By R.L. Bynum
Former Dayton wing Koby Brea, who led the country in 3-point shooting percentage last season at 49.8%, has North Carolina as one of the final five blue blood schools he is considering, according to multiple reports.
The 6–6, 174-pound Brea, who has one season of eligibility remaining and is expected to graduate from Dayton this spring, also has Kansas, Duke, UConn and Kentucky on his list. He was third on the Flyers team last season with 11.1 points per game, making 51.2% of his shots, including 100 of 201 3-point attempts and 87.5% of his free-throw attempts (14 of 16). He collected career-highs of 124 rebounds, 18 steals and 10 blocks last season.
He started only four of 33 Dayton games last season but was named Atlantic-10 Sixth Man of the Year for the second time in three years. He left Dayton as 69th on the program’s career scoring list at 889 points.
Brea, who doubled his output of 3-pointers from 50 two seasons ago, dished out a career-high 47 assists two seasons ago.
In AAU ball, Brea, who is from Washington Heights, N.Y., played on the New York Gauchos, which RJ Davis also played for.
Brea scored 22 points and six 3-pointers, both career-highs, on Nov. 29 last season at SMU. That is one of three career games with six 3-pointers, which he also did when he scored 20 points against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 18, 2022, and 18 against Richmond on Jan. 28, 2023.
He has 20 career games with at least four 3-pointers and 10 with at least five.
Dayton went 25–8 last season and made the NCAA tournament. Brea scored 15 points and five 3-pointers as the Flyers beat Nevada 63–60 in the first round before losing to Arizona 78–68, with Brea netting 14 points and four 3-pointers.
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| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — W | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | F | 6–10 | 215 |
| Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z | G | 6–3 | 193 | |
| Graduate | Cameron Fens — V | C | 7–0 | 255 | |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 195 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
| Seth Trimble | Graduate | G | 6–3 | 200 | Louisville |
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 9 | Friday, 7 p.m. | vs. USC in Greensboro (exhibition) |
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Photo via @DaytonMBB
