In the men's basketball media guide, each player's profile page contains a section that lists all past Flyers that wear the current player's jersey number. For example, on Marcus Johnson's page, you'll see a heading that reads, "Flyer 32s." And listed there are Don Donoher, Tom Frericks and Chris Alvarez, among others.

But on Mickey Perry's page, under the heading "Flyer 0s," it reads "Perry is the first Flyer to wear the number 0." Not only is Perry original in this way, but like most athletes, his jersey number bears a personal significance.

Perry transferred from Wisconsin during the 2006-07 season, and he said coming to UD was a fresh start for him. That fresh start was, in part, why Perry chose to wear No. 0.

"When I decided to leave Wisconsin, I had to prove myself," Perry said. "I had to prove myself in high school, and at Wisconsin and now I have to prove myself at Dayton. I saw it as right now I'm a nobody, and I'm trying to go from a nobody to somebody."

Perry said that ultimately he chose to leave Wisconsin in 2006 because the style of play didn't suit him.

"I'm more fast-break oriented," Perry said. "But with Coach [Brian] Gregory and these guys, it seemed like a perfect fit for me. I've loved every second."

When Perry was looking at schools, Gregory first contacted him about coming to Dayton. Perry was at Wright State for a campus visit and Gregory called and said he was very interested in having him come to UD. Gregory knew of Perry because he recruited one of his high school teammates, Los Angeles Lakers guard Shannon Brown, to come to Michigan State while working as an assistant coach under Tom Izzo.

"He knew about my area (Maywood, Ill.) from recruiting Shannon," Perry said. "I heard a lot of good things about coach Gregory. I knew what kind of basketball he liked to play and thought it was a great fit for me. He wanted me to come down for a visit, and my mom said it was okay, so I visited and I absolutely fell in love with it. It seemed like home."

So with mom's approval, Perry was off to UD. And when he arrived he immediately noticed one contrast between Bo Ryan's Badgers and Brian Gregory's Flyers-the fast break he loves so much.

"There's a lot more running, a lot more up and down here," Perry said. "Even when the other team scores, it's a fast break. And that's how I like to play. It's more natural and more reacting, more than it is thinking."

If you ever talk to Perry, it's easy to tell he has one of the highest basketball IQs on Dayton's roster. That's due in part to his basketball pedigree. Perry has played for tremendously successful programs throughout his career. His high school, Proviso East, has produced NBA products Michael Finley, Dee Brown, Shannon Brown and Steven Hunter, among others. Perry also has four former teammates currently in the NBA: Shannon Brown (high school), Julian Wright (AAU), Marcus Landry (Wisconsin) and Alando Tucker (Wisconsin).

That IQ along with his strong basketball skills and knowing what it takes to win on the court have Perry well on his way to going down as a "somebody" in the UD record books. And this year, No. 0 and his teammates are working to ensure the country views them as a "somebody" by winning the A-10 title and getting back to the NCAA Tournament- and taking numbers along the way.