Big time

Obi Toppin, Toumani Camara and DaRon Holmes II each took a different road to the pros, yet all share a common foundation in Dayton basketball — one built on grit, growth and community. We talk with these Flyers about how their love of basketball carried them into the NBA.

obi toppin

Indiana Pacers | Power forward

Obi Toppin became the first lottery pick in Dayton basketball history when the Flyers forward — after two collegiate seasons — was picked by the New York Knicks as the eighth selection in the 2020 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Knicks, the New York native was traded to the Indiana Pacers where, in his second season, Toppin averaged 10.5 points per game for a Pacers squad that fell just short to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

Think of yourself as a kid. What do you want to be when you grow up? What advice would you give yourself? I saw a picture of me and my brother [Jacob Toppin, Atlanta Hawks] in a Haverstraw shirt — I was probably 8, maybe 7 — I think that was one of the first leagues in New York that we played in that was kind of serious, and the goal was to become an NBA player. I didn’t really think that I would actually get there for real, but now that we’re here, it’s a blessing. I kind of grew up around basketball because my father played basketball. He was like a New York City park legend. So, I was around it my whole life, and I just wanted to be a basketball player. My parents always had me around sports. Where we grew up, everybody was just playing every type of sport. We were always outside, never on video games and stuff. So really my advice is just to live life and have fun and enjoy it because time goes by fast.

What made you say yes to Dayton? When I did my visit, there were a lot of fans on the plane that I was on, and that whole flight they were cheering me on and telling me how great Dayton was and I should come to the school. The whole vibe on the way to Dayton was amazing. And as soon as I got there, the coaches were amazing, the staff there was amazing. It wasn’t one of the biggest schools, and I loved that. It was like the perfect size. I committed on the spot.

Think of your freshman college self. Are you where you thought you would be? My freshman year, I sat out — I was a redshirt — so it was really just working out every single day, putting on weight. I think I went from 180 to 220 in one year. That was the biggest concern for me coming in. The first year I played, though, I was able to have, I think, seven workouts with NBA teams. After I came back from those workouts and got feedback from those workouts, it was just grind season after that — work really hard because all the feedback I was getting was, “I belong here, I’m a great fit for the league.” Once I heard that, I knew there was a chance I could get there. I kept working until I was there.

What’s a piece of Flyer coaching advice that turned into life advice? The coaches helped me mature when I got there. They’re more family-oriented than anything and really care about you as a person, and they want you to be successful as a person. Forget basketball, the coaches helped us all with life things every single day. And they made sure I was working every single day to be great. 

What words would you use to describe coach Anthony Grant ’87 as a person? As a coach? As a person, he’s a family guy, I’d say like a father-figure type of guy, just a great man. As a coach, intelligent — he’s very smart with his coaching style. He’s quiet. And I’m not going to lie, he’s pretty strong — he was definitely an old soul in a young body.  

What is something you learned in the past year? I feel like I found a home here in Indy. How I felt going into Dayton, I feel like that coming here to Indy. With Rick [Carlisle, head coach], and Mike [Weinar, assistant coach], they accepted me coming here with the team and they always want to help me get better every single day. They have that same family-team type of vibe. That helped me get comfortable and just trust everybody in the organization. That definitely helped me as a basketball player, but also as a man.

Dayton is a basketball town and so is Indianapolis, so how fun is it to suit up for the Pacers? Every time we have a game, that arena is packed and those fans are amazing, those fans are loud. The playoff run, the fans were crazy, and you feel that energy and you understand why it’s a basketball town when you go to one of those games. 

What are you most looking forward to next year? We’ve got a great team, great guys who can step up. We’re going to try and get back to where we were last season. That’s always the goal, and we’re going to go in there with those expectations. We want to get back to the finals. We already felt what it tastes like to get there, now we want to get the job done. 

—As told to Debbie Juniewicz ’90

DARON Holmes II

Denver Nuggets | Forward

DaRon Holmes II excited audiences during his three seasons as a Flyer forward before being the 22nd player drafted into the NBA in 2024 and immediately traded to Denver. After sustaining a serious injury in his first showing in a Nuggets jersey during summer 2024, he’s now healed and ready for his shot at regular season play.

What made you say yes to Dayton? Honestly, it was the community. I just saw and felt the community when I came on an unofficial visit. I got a chance to see the campus, and I instantly fell in love. I thought it was somewhere that was going to be just how I expected it to be, somewhere that they treat you great, and you can grow as a man or as a woman. 

Thinking back to your freshman self, are you where you expected to be? I didn’t know back then. I was gonna try to play overseas at first, but after my first year and then definitely after my second year, I thought I might actually have a chance at going to the league. Then, I went out and it happened.

As a child, did you sense basketball would have such an impact on your life? When I was a little kid, my mom used to coach me, and I thought basketball was fun. I was the manager of my middle school team in Tennessee, and I thought that was pretty cool just being able to be around basketball at such a young age. When I moved to Arizona around middle school age is when I really started taking it seriously, and I fell in love with it. 

Describe coach Grant in three words — as a person and as a coach. As a person, I would say he’s humble. He’s wise. And for the third word, passionate. But I think those words also overlap with who AG is as a coach. As a coach, he wants to win, so I’m going to say he’s a winner. He’s very intelligent. He’s very competitive. I think that kind of shows how he is both in and outside of basketball. Grant was great at making sure we acted like great young men. He would lead us in the right direction. He was very humble, and you could feel that in the way he would talk to us. He is very wise about what he chooses to say, so when he does say something, it’s powerful. 

