The Basketball Tournament 2023: Red Scare Team Profile

Dayton’s Red Scare has made the TBT semifinals twice, but they’re looking to win it all this year. 

Dayton’s alumni team Red Scare has had success in TBT, twice making it to the semifinals as mentioned above. They want more though, and they bring in a roster capable of not only making it to the semifinal again but winning the million dollars. Hosting the regional once again, the fans will be loud and present for this Red Scare team.

For more TBT team profiles, click here.

Current Roster:

• AJ Pacher (Wright State)
• Darrell Davis (Dayton)
• Deontae Hawkins (Illinois State & Boston College)
• Jordan Barham (Davidson)
• Jordan Sibert (Ohio State & Dayton)
• Josh Cunningham (Bradley & Dayton)
• Justin Smith (Arkansas)
• Rodney Chatman (Dayton)
• Ryan Mikesell (Dayton)
• Scoochie Smith (Dayton)
• Terry Allen (Richmond)

Coaching Staff:

• Joey Gruden (Head Coach, GM)
• Philip Anloague (Asst. Coach)

Region:

• Dayton, Ohio

Team MVP: Scoochie Smith

TBT all-name team member Scoochie Smith is Red Scare’s MVP. Currently playing in Poland, Smith is in his prime at age 28. The Dayton alum averaged double-figures his last two seasons as a Flyer, and his 3PT% improved every season in college. 

It’s his second year in a Red Scare uniform, and his shooting should open up the floor for players like Darrell Davis, another perimeter threat, or Josh Cunningham, a threat in the frontcourt. Spacing is huge in TBT, and having Scoochie Smith open up the offense is huge for Red Scare. Forcing the defense to pay attention to the entire court at once really strains the opposition, and everyone on Red Scare can score.

That being said, Scoochie Smith is the team MVP for his own merit, not for just floor spacing. At 6 ‘3”, he’s got height at the guard position, and he’s very good on the defensive side of the ball as well. 

Make-or-break Player: Darrell Davis

Darrell Davis is another player similar to Scoochie. A few inches taller at 6’5”, Davis can shoot the ball extremely well. A career 37.7% shooter from deep at Dayton, Davis has raised his game at TBT over the years and has been a key contributor for Red Scare. Currently playing in Sweden, if the Red Scare want to make the semifinals, they’ll need solid performances from Davis.

With Davis along with Smith, Red Scare has length on the perimeter defensively. That should bode well for their title hopes, and a hot-shooting Davis on the offensive side of the ball as well is dangerous for any opponents of the Red Scare.

Team Outlook

𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒🏡🏀

We asked a panel of experts to power rank all of the “Host Teams” for TBT 2023!

Here are the full results, tell us your thoughts: pic.twitter.com/NXnKck4OEF

— TBT (@thetournament) June 30, 2023

Red Scare has the potential to make some noise yet again in this year’s variation of TBT. Between the aforementioned Scoochie Smith and Darrell Davis, there’s also Jordan Sibert who averaged double-digit scoring in last year’s TBT, Jordan Barham making his way to Red Scare from Ohio 1804 last year, Josh Cunningham’s continued presence on the team, and Justin Smith’s TBT debut. 

In terms of bracket setup, Red Scare’s first-round matchup in the Dayton regional is against the 8 seed India Rising. They should take care of business there, somewhat easily. A second-round matchup could mean either a matchup against Carmen’s Crew, the Ohio State alumni team, or Team Overtime, Overtime Elite’s TBT representation. Either of those two teams could be a very tough draw for any team, even a 1 seed like Red Scare.

Ultimately, however, the home-court advantage that Red Scare holds should boost them into the quarterfinals. This is a solid, deep roster that can compete with any team in their region. Their toughest draw might be Friday Beers, which signed Dee Bost and Mitch Creek. That possible regional final is must-watch TV if it comes to fruition.