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Dayton Daily News, Ohio
Dayton basketball: Simon says Flyers ‘want to do something special’
- Story byDayton Daily News, Ohio
- Dayton basketball: Simon says Flyers ‘want to do something special’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jaiun Simon joined a select group when he represented the Dayton Flyers at Atlantic 10 Conference Media Day on Monday, Oct. 19.
DaRon Holmes II was the choice in 2023 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nate Santos traveled to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., for the 2024 event. Last season, Javon Bennett had the honor at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. All three of those players earned all-conference honors in those seasons.
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Simon was not the obvious choice in 2026 because junior forward Amaël L'Etang is Dayton's top returning scorer, but Simon is the longest-tenured scholarship player on the roster, so he traveled to the Westin DC Downtown for A-10 Media Day, along with coach Anthony Grant.
"It's an honor to be here and represent my school and my program," Simon said, "and I'm just grateful for it."
Simon spoke at a press conference with Grant at 9 a.m. Monday, not long after the official A-10 preseason poll was released. Dayton received two first-place votes and was picked to finish third behind two teams that tied for first place last season, Virginia Commonwealth and Saint Louis.
Simon and Grant then made the rounds with different media outlets, including the Field of 68, which broadcast live from the Westin.
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For Simon, it was more action than he got two days earlier. After starting in an 82-76 loss to Xavier in an exhibition game on Oct. 7, he sat on the bench but was not in uniform when Dayton beat Notre Dame 75-65 in its second preseason game.
After the game, Grant said Simon had suffered an "upper-body injury." Simon was more specific when he was asked about his status at Media Day.
"I got a little concussion," Simon said. "It happened last Monday at practice, but right now I'm good. I feel I'm back to normal, and I should be ready to go this week."
Dayton plays Morehead State at 7 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena in its final exhibition game. The regular season begins at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 with a home game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
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Dayton will play 14 games before opening the 18-game A-10 schedule with a Dec. 30 game against La Salle. The non-conference season will give the experts a better idea of what to expect in league play, but for now, VCU and Saint Louis are big favorites. They received all but two of the 23 first-place votes in the preseason poll. Dayton received the other two.
The Flyers haven't won an A-10 championship since 2020 when they finished 18-0 in the conference. After a seventh-place finish in 2021, they have finished in the top four five years in a row. Simon experienced an NCAA tournament appearance as a freshman in 2024 but would like a championship on his resume.
"We want to do something special for this program," Simon said. "The people deserve it."
Simon was one of only two players at A-10 Media Day entering his fourth season at the same school, a reflection of the roster turnover that has become common in college basketball.
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The other was Kellen Thames, a fifth-year guard at Saint Louis. Ten of the 14 players who came to Media Day are in their first or second year at their schools.
For Grant, this was his ninth Media Day in 10 seasons. There was not a Media Day event because of the pandemic in 2021.
In Grant's tenure, the Flyers have been picked as low as sixth (2018-19) and as high as first (2022-23 and 2023-24). Grant's 10th team includes one player who received an A-10 preseason honor. L'Etang was named to the first team.
RELATED: A-10 Media Day: Where Dayton has been picked and finished in the conference from 1995-2026
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This A-10 Media Day came later in the calendar year than usual, and for the first time in recent memory, it wasn't held at the site of the conference tournament. The A-10 headquarters is in Washington, D.C., but the tournament returns to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in March.
"We're excited to be here," Grant said. "Obviously, this means that college basketball season is right around the corner, so we're looking forward to getting started here in a couple of weeks. I think we've been able to put together a group that I'm excited to coach. A lot of guys have put time into getting to know each other, getting familiar with our system and what we feel like will allow us to become the best version of ourselves."
The two A-10 favorites, VCU and Saint Louis, represented the conference in the NCAA tournament last season, and both won first-round games. It was the second time in three seasons two A-10 teams won their first games, after Dayton and Duquesne in 2023.
With the tournament expanding from 68 to 76 teams, the A-10 will hope to get even more teams into the tournament.
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"I think it's a good thing for college basketball," Grant said. "I think anytime you can create more opportunities for teams to experience March Madness, it's a good thing. I think it's great for the student-athletes. I think it would be great for the fans, so I'm in favor of it in terms of the A-10. Certainly, I think our league is positioned favorably to take advantage of some of those additional opportunities."
2026-27 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll and Awards
Preseason Poll
1.
VCU (11), 308
2.
Saint Louis (10), 307
3.
Dayton (2), 279
4.
George Mason, 240
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5.
George Washington, 207
6.
Saint Joseph's, 181
7.
Fordham, 169
8.
Davidson, 144
9.
Richmond, 138
10.
Duquesne, 130
11.
Loyola Chicago, 116
12.
Rhode Island, 104
13.
La Salle, 59
14.
St. Bonaventure, 33
Numbers in parentheses indicate first-place votes.
Preseason All-Conference First Team
2025-26 statistics
Amaël L'Etang, Dayton, Jr., F, 7-1, 11.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
Jaiden Glover-Toscano, Saint Joseph's, Jr., G, 6-6, 15.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 APG
Trey Green, Saint Louis, Jr., G, 6-0, 10.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
Kellen Thames, Saint Louis, Fifth, G, 6-6, 9.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG
Lazar Djokovic, VCU, Sr., F, 6-11, 13.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.1 APG
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Nyk Lewis, VCU, So., G, 6-1, 8.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 APG
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Josh Scovens, Davidson, Sr., F/W, 6-6, 11.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG
Rikus Schulte, Fordham, Sr., F, 6-9, 10.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG
Baraka Okojie, George Mason, Sr., G, 6-3, 19.7* PPG, 3.1* RPG, 5.3* APG
Rob Dockery, La Salle, R-Jr., G, 6-6, 12.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.3 APG
Amari McCottry, Saint Louis, Jr., G, 6-6, 10.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.9 APG
Brandon Jennings, VCU, Jr., G, 6-4, 8.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG
Preseason All-Conference Third Team
Brayden O'Connor, George Mason, Gr., G, 6-5, 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 APG
Jean Aranguren, George Washington, Sr., G, 6-3, 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.4 APG
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Jonah Hinton, Rhode Island, Fifth, G, 6-3, 12.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.1 APG
Jahmere Tripp, Rhode Island, Sr., G/F, 6-6, 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
Aiden Argabright, Richmond, So., G, 6-0, 10.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.0 APG
Ishan Sharma, Saint Louis, Jr., F, 6-5, 9.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.5 APG
Preseason All-Defensive Team
Rikus Schulte, Fordham, Sr., F, 6-9, 10.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG
Sean Logan, Saint Joseph's, Gr., F, 6-11, 3.7* PPG, 3.4* RPG, 0.7* APG
Amari McCottry, Saint Louis, Jr., G, 6-6, 10.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.9 APG
Kellen Thames, Saint Louis, Fifth, G, 6-6, 9.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG
Brandon Jennings, VCU, Jr., G, 6-4, 8.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG
