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Dayton forward suspended for fall semester

Dyshawn Pierre, Ben Bentil

Dyshawn Pierre, Ben Bentil

AP

Despite dealing with depth issues from December on, the Dayton Flyers managed to make their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and nearly made their way to the Sweet 16 after playing in the First Four. Thanks to the addition of some new recruits depth wasn’t expected to be an issue for Archie Miller’s Flyers this season, but on Sunday it was learned that one of the team’s top returnees will miss some time.

Senior forward Dyshawn Pierre, who along with Kendall Pollard is the team’s leading returning scorer, has been suspended for the fall semester. According to the statement released by the school he is not enrolled in classes this semester. No details were provided, with the school citing federal privacy laws as the reason why.

Not only did Pierre average 12.7 points per game last season, but he also led the Flyers in rebounding by pulling down 8.1 caroms per contest. Pierre shot 46.3 percent from the field as a junior and was fourth on the team with 36 made three-pointers. Not having a player such as Pierre who can score on multiple levels and also hold his own as a rebounder and defender will hurt the Flyers as they look to navigate their non-conference schedule.

The earliest Pierre can return to the program is at the end of the fall semester (December 18), meaning that he’ll miss games against the likes of Alabama (November 17), Iowa (November 26 as part of the Advocare Invitational in Orlando), and Vanderbilt (December 9).

With Pierre unavailable, players such as Pollard and James Madison transfer Charles Cooke become of even greater importance for Dayton. The Flyers also add three freshman forwards to the mix in Sam Miller, Xeyrius Williams and Ryan Mikesell among the team’s four newcomers.