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Jun. 22—Fourteen years ago, Nick Irvin gave Dayton Flyers men's basketball fans the first scouting report on a player who would become one of the most beloved players in program history.
Kyle Davis committed to Dayton in August 2012. Doug Harris, of the Dayton Daily News, talked to Irvin, who had coached Davis with the Mac Irvin Fire and was about to coach Davis in his senior year at Morgan Park High School in Chicago, about the first recruit in a 2013 class that would leave school as the winningest class in UD history.
"It's a joy watching him play," Irvin said then. "He's a one-man press. He's all over the floor. He's going to get you the big steal or big rebound or you can tell him, 'Look, man, I need a basket. Can you get it? I don't care how you get it — you've just got to get it.' And he's going to get it, even if it's the hard way. That's the type of player he is."
In 2026, with Irvin now continuing the Chicago-to-Dayton pipeline but as an assistant coach on Anthony Grant's staff, Irvin talked again to the Dayton Daily News about Davis.
"He was a hard-nosed player," Irvin said. "He refused to lose. He gave it everything he had on the basketball court."
Dayton announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches, Irvin and Jordan Talley, on May 14. The additions followed the departure of associate head coach Ricardo Greer for a job at Pittsburgh.
Greer's specialty was recruiting his hometown, New York City. Irvin could have the same impact in Chicago.
"There's a lot of history here with Dayton basketball and Chicago," Irvin said. "Kevin Dillard played here and did a phenomenal job. Josh Parker played here and did a phenomenal job. Getting the pipeline back from Chicago to Dayton, I'm going to strongly help to do that and try to will the Chicago area back to Dayton."
Asked if his Chicago roots helped him get the job at Dayton, Irvin laughed and said, "It probably did, but at the end of the day, I can recruit anywhere. I don't mind if it's Chicago, California, Arizona. But that strong pipeline to Dayton, that's where it's at, and I'm gonna do my part to generate that."
Irvin also coached another big Dayton name at Morgan Park, Josh Cunningham, who started his career at Bradley before playing three seasons with the Flyers from 2015-18.
"Fearless, tough, refused to lose," Irvin said of Cunningham, "and the thing with Josh is he used to be more on the perimeter, then he transitioned to playing down low. That helped his game tremendously, because he used to shoot a lot of 3s, but it got to where he could really be unstoppable. He won me two state championships. He was the force behind everything."
Finding players like Davis and Cunningham is now the goal.
Irvin spent the previous four seasons on Bobby Hurley's staff at Arizona State but lost that job when Arizona State did not renew Hurley's contract in March.
"I learned a lot from (Hurley)," Irvin said. "Not only is he a great coach, but he's also a great friend of mine. We're like brothers. I'm all about how you treat the kids and players, and (Hurley) and coach Grant have similarities in how they treat the players. This transition was easy in that way."
Irvin's college coaching career started in 2020 when he took a job as an assistant coach at Western Illinois. He coached the previous 12 seasons at Morgan Park, winning at least 20 games every season and compiling an overall record of 301-70. Morgan Park won Class 3A state championships in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
Irvin made the jump because he promised his dad, Mac, who died in 2011, and his mom, Louise, who died in 2019, that he would one day coach college basketball.
McGlother "Mac" Irvin was a Chicago coaching legend. He was a basketball star at Tilden High School in Chicago in the 1950s. In 1992, he founded the Mac Irvin Fire, a Nike-sponsored team that became one of the most prominent club programs in the country.
Mac and Louise had five sons and a daughter. Nick, 47, is the youngest.
"They wanted to have five players on the court and a sub," Nick said. "That was the plan. It's great, too, because all of us were into basketball. We've got a passion for it. We help each other out. When I was coaching high school ball, they came to the majority of my games. They used to critique the way I coach and everything, and it helped me as a coach because I value their opinion."
The oldest sibling, Byron, 59, played in the NBA for three seasons. Another sibling, Lance Irvin, was the head coach at Chicago State from 2018-21.
All of Nick's brothers and his sister paved the way for him.
"It's been a blessing for me," he said. "To this day, we're a tight-knit family."
Nick played college basketball at Fresno State before returning to Chicago and starting his coaching career with the Mac Irvin Fire.
"I had no choice," Irvin said. "Basketball has always been my path all my life. My dad started all of us out. It's just been in my DNA from birth. When he first held me in his arms in the hospital, he said, 'You're going to be a basketball player or basketball coach.'"
Now Irvin will take that passion to Dayton. He joins the program as Grant enters his 10th season. The Flyers have five returning players and nine newcomers, all of whom are now on campus. Cincinnati transfer Jalen Haynes was the last player officially added to the roster on the UD website earlier this month.
"I like the team," Irvin said. "I'm still getting to know the majority of them, but I like what we put together."
Irvin last experienced UD Arena in 2023 when Arizona State beat Nevada in the First Four. He also attended games in Dayton when Cunningham played for the Flyers. He has followed Grant's career since Grant's first head coaching gig at Virginia Commonwealth.
"I'm very excited," Irvin said. "I've known about the program almost all my life. Great coaches, great fan base. The community so far has been great. I just can't wait for the season to get going, and hopefully, we'll make a big run."
