By Paul Gotham
Archie Miller’s Dayton Flyers completed non-conference play 12-3. The most wins outside of the Atlantic 10 in the third-year coach’s tenure.
UD has three wins over teams from power conferences: Georgia Tech (82-72), California (82-64) and Ole Miss (83-80 OT) along with defeating then No. 11 Gonzaga (84-79) and a victory over 2012 and ’13 NCAA Tournament participant Iona (96-84).
Dayton’s balanced attack nets nearly 78 points per night, yet no player averages more than 12.6 points a game. At the same time, nine different Flyers play a dozen or more minutes.
It’s about creating more with less…as in minutes played.
No Flyer knows this more than senior captain Vee Sanford.
After starting all 31 games in which appeared during 2012-13, Sanford has learned to accept a role coming off the bench for Miller and the Flyers in 2013-14.
“There are going to be individuals who make sacrifices for the good of the team,” Miller said during the weekly Atlantic 10 conference call. “No one has made one better than Vee.”
Sanford averaged 29 minutes and 12.3 points a game last season. The Lexington, KY native opened this year in the starting five but has come off the bench since the third game of UD’s season.
“It’s helped our rotation,” Miller added. “It’s given us a burst off our bench of scoring.”
“Coming into the season, we knew we had a lot of bodies. We felt pretty good about the playmaking ability and the ability to make things happen offensively. We weren’t sure how we were going to make it work with chemistry and rotation and combinations of players.”
Sanford’s example has set the model for his teammates. He responded to a different role scoring 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting in Dayton’s victory over St. Francis (Brooklyn). He followed with 15 points and three assists in UD’s win at Georgia Tech. He accounted for 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the triumph over California.
“That’s a credit to him. As he continues to embrace it, he’ll continue to see success. He’s a big part of what we’re doing, and he knows that.”
Playing 23.4 minutes a game, Sanford scores 9.8 a game while dishing out 2.5 assists and grabbing 2.3 rebounds.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
“He had a good year last year. He’s having a good year this year. Maybe his numbers are a little bit down from scoring. That’s just because his minutes are down. We’re playing so many more guys.”
Sanford’s raw numbers are down, but he has increased his efficiency. He has gone from averaging 12.97 points per 40 minutes a year ago to 16.75 through 15 contests this year. There is a similar increase in his assist rate (percentage of teammate baskets assisted while on the court) where he has gone from a 16.32 to 20.43 and rebound rate from 3.99 to 6.44.
“He understands the big picture. He wants to go out a winner.”
Dayton’s RPI is 35th in the nation and is a big reason (along with the success of UMass and George Washington) why the A10 is ranked sixth among conferences.
Dayton’s rebound margin of 6.2 is tied with St. Joseph’s at the top of the conference. The Flyers also lead the A10 with a field goal percentage of 48.4 (412-852).
“We can score. A lot of guys will have their different nights, but we base everything we do off the effort, the ability to defend, the ability to rebound and the ability to play a role when you come in the game with a defensive mindset. That’s not easy to do with a lot of guys coming in and wanting more minutes and wanting to score. The biggest thing coming in here through January and February is to continue to build that defensive mindset, that identity that we go hard every day.”
The Flyers open the A10 season Saturday when reigning conference champion, St. Louis, comes to UD Arena. Miller knows the Billikens are one of the best defensive teams in the country.
“Coach Crews has those guys really committed on that end. Offensively, obviously they have a lot of different types of weapons. You know they are going to be a post-season team in March. It’s a great opportunity for us at home. We know we’re going to have a great challenge in St. Louis.”
Tip time Saturday is scheduled for 11 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball State.
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications and Media Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a contributor at USA Today and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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