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It’s Dayton: Friars vs. Flyers in Columbus

Sibert

We can thank Brian Gregory for this matchup. After four straight 20 win seasons as the head coach at Dayton, and three Final Four appearances before that as an assistant at Michigan State, Gregory moved on to Georgia Tech — and left LaDontae Henton’s future in limbo.

Henton committed to Gregory and Dayton during a high school career that provided a glimpse into what he’d one day become at the next level — four productive seasons at Eastern High in which he scored over 2,000 points, snatched 1,000 rebounds and made four All State teams in Michigan.

With Gregory’s departure Henton suddenly had a decision to make in the spring of 2011. Archie Miller took over for Gregory, and like Ed Cooley that spring, he sold his vision to Henton for what the program would become under his leadership.

Henton eventually chose Providence over Dayton and Iowa State, citing his instant connection with Cooley as the biggest reason why.

No one could have predicted just how significant his commitment was at the time. And it’s doubtful the Friars would have seen the Big Dance in either of the last two seasons without him.

After a ten year absence from the NCAA Tournament, the Friars are rolling under Cooley, making their second consecutive appearance tomorrow night. It’s difficult to imagine either tournament appearance happening without Henton, the Big East’s leading scorer this season and just the second 2,000 point, 1,000 rebound player in program history.

Meanwhile, Miller’s vision has come to life at Dayton. The Flyers have won 20 games in three of his first four seasons and reached the Elite 8 last March, defeating Ohio State and Syracuse along the way. And with Wednesday night’s comeback victory over Boise State in an NCAA Tournament play-in game, Miller and Henton will meet once again.

Miller’s team enters Friday with a 26-8 record, and like a season ago, they are an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this year they defeated NCAA Tournament teams in Ole Miss and VCU, but fell to Arkansas and in a late-season rematch with VCU. Dayton and PC have had a few common opponents this season. The Flyers defeated Boston College (65-53), fell at Massachusetts (66-64) and took both meetings with Rhode Island.

While undersized (265th nationally in average height), Miller’s current group is rated among the top 40 defensive teams in the country by Ken Pomeroy. They managed to hold both Syracuse and Ohio State under 60 points in last year’s tournament.

Senior guard Jordan Sibert leads the team in scoring, and made a 3-pointer on Wednesday night to give Dayton the lead over Boise with just over 30 seconds remaining.

Miller did win another recruiting battle over PC, landing Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith out of Putnam Science Academy after his rapid rise up the recruiting rankings in the summer of 2012. Smith developed himself into a point guard late in his high school career, leading to a number of Atlantic 10 and high major offers.

Dayton also has a familiar face on the bench, as former Providence assistant Allen Griffin is now in his fourth season there.

Dayton Tournament Profile:

Record: 26-8, 13-5 in the A-10 (2nd Place)

Tournament History: 15 appearances, 1 Final Four. Dayton went 3-1 in last season’s NCAA Tournament, defeating Ohio State (60-59), Syracuse (55-53), and Stanford (82-72) before falling to top seeded Florida in the Elite Eight (62-52).

Their last tourney appearance before that came in 2009 when they defeated West Virginia, and then fell to Kansas. Their three other tournament appearances since 2000 came in 2000, 2003 and 2004 — they went one-and-done in all three (Purdue, Tulsa, DePaul). Dayton made the tournament just once in the 1990s — in 1990 when they defeated Illinois and lost 86-84 to Arkansas. They lost to UCLA in the 1967 National Championship.

Former DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell led Dayton to three NCAA Tournament appearances: 2000, 2003 and 2004 before moving on from Clemson. Purnell took the program over in 1994 after former Celtics head coach Jim O’Brien finished 4-26 and 6-21 in his last two seasons there. Purnell won 20 games in five of his last six seasons at Dayton.

Prior to last season, Dayton’s last appearance in the Sweet 16 came in 1984 when they made it to the Elite Eight before falling to Georgetown. That Hoya team won the Big East Championship and defeated Houston in the NCAA Championship.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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