2012 senior class photos
2012 West Carrollton graduation
Home of the Week
Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2012 > February > 03 > Entry
Dillard says season at ‘do or die’ point
Kevin Dillard knows the make-up of the Dayton basketball team was changed drastically when forward Josh Benson was lost of the season, but the point guard doesn’t think that’s an excuse for the current three-game losing streak.
“Josh is a shot blocker. But at the same time, we still have to find a way to get it done,” he said. “We can’t keep coming up with excuses for ourselves. At some point in time, we have to say enough is enough and get the stops we need to win the game. We gave up 80 again in our building (to Rhode Island and Duquesne), and when you give up 80, you’ve got to score 80 to win, and you can’t always rely on that.”
Dillard believes opponents have been taking a different view of the Flyers after the team won the Orlando Old Spice Classic and then started the Atlantic 10 season with wins over Saint Louis, Temple, Xavier and La Salle to go 4-1.
“Since we did that, every team is going to play their best game against us. Every team watched that tournament and they see the games we’ve had and wins we’ve had. They see what we’re capable of. They’re going to come out and play even harder than they would against a regular team,” he said.
“I feel like we have to start approaching every game like that. No team is going to take us lightly. They’re going to give us their best shot. We’ve got to take their best shot and respond.”
He knows he can expect a Billiken team bent on revenge Saturday.
“Saint Louis is going to be ready for us,” he said. “They still got the first meeting in the back of their heads. They’re going to be real energized. We’ve got to come out with intensity. Right now, it’s really do or die for us. We’ve got to fight. Our backs are against the wall. We’ve got to play the best we’ve ever played this season.”
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
Tweet
Comments
By Mr. Sports
February 3, 2012 3:35 PM | Link to this
Sounds like a classless OSU or Kentucky fan. Crawl back under your pile of manure.
By L Warren
February 3, 2012 3:38 PM | Link to this
Met B Donny in NYC a few years back. Great night that was.
By Kman
February 3, 2012 3:46 PM | Link to this
Nobody cares about the Old Spice Classic. Maybe wins at Temple and against XU opened some eyes but I think A10 teams play hard because the league is up for grabs. Everyone knows you pressure Dillard 90 feet to wear him down. You double when he drives and make CJ, Williams and Parker beat you from the arc. The defense is slow, interior is weak and the bench is thin. The scouting report finally caught up to the Flyers.
By reality
February 3, 2012 4:08 PM | Link to this
Correction: Staten coming off the bench for Dillard.
By Tim
February 3, 2012 4:21 PM | Link to this
Mr.Sports, OSU or even Kentucky (I don’t know how they got thrown into this being out of state)could care less about little Dayton. So it must of been a mad XU fan. The last time I checked OSU or UK never runs into UD in the NCAA tournament , oh that’s right cause UD rarely makes the field. 1 NCAA win over the past 20 years. WOW!
By Raoul
February 3, 2012 4:35 PM | Link to this
“I feel like we have to approach every game like that”. Huh! Ya think! Dill is a great player but he got undressed at home when the game was on the line by trying to do too much, against RI and the Dukes. It’s time to accept the reality we are a couple players short of even an 8-8 record in A-10 play.
By FaithfulFlyer65
February 3, 2012 5:28 PM | Link to this
KD is a heck of a player, and without question the best player on the team. That is part of the problem he faced at the end of the last couple of games at crunch time. No one else was willing to take a crucial shot so he took it upon himself and forced things. Problem is the opponents were ready for him because they know he is the go to guy, and he made some bad decisions. Someone else has to step up and take some of the heat off of him. Hear me CJ? Luke isn’t afraid to fire it up, but he wasn’t even in the game near the end against the Dukes, which I still don’t understand.
By Biggest Fan
February 3, 2012 10:20 PM | Link to this
At the start of the season everyone had very low expectations of the Flyers. Then they won the Old Spice Classic, beat St Louis, La Salle, Temple and XU by 15 at home. Expectations were soaring. Now they have hit a patch of losing 3 in a row and everyone has low expectations AGAIN. AM is taking responsibility for his coaching which is refreshing, but give this coach and the team a break! There is still a lot of Bball to play. Interesting, when the flyers were winning and overachieving we did not have all this negativity on the blog, then they lose a couple of games and they get blasted. I still believe they are going to be better than anyone thought at the beginning of the season. Go FLYERS and bring home a W so these whiners will shut up.
By Rudy Flyer
February 4, 2012 9:57 AM | Link to this
We already clubbered St Louis one time and they sucked. We will beat the crap out of them.
By sec 312
February 4, 2012 10:10 AM | Link to this
It’s no big secret we are short on talent and bench, I can understand that. What I can’t understand is today in the paper AM is questioning PW’s effort (a senior) now that is disappointing! I questioned last year by the way.
By Biggest Fan
February 4, 2012 10:23 AM | Link to this
PW is struggling and I want to know what is going on with him. Is there something in his personal like that is causing his lack of focus perhaps??
By Bubba
February 4, 2012 10:57 AM | Link to this
Biggest Fan has it right that with the great start to the season everyone’s low expectations all of sudden became high expectations. Mine included. So yes I am now disappointed that they lost 3 in a row, at least two of which we all expected them to win. I don’t expect them to win at St. Louis, so maybe they can surprise me and start a new winning streak. Go flyers!
By null
February 4, 2012 11:17 AM | Link to this
Waaaah! dayton Cryers, Liars, and Briars!!! Waaaah! dayton Cryers, Liars, and Briars!!! Waaaah! dayton Cryers, Liars, and Briars!!! Waaaah! dayton Cryers, Liars, and Briars!!! Waaaah! dayton Cryers, Liars, and Briars!!!