By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dayton basketball coach Oliver Purnell isn't the type to make bold statements about his team.

Usually, he feels it's wise to remain low-key, understated and professional.

But even Purnell, in his typical understated fashion, can't help being excited about the team he has this season.

It might be the best he has fielded at Dayton since 1994, when he began reviving a once-proud program that had fallen on terribly hard times.

"We had a veteran crew a couple of years ago when we went to the NCAA Tournament," Purnell said. "This could be every bit as good as that. It could be better."

The Flyers, who play the University of Cincinnati at 8 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena, return four starters from last year's 21-11 National Invitation Tournament team.

Both teams are 2-0. UC is ranked 21st nationally.

Among Dayton's returning starters is senior forward Brooks Hall, already on the Flyers' 1,000-point career scoring list. Hall averaged 13.3 points last season and made 38.8 of his 3-point attempts.

"He's definitely poised to have his best year ever," Purnell said. "He's as good a shooter as there is in the country."

Dayton has a big, physical frontline with 6-8 junior Keith Waleskowski and 6-11 junior Sean Finn. To fill a hole at point guard, talented junior Ramod Marshall has been switched from off-guard to the point.

James Cripe, a 6-10 freshman center from Loveland, is redshirting this season.

"We've got seven of our top nine back," Purnell said. "And these guys not only have experience, they have winning experience."

It's no wonder devoted Flyers fans are looking forward to this game, believing this could be the season Dayton finally beats the Bearcats after 11 straight losses.

"It's two things," Purnell said of the anticipation in Dayton for this game. "We haven't won for awhile and our proximity right up the road. Cincinnati is always good and our fans get cranked up for any good team."

The last time Dayton beat UC in basketball, Don Donoher was the Flyers' head coach and Tony Yates was running the program at UC. That was on Jan.28, 1989, an 86-80 Flyers victory at UD Arena.

Since then, Jim O'Brien has come and gone at UD and Bob Huggins has built a nationally ranked program at UC.

Purnell has succeeded in restoring the luster to Dayton's tradition and is working on a string of three straight 20-win seasons. But he has never beaten a Huggins-coached Bearcats UC team.

"They probably want to beat us pretty bad, I would guess," Huggins said of the Flyers. "It seems like we're everybody's rival. At least in past years, it's a heck of a (Rating Percentage Index) game for people. And it's a whole lot better if you win."

In addition to UC, Dayton's schedule features games at Duke on Dec.29, and against Villlanova on Dec.22 and Marquette on Jan.4. Purnell constructed the schedule in the hopes his Flyers will land in the NCAA Tournament instead of the NIT.

"It may be the toughest schedule we've ever played," Purnell said. "We wanted to give ourselves an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. If you schedule a bunch of cream puffs, that doesn't get you in."