Pierre adjusts to fit needs
Flyers ask junior to guard bigger players, add presence up front.
— Dyshawn Pierre has DAYTON spent most of his basketball career on the wing, so moving to the post this season was an adjustment.
However, the versatile 6foot-6 power forward has risen to the challenge, proving to be a tough matchup, while also showing improvement on defense.
The junior from Ontario was the Flyers’ leading scorer in December, and he now looks for his fourth straight game scoring in double figures as Dayton (11-2) travels to New York for its next two games — at St. Bonaventure (8-4) on Thursday and at Fordham (5-7) on Saturday.
“We threw him a monkey wrench this year,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “The biggest difference for Dyshawn is the adjustment of going from a perimeter defender to a post defender. He’s had to learn that on the run, and he’s getting better at it, but because of the way we are going to have to play, he’s going to get a ton of reps at it.
“I’m happy with his progress right now. If we can consistently get him to score for us, rebound for us and just give us a presence on both sides of the ball, he’s going to have a good year.”
Pierre ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.2 points per game and is the leading active rebounder with 6.4 rebounds per game. As an NCAA South All-Region forward last year, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds.
This season, Pierre expected to switch between the small forward and power forward spots, but the dismissal of Devon Scott and Jalen Robinson in mid-December pushed him permanently into more of an interior role.
“I’ve done it through a lot of guidance probably,” Pierre said of the adjustment. “Having to guard bigger people has been the toughest thing, but I was ready for it. Coaches asked me to become a 4 (power forward), and I just got in the weight room and made sure to work with our strength trainer and coaches to figure out how I could be most effective at the 4 this year. I’ve accepted my roles, whatever they might be.”
Pierre is just thankful to be playing. He had thoughts growing up about playing in the Canadian Basketball League but never imagined he would get a scholarship to play in the United States.
Dayton assistant coach Allen Griffin saw Pierre playing for Team Canada at the U-19 World Championships in Latvia, and the Flyers took an interest from there. All it took was getting him on campus once.
“When I got here, I loved it,” said Pierre, who joked he only watched cartoons, and never any college basketball, until he arrived at Dayton. “It was a nice, small campus, and people were really friendly, so it felt like home. When they showed me the arena, it was kind of shocking how big it was.”
Pierre has made an impact every year since he’s been on campus, having one of the better freshman seasons in recent Flyer history. He started in 28 of the team’s 31 games in 2012-13 while averaging 8.8 points on 53.6 percent shooting (24 of 51 from 3-point range) and 5.1 rebounds.