As the 2016-17 season quickly approaches, the Dayton Flyers will look for more production off their bench. The Flyers are expected to start four seniors this year and will need to find a consistent 6th man to give these guys a rest when needed. One player Archie Miller will call upon in particular, is junior guard Darrell Davis.
Despite being heavily recruited by Michigan State coming out of high school, Darrell Davis chose to come to Dayton. Everyone knows the 6’4″ guard can be deadly from behind the three point line when he heats up. Even with the smooth stroke, however, Davis has experienced some inconsistency in his first two years as a Flyer. His best performance this past season surprisingly came in Dayton’s first game against South Eastern Missouri State. Davis scored 15 points to go along with 8 rebounds in his 23 minutes of game action. After a strong performance by Davis and a 31 point Dayton win, Flyer fans expected more of the same.
As the season wore on, however, things got a little more rocky with Davis’ performances. The 6’4″ guard finished the 2015-16 season averaging 5.8 points per game and with 2.4 rebounds. The most disturbing number was the dip in his three point percentage from his freshman to sophomore year. In his freshman season, Davis shot an astonishing 45% from three. Unfortunately for the Flyers, that decreased to just 29% shooting from behind the arc in his sophomore year. If Davis wants to be the valuable 6th man Dayton needs, he will need to find consistency with his three point jumper.
Now entering his junior season, it seems like Davis is finally ready to take the next step in his development. Davis scored over double figures in seven games last season and will look to improve upon that this year. If Baby D, as Flyer fans know him, can consistently drop double digits every night, this Dayton team will be much tougher to beat. Archie Miller will certainly challenge Davis to step up in the clutch and knock down shots like he did last year at Rhode Island.
