The Dayton Flyers were coming off a three-game losing streak to begin January. All three losses were on the road, and with March approaching, the Flyers were desperate for a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. In its first game back at UD Arena against Loyola Chicago, Dayton was down its veteran big man Zed Key (9.5 ppg), who got hurt early in the contest, so they turned to their true freshman Amaël L’Etang (7.1 ppg).
Key played his last four seasons at Ohio State, averaging eight points and five rebounds per game. He was a huge pickup for the Flyers this offseason after the Denver Nuggets drafted former co-A-10 Player of the Year DaRon Holmes II in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.
The Flyers and Ramblers went back and forth all night in another classic matchup. It was playing out that whoever had the ball last would win. It ended up being the Flyers with nine seconds left in overtime. Junior guard Malachi Smith (10.1 ppg) received the inbound and pushed it to half-court when he let it fly toward the rim-running 7-foot-1 L’Etang. The ball contacted L’Etang’s hands with 0.2 seconds remaining, and he tipped it in for the 83-81 win.
“That was honestly in slo-mo. When I saw the ball coming to me, a lot of things went through my head… I was like, damn, that’s happening for real.” L’Etang said.
For many Flyer fans across the country, this was the first time they saw the potential impact he could provide the team. He took this confidence to the following game against Duquesne when he scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in an 82-62 statement victory for the Flyers.
These two wins played a role in the Flyers starting to get their mojo back.
“Probably the defensive intensity, but what I’m most proud of is the way the team stayed together during these tough moments and losses,” L’Etang said.
The Toulouse, France, native helped the Flyers end January 2-1 with 14 points against St. Joseph’s and eight points against Saint Louis University.
“Honestly, no major changes. It remains the same, as a starter or as a sixth man, my goal is to bring my best to help Dayton win,” L’Etang said.
Before coming to Dayton to play college basketball, L’Etang played professionally for the Cholet Basket’s U-21 team in France. At 17 years old, he had 29 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and four blocked shots in the 2023 championship game. As an 18-year-old, he averaged 13.8 points and 10 rebounds in 31 games in 2023-24.
When asked how playing against 21-year-olds as a 17-year-old helped him prepare for playing against upperclassmen he said.
“That prepared me for sure, practicing every day with professional players got me ready for this year’s challenge,” said L’Etang on playing against 21-year-olds at 17 years old.
European basketball and American basketball play very differently, so it took some time for L’Etang to adjust to the collegiate game.
“Biggest differences are pace and the physicality of the game probably,” he said. “Basketball in Europe is slower and more thought. Here it’s really faster and instinctive.”
With a win over Davidson on Tuesday, where L’Etang had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, the Flyers moved to 16-7 overall and 6-4 in the Atlantic 10. The Flyers still have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament with wins over No. 11 Marquette and No. 19 UConn. However, it is still an uphill battle for Dayton, and the Flyers will most likely need to win the A-10 Tournament to receive a bid.
“I think we got room to improve in a lot of aspects of the game, which I think is normal,” L’Etang said. “Personally, I got to improve my global physicality to be able to finish more around bodies and also be able to defend every position.”
Dayton’s next game is against VCU on Friday at home. The Rams currently are second in the A-10. It is an important game for the Rams will be big. The Flyers head into the final stretch and are ready to show A-10 teams that they are a real threat come tournament time.
