draft for CBS Sports, Dayton’s Obi Toppin lands in the Bay Area. According to Norlander, Toppin’s “all-around repertoire, and stellar reputation” make him a tough prospect to pass on at No. 2.

Via CBS Sports:

You’ll see other mocks slide James Wiseman here, and I can see that, but I’ll stick with Obi Toppin. He’s far from polarizing, but I do think opinions drift interestingly on Toppin, who is 22 years, and that could be used against him. I think Toppin’s range is No. 1 to No. 6 in this draft. His all-around repertoire, and stellar reputation, has turned him into the kind of prospect that general managers will find hard to pass on…

View Norlander’s full breakdown of Toppin to Golden State and the rest of the CBS Sports Mock Draft here.

In his final season at Dayton, Toppin averaged 20 points on 63.3% shooting from the field with 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assist, 1.2 blocks and one steal per contest. As a redshirt sophomore, the 6-foot-6 forward flashed glimpses of a long-range jumper, shooting 39% from beyond the arc on 2.6 attempts per game. Toppin’s performance at Dayton earned him AP National College Player of the Year honors.

The Brooklyn native came in as the No. 7 prospect on the Warriors Wire 2020 Big Board.

Toppin’s tenacious athleticism would immediately add another high flyer alongside Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss in Golden State’s frontline. Toppin’s finishing around the rim would give Curry and Green another lob threat on the floor in Kerr’s fast-paced offense. As he continues to develop his 3-point shot, Toppin could fit in next to Paschall and Jordan Poole to create a youth movement off the bench in Golden State.

If the Warriors decided to go small, Toppin could slide in alongside Green at center or power forward in Kerr’s rotation. Toppin could benefit from being on the court next to a player with the defensive prowess of Green.

 

With the draft slated to move back to November 18, Myers and Kerr will have time to do their homework on Toppin and the rest of the 2020 draft class.

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USF Coach Brian Gregory’s Daughter Moves Into Notre Dame

For most of the past 17 years, Brian Gregory has devoted his life to being a college basketball head coach.

For most of the past 17 years, Brian Gregory has devoted his life to being a college basketball head coach. He has coached the past three years at USF, leading the program to the most recent CBI championship. Before that, he coached Georgia Tech for five seasons, which came after an eight-year tenure at Dayton, which included the 2010 NIT title. With 296 career wins, he’ll reach that coveted 300 mark next season, whenever that comes.

Though he’s built a solid resume, one opponent Gregory never will defeat is time. On Wednesday, he came to terms with that further when he moved his daughter, Isabella, into Notre Dame for her freshman year. Yes, in spite of her father being a major conference coach, she made the decision in March to continue her education in South Bend, which her dad was perfectly fine with:

The day before moving his daughter in, Gregory toured the campus. And if this tweet is any indication, he wasn’t able to fight back tears when it was time to let go:

Sooner than they would like, all parents have to send their child off on their own. And whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of it, emotions almost always are there. But don’t worry, Coach. Your daughter and her future are in good hands.

2020 NFL Draft: Ranking the top-5 TE prospects

The Jags could look to add more help at tight end in the draft and the 2020 class has solid options at the top.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a need at the tight end position for about as long as fans can remember. Mercedes Lewis provided great help as an in-line blocker, however, he added very little as a legitimate weapon in the passing game late in his career.

The team had hoped that Julius Thomas could be that vertical threat several years ago, but he ended up being one of Dave Caldwell’s biggest free agent misses. In 2019, the team struggled once again as injuries and lack of talent plagued the position. This offseason Caldwell went out and signed Tyler Eifert, a Pro-Bowl talent with consistent injury issues in hopes to add a spark to the position. Whether this works or not, I expect the team to still be in search of a young playmaker to add to their struggling tight end room.

Here are my top-5 tight ends in the 2020 NFL Draft class:

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Brycen Hopkins

Brycen Hopkins has been the class’s biggest name at the tight end position since last summer. He’s an incredibly fluid mover and would fit right in as the “big slot” in Jacksonville. He would immediately become their best talent at his position and would give Gardner Minshew II an additional weapon and one who could terrorize defenses between the hashes. Among being an exceptional athlete, Hopkins was quite productive at Purdue, garnering 130 catches for just under 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns.

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Former OKC assistant, Anthony Grant, named AP Coach of the Year

Grant led the Dayton Flyers to a 29-2 overall record and a final ranking of No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Former Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach, Anthony Grant, was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year earlier this week.

Grant led the University of Dayton to a 29-2 overall record, an Atlantic-10 regular-season championship, and a final ranking of No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25, matching the program’s highest finish from 1956.

The Flyers earned the top seed in the A-10 conference tournament and were in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before both were canceled due to concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Grant returned to his alma mater, where he played from 1983-87, in 2017 after spending two seasons in Oklahoma City on Billy Donovan’s staff.

His stint with the Thunder marked the fourth time that Grant had worked under Donovan, dating back to the mid-1990s at Marshall University.

Prior to coming on as an assistant in OKC in 2015, Grant served as an assistant under Donovan for 10 years at the University of Florida, where he helped lead the Gators to their first national championship in 2006. The program won its second title in 2007 with players that Grant had recruited prior to taking the head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth University.

How to watch Dayton vs Richmond: Date, time, odds

No. 7-ranked Dayton takes on Richmond for an Atlantic 10 Conference battle that pits the top two teams in the standings against one another.