How did Grant prepare you for the pros, and does he still influence you today? When I played for him, he helped me think about certain decisions I would make. I still talk to him now about certain areas of game film and stuff like that. I can go back to him, and he’ll point things out and tell me what he sees and the things he thinks will best help my game. Again, it goes back to his wisdom, his eyes and what he sees. I would love to be able to see myself the way he sees me. So that’s why I try to gain all the knowledge I can from him.

You injured your Achilles during summer 2024 play and spent the year recovering. How did that influence your perspective? It happened so fast. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise. I got to see everything and observe it all before I got out there to start playing. It’s crazy how just watching the game can help you understand it so much more.

When you see a Flyer jersey in the crowd at your Nuggets games, what is that feeling like? Every time I see one, I will spot them out and I’ll go out of my way to talk with them if I can because it is such a big deal to me. It’s pretty cool to see that continued support. 

Is there a piece of Flyer coaching advice that turned into life advice for you? Coach [Jermaine] Henderson used to ask me, “What is your story going to be? You tell me.” He would say to me, “That’s what you’re doing right now. You’re paving a way for your story. Remember who you are.” That stuff sticks.

What were the core values that coach Grant taught in his gym that you still follow today? Sometimes us guys would get into it at practice, but we would always come back and understand that we’re family at the end of the day. We’d say the things we were grateful for at the end of practice all the time. And I think that’s huge because I still do that with myself after practices or after workout sessions in Denver. I’ll talk to myself and say, “I’m grateful for this and this.”

What’s been a moment in your career when you were truly in awe? It’s every day. 

What’s your “why” and has it changed over your career? As we get older, our “whys” can change. But for me, it’s always been about doing it for my last name. It’s also about doing it for whoever I’m representing at the time, the name on the front of the jersey. I want to prepare and make a life for my future self, my future family. I also want to be a mentor. I want to be able to lead the way for athletes who need help and need to understand their “why.”

—As told to Alayna Yates ’23

Toumani camara

Portland Trail Blazers | Small forward

Toumani Camara might have been one of the biggest steals of the 2023 NBA Draft. Selected in the second round (52nd overall), Camara was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in his second season in the league while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. In 2024-25, he led the NBA in offensive fouls drawn (90) and charges drawn (31), while ranking second in total defensive stops (257). He added 116 steals, 277 defensive rebounds and 50 blocks. 

What made you say yes to Dayton? One of the biggest factors was learning how to be a leader in the right system and gaining confidence. Dayton had a very young squad, so I knew I could come in as a veteran and test myself as a leader. I knew what coach Grant had going with the program, how he taught his team and how he coached. The community also made me buy into coming here.

What kept you at UD as long as you were? I was seeing progress after the first year and how much better I was getting in all areas where I wanted to improve. I’m not the type of player that tries to go to multiple teams, but it was needed for my growth and development to transfer to Dayton from Georgia. Our plan was to spend two years at Dayton and then go for the NBA. And that happened.  

If you think back to your freshman college self, are you where you imagined you would be? Not really, because I never projected myself in the NBA back then. I didn’t want to disappoint myself and aim too high — I was just focused on trying to be the best player I could be. When I got to Dayton, I felt I might have a chance to make it to the NBA, but when I was a freshman at Georgia, I had Anthony Edwards [Minnesota Timberwolves] on my team. I saw how much of a gap there was in talent and work ethic between me and Ant, so I still had a lot of work to do.

What’s your take on coach Grant’s personality? He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve seen. He loves the game so much. I feel everything he does is surrounded by basketball. As soon as he gets home, he’s probably taking care of his family, but everything else is basketball. He’s so passionate, and being able to have such a long career as a coach is something I looked up to. The fact he played and loved basketball just as much at his age — and had the same intensity for the game, if not more — is just incredible.

What are three words to describe Grant as a coach? And then three words as a person? As a coach, intentional, respectful and patient. As a person, I would say intelligent, family-oriented and a leader. 

What’s one lesson you’ve learned in the past year? The importance of creating a routine. The NBA lifestyle is a little bit crazy. You play 82 games and, as soon as the season is over, you want to keep working on your game. Then you need to find time to get some rest, but not too much rest. And then, you get solicited a lot. I think finding a routine was the hardest thing for me, but I’m now figuring out what to do on a day-to-day basis and how to stay organized.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: https://www.nba.com/blazers/videos/every-toumani-camara-steal-and-block-of-the-2024-25-nba-season

Think of yourself as a kid. What age are you? What do you want to be when you grow up? Were you already playing basketball? I was 6 or 7, and my brother was my role model. We used to draw a lot and make music, and my brother still works in the music industry today. So, back then, I wanted to be an artist making music or creating my own comic books. In Belgium, we are well-known for certain types of comics. We created The Smurfs and Tintin — those inspired me as a kid. My brother started doing more sports when he was about 8. I was 6, and that’s when I started picking up sports. I did a little bit of track, but as soon as I did basketball, I fell in love with it. 

Do you still make comics today? I try to draw a little bit, but basketball takes a lot of my time and energy. I drew and designed the logo for my kids’ summer camps here in Belgium.

What helps you find joy in the moment? Spending time at home hanging out with my girlfriend and my dog. I feel that’s why I’m able to take my mind off basketball and other things that I have going on, because I know I can go home and spend time with my loved ones. That’s most important to me, and the easiest way for me to feel joy. 

— As told to Shannon Shelton Miller

Illustrations by Mink Couteaux. Childhood photos courtesy of Obi Toppin, Tomika Steele-Holmes and Toumani Camara.

A version of this article appears in print in the Autumn 2025 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 28. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE