Dayton struggled against the press at times last year. Nineteen turnovers against Virginia Commonwealth doomed the Flyers in a 73-68 loss to Virginia Commonwealth at UD Arena in February. Turnovers in the final 20 seconds in the rematch later that month nearly cost them eight-point lead in the final minute, but they secured a 79-76 victory.
Njie, a 6-foot-3 guard who committed to Dayton on Friday, had a worse assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) than Dayton’s starting point guard Malachi Smith (2.5), but he was only a freshman.
Dayton hopes Njie joins a growing category of UD players who have started their careers in a lower-ranked conference and successfully transitioned to the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Javon Bennett, a likely third-year starter next season, began in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference like Njie.
• Enoch Cheeks played three seasons in the Horizon League at Robert Morris before starting for Dayton the last two seasons.
• Rodney Chatman played his first two seasons at Chattanooga before starting at Dayton in the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons.
Njie averaged 12.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last season as a freshman. He averaged 29.3 minutes in 32 games, making 27 starts. He was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Njie ended up close to home at Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y., after originally signing with Washington State.
“It was good for him,” Lods said. “They played up and down. The coach gave him freedom.”
Njie loves to spend time in the gym, Lods said, and plays with confidence.
“He’s going to tell the coaches, ‘Just give me the ball,’” Lods said. “He’ll say, ‘I can run that play, Coach, or if you want, you can just give it to me and I’ll score.’”
Lods coached Njie during his junior and senior seasons at Cardinal Hayes. Njie grew up in the Bronx but moved to Arizona for family reasons before his freshman year, playing his first two high school seasons at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix. He returned to the Bronx for his junior and senior seasons.
“He’s a crafty kid,” Lods said. “He can really handle the ball. You don’t need a press offense when he’s around. You just in-bound the ball and get out of the way. He’s very creative off the bounce. At the end of a shot clock, he’s really good. He gets wherever he wants. He gets to the rim. He became a better shooter. He’s a handful. He’s tough to guard. He’s a super-talented kid. We’ve had a lot of really good guards, but he’s right there.”
Cardinal Hayes’ most famous basketball alumnus is Jamal Mashburn, a 1990 graduate who played for Kentucky and had a long NBA career. Dayton also boasts notable New York City alumni, including Brooklyn natives Roosevelt Chapman, the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Obi Toppin, the 2020 national player of the year, as well as Bronx natives Scoochie Smith, Malachi Smith, and Posh Alexander, like Njie.”
Lods knew about Njie’s potential when Njie was in middle school and was excited to see him return to Cardinal Hayes in 2022.
“He’s a wonderful kid,” Lods said. “We have a soft spot for him.”
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