It’s an Atlantic 10 conference rivalry you’re going to want to watch. No. 7 ranked Dayton — first place in the conference — takes on second-ranked Richmond, exclusively on ESPN+.

Dayton has steadily risen up the AP polls in recent weeks, traveling all the way up to the seventh spot while going on an eight-game winning streak. Dayton is 19-9 in series history against Richmond, winning their last seven straight.

This will be Richmond’s second game this season against a ranked team, losing their last one to No. 18 Auburn 79-65. Richmond has been on a bit of a roll recently though, winning five of their last six games, all against A-10 opponents.

Sign up for ESPN+ now so you don’t miss any of your favorite CBB streams.

How to watch #7 Dayton vs Richmond:

No. 7 Dayton (17-2) vs Richmond (15-4)

Saturday, Jan. 25, 6:00 p.m. ET

Robins Center, Richmond, VA

CBB streams:

Live stream: ESPN+

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Warriors are perfect match in first round for NBA prospect Obi Toppin

Casual basketball fans might expect the Golden State Warriors to add a top recruit like James Wiseman or LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Casual basketball fans might expect the Golden State Warriors to add a top recruit like James Wiseman or LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Despite the fact that their poor record will give them a solid chance at their pick of the litter, per team insider Connor Letourneau, the front office is not “infatuated” with any of the projected top picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.

This makes some sense considering the personnel they already have with superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. As such, the Warriors will have a different approach to this draft class than just selecting the best player available.

Letourneau, however, specifically mentioned one prospect that may be a good fit in Golden State (via SF Chronicle):

“One player who could intrigue Golden State is Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who, like Murray State’s Ja Morant last year, has used a torrid start to his sophomore season to emerge as a potential top-5 pick. At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, Toppin is a strong, versatile big man who can hit open jumpers, throw down highlight-worthy dunks, defend multiple positions and dive for loose balls.”

Toppin is 6-foot-9 but has spent 70 percent of his minutes at center over the last five games. He looks the part of a natural four who could play at the big for small-ball lineups that the Warriors have made infamous.

Diving in a bit and it seems Golden State has done their early due diligence scouting Dayton; they have already visited their practices twice this season.

They were undoubtedly there to get a closer look at Toppin, who currently ranks Top 10 in Player of the Year ratings for both KenPom and BartTorvik.

Based on his play this year, he might not even be a reach assuming Golden State picks in the first half of the lottery. Recent mock drafts and big boards from NBADraft.Net (No. 4), CBS Sports (No. 5), 247 Sports (No. 5), Yahoo (No. 7), Rookie Wire (No. 8), Forbes (No. 9), The Athletic (No. 10) and even ESPN (No. 12) are all high on him.

It goes to reason as Toppin is averaging 1.19 points per possession this season, per Synergy, which ranks in the 97th percentile among all college basketball players.

He currently leads all players in the NCAA with 36 dunks this year and has connected on 11-of-12 (91.2 percent) putback attempts. This was recently displayed by the insane offensive rebound-turned-slam towards the end of regulation against Colorado.

He is also shooting 59-of-71 (83.1 percent) within four feet of the rim. That ranks No. 1 overall among all 141 players who have had at least 40 attempts in this zone.

But the 6-foot-9 prospect spreads the floor well, too, and has connected on 42.9 percent of his three-pointers during his two NCAA seasons thus far.

Shortly after the dunk against Colorado mentioned above, Toppin hit a clutch three-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime.

His team simply players better when Tippin is on the floor considering that the big man currently ranks Top 10 among all underclassmen in Box Plus-Minus.

After the Maui Invitational Tournament, former NBA agent Matt Babcock spoke glowingly about Toppin (via Babcock Hoops):

“At 6-foot-9 with good length, possessing elite athleticism, Toppin not only has prototypical physical attributes, he has the skill set to match, as he does about everything you’d want from a modern day power forward. On the offensive end, he is a threat to score on the low block, and around the rim, he is a good shooter from outside, he runs the floor and is a high flyer — pick your poison. Defensively, he is able to utilize his athleticism and physical tools to defend multiple positions, grab rebounds, and protect the rim. To go along with these terrific skills, he has a high motor, an infectious presence on the floor, but almost as important as anything, he has a high basketball IQ — he doesn’t make many mistakes and plays within himself.”

The biggest concern for scouts might be that after redshirting, Toppin is already 21 years old. But for a win-now team like the Warriors, that is far from a problem and closer to a lovable attribute. Unlike other franchises selecting in the lottery, they need someone who can help right away and he can do that at the Chase Center.

Another reason why he would fit for Golden State’s system is that they are not a team that calls many pick-and-roll sets for the roller. When looking at the regular season and playoffs last season, they finished just 3.5 percent of their offensive sets this way — last among all teams in the NBA.

Pick-and-roll has been the one and only area where Toppin has struggled in 2019-20, which would hurt his draft stock for virtually any other franchise looking to select someone who plays in the frontcourt. But for a team that does not make this a priority, his biggest weakness would not be exposed in a way that is too problematic.

Even with all this in mind, it would be foolish to think that the Warriors will select Toppin at No. 1 overall if that is where the lottery puts them. But if that is the player they want, which makes all the sense in the world, they could trade down and secure his rights and even get another asset in the process.

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