By PAUL GOTHAM
A semester-long suspension behind him, Dyshawn Pierre is back where he is supposed to be for his senior season: in uniform for the University of Dayton Flyers.
Dayton’s leading rebounder from a year ago came off the bench last week in the Flyers defeat of Arkansas in overtime.
“Dyshawn is about as impactful of a player on our team as there is,” Dayton head coach Archie Miller said during the Atlantic 10’s weekly tele-conference. “Over the course of his career he has established that. As a coach the thing you want to do is put him in a situation here as fast as possible, being it’s his senior year, to get him that opportunity to play his role.”
Pierre scored 11 while grabbing four rebounds and handing out three assists in his first action since last March.
“There’s no “I” in him,” Miller added. “He’s not about this is my season. It’s about us. He wants to help us.”
On Saturday, the senior forward corralled ten rebounds and handed out two helpers while netting four in UD’s conference-opening victory at Duquesne. That Pierre is contributing so soon comes as no surprise to Miller, but the 33 and a half minutes he averaged in his first two contests was unexpected.
“The thing about Dyshawn is right now it’s very unfair to evaluate him due to the circumstances,” Miller explained. “The fact that he has played so many minutes the first two games is mind boggling even to our staff. It sorta just happened due to foul trouble. I don’t think we would have used him as much.
“He’s playing through fatigue, and he’s giving himself, what we think hopefully is, a game rhythm.”
Pierre has been noted as one of the toughest individual matchups in the country. He averaged 12.7 points per game last year while grabbing 8.1 rebounds and dishing 2.9 assists for a Dayton squad which won two NCAA Tournament games for the second straight season.
“Now Dyshawn is back out there, you’re not dealing with a well-oiled machine, so to speak, in terms of our seamlessness. That is an exciting thing for me is to try and find a way to get there. The frustrating thing is I do think we’re going to shoot ourselves in the foot quite a bit. Now with Dyshawn back I hope there’s more of a rhythm.”
What sometimes gets overlooked is his effort on the other end of the floor where Pierre’s defensive rating (formula taking into consideration the amount of points allowed per 100 possessions) per KenPom of 21.4 led the Flyers and ranked near the top 100 nationally.
“He’s the type of guy I think that’s so unselfish,” Miller noted. “He’s aware of other people, and he goes out of his way on a daily basis whether it’s in practice or in games to make them better. The guys have already figured that out.
“Dyshawn enjoys playing with all of our guys. I think he makes guys better. It’s the one thing you notice on film right away is how many things comes easy for other people when Dyshawn’s around.”
Minutes logged in his first two games back may have come out of necessity, but that amount is right in line with his time last year. Once game shape happens, others will have to accept a decreased role.
“Our other frontcourt players, in particular our freshmen will have to take a step back and realize things will change,” Miller stated. “I do think we’re mindful right now of we’re playing for the win; we’re playing for the long term. To be the best that we can be Dyshawn gives us a chance that’s right. I think if you’re about winning, and you’re unselfish, that you have to make those sacrifices. We talked about that on the front end. It’s something that everyone knows that we’re dealing with.”
UD has won four straight and six out of seven. They earned a spot in this week’s AP Poll at No. 25. They will host the UMass Minutemen, Wednesday night.
“They have another level that they can reach,” UMass head coach Derek Kellogg said. “I’m just kinda hoping it’s not on Wednesday night.”
Trey Davis (19.4 ppg) leads a UMass squad which has won two in a row and three of four.
An 8 p.m. tip off is scheduled. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Pierre was suspended last semester after being accused of sexual assault in the off-season.
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