Today’s game
Who: Dayton vs. W. Illinois
Where: UD Arena
When: 2 p.m.
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
The University of Dayton basketball program will officially launch the Archie Miller era today at UD Arena with its season-opener against Western Illinois.
And while Miller has never been a head coach before, what we can glean from the two preseason exhibition games is that the Flyers’ offense could be much harder to guard than it’s been in past seasons.
In a 92-78 victory over Walsh, they shot 63.3 percent in the first half and 53.4 overall. In an 87-66 rout of Findlay, they hit 57.6 percent in the first half and finished at 50. And though the competition they faced doesn’t compare to what they’ll see this season, UD players have been almost giddy about the open looks they’re getting and the trust they’ve been given in Miller’s passing-game offense.
“I love it,” point guard Kevin Dillard said. “It’s structured, but at the same time it gives you freedom to make plays. He lets you play off intuition. If you think you can make a play or see a play, then you have to make it. He gives you confidence and makes you believe in yourself.
“With most coaches, it’s set in stone what you have to do. But with this offense, it’s not. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Miller, a former North Carolina State standout, has worked for some of the best coaches in the nation: Thad Matta at Ohio State, Herb Sendek at N.C. State and Arizona State and his brother, Sean Miller, at Arizona. All have had a profound effect on him — as has his father, John Miller, a top high school coach in western Pennsylvania.
That’s why Miller believes he’s ready to meet the challenge of running his own program, even if he’s one of the youngest coaches in the nation at age 32.
“I feel like I’ve always been on stage, whether as a player or coach, with some of the biggest and the best people in the business,” he said. “I feel like I’ve trained my whole life around my father to know how to handle myself under pressure.
“One of the great things that playing the game does — not that everyone has to play the game — but it gives you that impression that when all eyes are on you and it means the most, you want to be able to come through. ... I’m not perfect, but I also feel like I’ll be able to hold my own.”
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