Held back by injuries last year, Dayton big man Josh Cunningham seems primed for a breakout 2017-18 season. After transferring from Bradley University following his freshman season, Cunningham has missed nearly two years of game action. Coming off his redshirt year, the 6’7″ forward badly injured his ankle after throwing down a massive dunk in Dayton’s second game of the season. The injury forced Cunningham to sit out most of the 2016-17 season, although he did return in limited capacity in February of last year. Now, with the Flyers’ all-time winningest class in program history graduated, new head coach Anthony Grant will rely heavily upon Cunningham to man the paint.
What He’s Done
A former top 100 recruit, Josh Cunningham certainly has the talent to be one of the Atlantic 10’s top players. Despite only playing in 11 games as a redshirt sophomore due to injury, Cunningham showed flashes of what he could do in his junior season. Last year, the 6’7″ big man scored in double figures in each of Dayton’s first two games before suffering a gruesome ankle injury. When Cunningham returned in February, he dropped double figures two more times. While Cunningham was unable to reach his full potential in the 2016-17 season, he did provide the Flyers with a huge boost at center when he was healthy.
What He’ll Do
With Kendall Pollard gone and no veteran bigs on the roster, Josh Cunningham will certainly be given the chance to shine in 2017-18. Finally fully healthy and conditioned, expect Cunningham to have a breakout year for the Flyers. Anthony Grant will more than likely call upon Cunningham to start at center from day on this fall. If Dayton wants to continue its recent success, Cunningham will have to dominate down low this season. Assuming Cunningham stays healthy, watch out for him to become one of the A-10’s best big men and lead the rebounding charge for the Flyers.
Feature Image Via David Jablonski / Dayton Daily News
