Story by
Dayton Daily News, Ohio
Dayton basketball: 'Super fun' pickup game features former, current Flyers
- Story byDayton Daily News, Ohio
- Dayton basketball: 'Super fun' pickup game features former, current Flyers
Jul. 25—In July 2025, several former Dayton Flyers stars returned to the University of Dayton campus and participated in pickup basketball games at the Cronin Center with members of the current roster.
That may have been the start of an annual tradition, because the games happened again Thursday, July 23, with Dayton's two most recent All-Americans, Obi Toppin and DaRon Holmes II, along with Toppin's former Indiana Pacers teammate James Johnson, serving as featured guests.
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All the former and current players posed for a photo with the Dayton coaching staff after the game. UD basketball great Brian Roberts also watched the games and joined the group for the photo.
"That was super fun," Dayton junior forward Amaël L'Etang said a day after the games. "It's always great to compete against NBA guys and be around people who love basketball and love to compete."
The games lasted 90 minutes, L'Etang said. The players split into three teams and played nine games in all. The first team to 11 points won.
L'Etang's team included Toppin, who's entering his seventh season in the NBA, redshirt sophomore forward Malcolm Thomas, redshirt freshman guard Jaron McKie and freshman guard Julian Washington.
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Redshirt junior Jaiun Simon, the only fourth-year scholarship player on the roster who has spent his entire career at UD, said he was the general manager of his team. He picked Holmes, who's entering his third year with the Denver Nuggets; junior guard Travis Perry, a transfer from Ole Miss; freshman guard Aiden Derkack; and sophomore forward Damon Friery.
"My team got five wins," Simon said proudly, "and everybody else, they got their little scraps."
Friery was better prepared this time after a year in the program.
"Last year, I was a freshman, so I was kind of just running up and down the court," he said, "but I feel like this year, we played together. We had DaRon on our team, and we had pretty good chemistry and just kept winning."
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Everyone played hard, L'Etang said. This was no All-Star Game without defense. They didn't go 100%, but close to 90 or 95%.
There were more games planned for Friday night, Simon said earlier that day when he and L'Etang, along with Dayton's other returning players — Thomas, McKie and Friery — sat down for individual interviews with the Dayton Daily News to talk about the offseason and the season ahead.
Toppin also treated Simon and other players to dinner at Fleming's, a steakhouse at the Greene Towne Center.
For Simon, the experience reinforced what's special about being a Flyer. Toppin hosted a golf outing, the Obi Open, and his 6th annual basketball camp while he was in town. Holmes signed autographs for fans earlier in the week at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken in Kettering.
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"Seeing those guys come back and just pour into the program, even not knowing us for very long, it's just very special to see," Simon said. "I've been here my whole career, so I don't know how it is everywhere else. But I'm pretty sure all the new guys can attest to how special that really is."
Thomas has played in the games in his first two summers at Dayton.
"It's definitely a brotherhood," he said. "We learn from the older guys, and they have a big-brother type feel. We can ask questions about what it's like to be a pro and bounce stuff off them. I really enjoy it."
