Dayton Flyers Basketball Season Preview
The college hoops season is right around the corner, and Busting Brackets is here to whet your basketball-starved appetite. Over the next five weeks, we are publishing season previews team by team, conference by conference, to offer a glimpse into the upcoming season. Busting Brackets is giving you the lowdown on the biggest storylines, offseason changes and x-factors for each team and each league as we roll into the 2012-13 season. Our complete season preview archive can be accessed here. Buckle up, peeps.
Dayton Flyers
| Last Season | 20-13 (9-7 A-10) Lost in quarterfinals of A-10 tournament to Xavier NIT first round loss vs. Iowa |
| Key Returning Players: | Kevin Dillard, G Matt Kavanaugh, C Josh Benson, F/C |
| Key Additions: | Vee Sanford, G (Georgetown Transfer) Matt Derenbecker, F (LSU Transfer) Jevon Thomas, PG (Our Savior New American School) Devon Scott, PF (Northland HS) Jalen Robinson, PF (Northland HS) Khari Price, PG (Salmen HS) Dyshawn Pierre (Ontario, Canada) |
| Key Losses: | Chris Johnson, G/F Paul Williams, SG Luke Fabrizius, F Josh Parker, PG Ralph Hill, SF (Transferred to Oakland) |
| Top Non-Conference Games: | Nov. 15 vs. Colorado (Charleston Classic) Nov. 16 vs. Baylor / Boston College (Charleston Classic) Dec. 5 @ Alabama Dec. 8 vs. Miami (FL) Dec. 22 vs. Murray State Dec. 30 @ USC Jan. 5 vs. UAB |
| Top Conference Games: | Jan. 12 vs. Butler Jan. 30 @ Xavier Feb. 2 @ Saint Louis Feb. 6 vs. Saint Joseph’s Feb. 9 vs. Temple Feb. 16 vs. Xavier Feb. 23 @ UMass |
| Breakout Player: | Vee Sanford. Dayton’s backcourt is depleted from where it was a season ago, with senior leader Kevin Dillard the only guard returning to the fold. Chris Johnson, the team’s best all-around scorer, is gone. Paul Williams and Josh Parker are out of the picture as well. That leaves Georgetown transfer Vee Sanford to step in alongside Dillard. Sanford couldn’t get off the bench during his two years in D.C., but he’ll have plenty of available playing time as he slots in to the starting 2-guard spot for the Flyers this season. A prized combo guard coming out of high school with great athletic ability, a high motor and the ability to knock down shots in crunch time, Sanford has the makeup to be an instant contributor in the A-10. Honorable mention: Josh Benson. If the big fella was not coming off an ACL tear that sidelined him for the second half of last season, Benson would be another candidate to bust onto the scene in this, his senior season. Before he went down with the knee injury last season, Benson had been an unstoppable force on the court, averaging a tick under 11 points per game on 61-percent shooting from the floor. He was also a force on the defensive end. As soon as Benson went down, the Dayton defense immediately suffered. |
| X-Factor: | Defensive improvement in conference play, Benson’s health. You can pretty much pencil in the Flyers for the same type of season each year. Dayton is generally good for 20+ wins, one or two big-time upsets early in the season (vs. Alabama, @ Temple last season, for example) met by the same number of head-scratching losses, and then a mediocre run in conference play that has the program on the wrong side of the bubble come March. For that to change—specifically the mediocrity in conference—for second-year head coach Archie Miller, the Flyers will need a massive boost on the defensive end, where UD last season ranked 146th in the country (9th in the A-10) in defensive efficiency. The health of Benson down low will go a long way in determining just how good Dayton can be on that end of the floor. With Benson at full, or at least near full strength, the Flyers owned a defense last year capable of competing in the A-10. When he went down, however, the Flyers D sputtered, and opposing A-10 offenses capitalized, shooting nearly 48-percent from the floor in his absence. |
| Best Case: | Benson is healthy and functional on the defensive end. Dayton’s defense improves appreciably. Sanford is instant contributor on both ends of the floor, filling in seamlessly for departing seniors Chris Johnson and Paul Williams. Senior center Matt Kavanaugh builds on his huge jump in productivity between his sophomore and junior seasons. The Flyers buck their recent trend of mediocre play against A-10 opponents. Dayton wins 10 games in conference, including a few upset specials, finishing in the top half of the A-10 en route to an NCAA tournament at-large appearance. |
| Worst Case: | Benson isn’t healthy, the defense doesn’t improve and Sanford, who seldom saw the floor as a Hoya, shows why in his first year in the A-10. The Flyers continue their habit of slipping up against A-10 bottom-feeders, inexplicably dropping games to the likes of Rhode Island, Duquesne and GW. Dayton is buried in a jam-packed A-10 field with schools jostling for at-large positioning. The Flyers again find themselves on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday. The offseason losses prove too much to overcome. |
| Projected Finish: | 20-12 (7-9 Atlantic-10) Lose in quarterfinals of A-10 Tourney NIT quarterfinals appearance |