Another significant honor comes Holmes’ way
SALT LAKE CITY — Dayton Flyers forward DaRon Holmes II joined a short list of UD players who have made the Associated Press All-America team on Tuesday.
Holmes was named to the AP second team. It’s the latest honor on a growing list for the junior forward who makes his NCAA tournament debut at 4:30 p.m. today when No. 7 seed Dayton plays No. 10 Nevada in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Holmes is the fifth Flyer to earn an All-America honor from the AP. The others are: Obi Toppin (first team in 2020); Don May (second team in 1968); Bill Uhl (second team in 1956); and Don “Monk” Meineke (second team in 1952). Holmes is the 11th Dayton player to make an All-America team of some sort.
Holmes is averaging 20.4 points and 8.4 rebounds.
He ranks 11th in UD history with 1,704 points.
Here’s a quick look at the awards he has won so far:
■ Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
■ First Team National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District Four.
■ The Sporting News second team All-America.
■ ESPN and Field of 68 third team All-America.
Tuesday travels: Dayton chartered two planes to Salt Lake City on Tuesday, filling them with coaches, players, family members, administrators, band members, cheerleaders, etc. The Flyers left Ohio at 11 a.m. and arrived in the Mountain Time Zone in the early afternoon.
Dayton practiced at the University of Utah’s facility on Tuesday afternoon.
Fun story: Matt Norlander, of CBS Sports, published a story eight years ago listing the favorite bands or musicians of all the head coaches in the NCAA tournament. Then-Dayton coach Archie Miller picked “Alice in Chains.”
Norlander brought the story idea back Tuesday. Current Dayton coach Anthony Grant picked
Lauren Daigle, an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. Grant’s story: Grant and his wife Chris were featured on the “Inside College Basketball” show on CBS on Sunday. They talked about their late daughter Jayda, who died by suicide in 2022 at age 20, and revisited the charity exhibition game Dayton held in November to raise awareness about mental health issues.
“I thought it was really impactful and really powerful,” Grant said about the game against Ohio State and the town hall meeting held two days earlier. “It was a huge win . ...
“We had 20 years with our daughter. The pain and the struggles that I’ll go through the rest of my life, it’s worth it for the 20 years that God allowed me to have with her. In the midst of everything we’re going through, there’s always something we should be grateful for.”