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Miller to visit UD’s Michigan recruits

New coach also has met with point guard Staten, who was set to transfer before coaching change.

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer 8:34 PM Wednesday, April 6, 2011

College basketball coaches are hitting the road today for the start of a four-day recruiting period, allowing them for the first time in months to have face-to-face contact with high school players.

But the priority for University of Dayton coach Archie Miller isn’t necessarily to acquire new talent, but rather to keep the recruits who already have signed.

Miller plans to visit with LaDontae Henton, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward from Lansing Eastern High School, and Percy Gibson, a 6-9, 240-pound forward from Detroit Southeastern — along with their families — and sell them on his vision for UD.

Both seniors made the Detroit News “Dream Team” this season as two of the five best prep players in Michigan. The new coach has been in touch by phone, but he realizes that’s never as effective as an in-home visit.

“I’ve got to get in front of people at this point in time. A phone call doesn’t do a whole lot,” Miller said. “I’ll mosey up to Detroit and, over the weekend, I might try to hit some of our (current) players’ families. But the most important thing as I get on the road is not evaluating players, but making sure these two kids feel good about us.

“I’m very confident in our philosophy, I’m very confident in our style, I’m very confident in the way I do things. It will be hard to say no if you really like Dayton.”

Miller also has a personnel decision to make on point guard Juwan Staten, who might be interested in remaining at UD after announcing two weeks ago that he plans to transfer after clashing with previous coach Brian Gregory during the season. Freshman Brandon Spearman also announced that he is transferring.

Staten still is attending classes, has been playing with his former teammates in open gyms and has met with Miller in his office, although the coach wouldn’t say what was discussed.

“I don’t think I can make any decision on a kid’s future in two days of being here. ... As I get to know what’s going on, I’ll make the best decision for the way we do things,” Miller said Wednesday.

“One thing I’ll never sacrifice is ‘team.’ ... What I have to balance is I’m looking at the four seniors who want to go out on a good note and have the ability to finish as well as they possibly can. And it’s my goal to make that happen.”

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