Hmmm. The Flyers flourish when he’s on board and flounder when he’s absent. Obviously, there must be a correlation between Borovich and tournament berths for UD, right?
“I think that means I’ve benefited from good timing more than anything else,” Borovich said with a laugh.
Perhaps so, but there’s little doubt the Michigan native has played a key role in UD’s success of late. His duties involve recruiting, helping with scheduling and coaching the point guards while also monitoring four players academically. (Each assistant is assigned a portion of the team, and Borovich has Devin Searcy, Chris Johnson, Josh Parker and Ralph Hill.)
“He’s a high-quality assistant, and I think he’ll be a great head coach one day,” Gregory said. “He’s got great intelligence, a high work threshold and a passion about the profession. Add those things up, and that’s a pretty good start.”
SCHEDULING ISSUES
In some of his duties, Borovich has had to develop crocodile-like skin if he wants to keep from getting his feelings hurt. One is recruiting, where rejection is unavoidable. The other is scheduling, where big-time opponents treat Borovich’s exploratory calls like an interruption from a telemarketer.
“At times, it’s comical,” Borovich said. “Some guys will hang up the phone on you in kind of a joking manner — ‘Not interested, don’t call back.’
“Some (assistants) will be straight up and honest and say, ‘My coach would kill me if I scheduled you guys. You guys are way too good.’ Not to sound arrogant or cocky, but those are some of the responses.”
The Flyers have gone 66-7 at home the last four years, which is why opponents from the six power conferences aren’t elbowing each other to be first in line for a trip to UD.
“We literally call every BCS school in the country to play,” Borovich said. “I think our fans think Dayton doesn’t want to play so-and-so. We will literally play anybody, anywhere, anytime. The difficult task is getting them to return the game.
“That’s the double-edged sword of having a great fan base. It’s great because you get awesome support, but our opponents are smart. They know UD Arena is a very, very difficult place to come out of with a win.
“But we’ve called every one (in the BCS) for next year. We’ll follow up with a third and fourth phone call if that’s what it takes. We’ll send up smoke signals. It’s not for a lack of trying, that’s for sure.”
HE CAN PLAY
Borovich, 31, was a standout guard and two-time captain at Central Michigan. He played in the Mid-American Conference when the league was the domain of four future NBA players (including Miami’s Wally Szczerbiak) and earned two NCAA tourney bids in consecutive seasons.
He still practices some with the current players, although not as much as he once did since his knees are starting to rebel. Gregory has been more cautious this season about asking his youngest assistant to demonstrate certain techniques.
“He realizes my days are numbered and there’s going to be a point in time when he needs me in practice and probably wants to save me a little bit for later in the year,” a smiling Borovich said. “He knows I probably have about four good practices in me and he wants to use them wisely.”
Borovich’s enjoyment at practice now comes mostly in mentoring the point guards, especially talented freshman Juwan Staten.
“He’s got a tremendous feel for the game, a high basketball IQ and natural point guard instincts,” Borovich said. “I think the biggest challenge for Juwan is walking that fine line between being a very good player, because he’s talented, and knowing and mastering the Dayton Flyer system. That will be the next step in his progression.”
Contact this writer at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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