Dayton starts the college basketball season basking in the limelight.

The Flyers have found a place in just about everybody’s preseason rankings, snaring the No. 21 spot in the Associated Press poll and the No. 22 spot in the ESPN-USA Today coaches’ ratings. It’s the first time since the 1967-68 season that Dayton opens the season ranked in a major preseason poll.

The Flyers are considered a heavy favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Conference championship. Their best player, junior forward Chris Wright, is listed on the John Wooden Award preseason top 50 as well as being named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy.

Carting all that heavy baggage into Saturday’s opener against Creighton could be a concern but Dayton coach Brian Gregory has been encouraged that his players haven’t shown an aversion to the heavy lifting required to meet the lofty expectations.

“I think we’ve handled all of this well, but I guess we’ll find out starting Saturday,’’ Gregory said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I think our guys realize the importance of staying on track and the only expectations that they have to live up to are mine and each other’s.

“They realize they can’t let outside distractions derail what they want to accomplish this season.’’

The source of the outside optimism is the return of Wright and three other starters from a team that went 27-8 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. Overall, 10 of the top 11 scorers are back, and 11 of the 16 players on the roster are juniors or seniors.

The Flyers appeared poised for a breakout season, one that would validate the steady progress they’ve made under Gregory. His teams have won at least 18 games in five of his six seasons and have notched 50 wins over the past two.

“There is a sense of pride that comes with the attention we’ve received,’’ Gregory said. “But what we’ve accomplished the past two seasons does not mean one thing for this year’s team.’’

The player capable of taking the Flyers to the next level is Wright, a 6-foot-8 junior with a 43-inch vertical jump and a work ethic that drives him toward excellence. Wright led Dayton last season with a 13.3 scoring average. Of his 464 points last season, 108 came on school-record 54 dunks.

Wright also led the Flyers in rebounding with a 6.6 average. As a freshman in 2007-08, he averaged 5.7 rebounds in his first 15 games before being sidelined the remainder of the season with a broken ankle.

“The exciting thing about Chris is there is still a lot of room for improvement and he’s willing to work at getting better,’’ Gregory said. “So far this year, his decision-making is much better, his shooting is much better and his ball-handling is better.

“I’m seeing a player that is getting comfortable with his game because he hasn’t been satisfied just on his gifted athletic ability. He wants to be great, and he’s willing to put himself in uncomfortable situations in order to get better.’’

Dayton’s other returning starters are 6-3 guard Marcus Johnson, a 11.8-points-per-game scorer last season who was named to the Atlantic 10’s preseason second team; Kurt Huelsman, a 6-10 senior who has started every game the past three seasons, and London Warren, a 6-0 point guard who was picked to the league’s all-defensive team last season.

Five other players that averaged between 2.2 and 6.3 points per game also are back. A sixth, guard Rob Lowery, continues to recover from major knee surgery that kept him out of the lineup for the final 10 games last season. Lowery averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 assists before getting hurt.

The injuries the past two seasons to Wright and Lowery makes Gregory empathetic to what Creighton is experiencing with the loss of Justin Carter.

“It was a gut-wrenching feeling when I saw Carter go down while watching their film,’’ Gregory said. “The one thing I know, from watching them, is that he’s a kid that’s going to come back with a vengeance.”

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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