Continue reading...
Kyle Davis committed to Dayton in August 2012. Doug Harris, of the Dayton Daily News, talked to Irvin, who had coached Davis with the Mac Irvin Fire and was about to coach Davis in his senior year at Morgan Park High School in Chicago, about the first recruit in a 2013 class that would leave school as the winningest class in UD history.
"It's a joy watching him play," Irvin said then. "He's a one-man press. He's all over the floor. He's going to get you the big steal or big rebound or you can tell him, 'Look, man, I need a basket. Can you get it? I don't care how you get it — you've just got to get it.' And he's going to get it, even if it's the hard way. That's the type of player he is."
In 2026, with Irvin now continuing the Chicago-to-Dayton pipeline but as an assistant coach on Anthony Grant's staff, Irvin talked again to the Dayton Daily News about Davis.
"He was a hard-nosed player," Irvin said. "He refused to lose. He gave it everything he had on the basketball court."
Dayton announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches, Irvin and Jordan Talley, on May 14. The additions followed the departure of associate head coach Ricardo Greer for a job at Pittsburgh.
Greer's specialty was recruiting his hometown, New York City. Irvin could have the same impact in Chicago.
"There's a lot of history here with Dayton basketball and Chicago," Irvin said. "Kevin Dillard played here and did a phenomenal job. Josh Parker played here and did a phenomenal job. Getting the pipeline back from Chicago to Dayton, I'm going to strongly help to do that and try to will the Chicago area back to Dayton."
Asked if his Chicago roots helped him get the job at Dayton, Irvin laughed and said, "It probably did, but at the end of the day, I can recruit anywhere. I don't mind if it's Chicago, California, Arizona. But that strong pipeline to Dayton, that's where it's at, and I'm gonna do my part to generate that."
Irvin also coached another big Dayton name at Morgan Park, Josh Cunningham, who started his career at Bradley before playing three seasons with the Flyers from 2015-18.
"Fearless, tough, refused to lose," Irvin said of Cunningham, "and the thing with Josh is he used to be more on the perimeter, then he transitioned to playing down low. That helped his game tremendously, because he used to shoot a lot of 3s, but it got to where he could really be unstoppable. He won me two state championships. He was the force behind everything."
Finding players like Davis and Cunningham is now the goal.
Irvin spent the previous four seasons on Bobby Hurley's staff at Arizona State but lost that job when Arizona State did not renew Hurley's contract in March.
"I learned a lot from (Hurley)," Irvin said. "Not only is he a great coach, but he's also a great friend of mine. We're like brothers. I'm all about how you treat the kids and players, and (Hurley) and coach Grant have similarities in how they treat the players. This transition was easy in that way."
Irvin's college coaching career started in 2020 when he took a job as an assistant coach at Western Illinois. He coached the previous 12 seasons at Morgan Park, winning at least 20 games every season and compiling an overall record of 301-70. Morgan Park won Class 3A state championships in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
Irvin made the jump because he promised his dad, Mac, who died in 2011, and his mom, Louise, who died in 2019, that he would one day coach college basketball.
McGlother "Mac" Irvin was a Chicago coaching legend. He was a basketball star at Tilden High School in Chicago in the 1950s. In 1992, he founded the Mac Irvin Fire, a Nike-sponsored team that became one of the most prominent club programs in the country.
Mac and Louise had five sons and a daughter. Nick, 47, is the youngest.
"They wanted to have five players on the court and a sub," Nick said. "That was the plan. It's great, too, because all of us were into basketball. We've got a passion for it. We help each other out. When I was coaching high school ball, they came to the majority of my games. They used to critique the way I coach and everything, and it helped me as a coach because I value their opinion."
The oldest sibling, Byron, 59, played in the NBA for three seasons. Another sibling, Lance Irvin, was the head coach at Chicago State from 2018-21.
All of Nick's brothers and his sister paved the way for him.
"It's been a blessing for me," he said. "To this day, we're a tight-knit family."
Nick played college basketball at Fresno State before returning to Chicago and starting his coaching career with the Mac Irvin Fire.
"I had no choice," Irvin said. "Basketball has always been my path all my life. My dad started all of us out. It's just been in my DNA from birth. When he first held me in his arms in the hospital, he said, 'You're going to be a basketball player or basketball coach.'"
Now Irvin will take that passion to Dayton. He joins the program as Grant enters his 10th season. The Flyers have five returning players and nine newcomers, all of whom are now on campus. Cincinnati transfer Jalen Haynes was the last player officially added to the roster on the UD website earlier this month.
"I like the team," Irvin said. "I'm still getting to know the majority of them, but I like what we put together."
Irvin last experienced UD Arena in 2023 when Arizona State beat Nevada in the First Four. He also attended games in Dayton when Cunningham played for the Flyers. He has followed Grant's career since Grant's first head coaching gig at Virginia Commonwealth.
"I'm very excited," Irvin said. "I've known about the program almost all my life. Great coaches, great fan base. The community so far has been great. I just can't wait for the season to get going, and hopefully, we'll make a big run."
Continue reading...
