When the University of Dayton announced the hiring of Archie Miller in April, it represented not only a change on the sideline, but also on the basketball recruiting trail. While former Flyers coach Brian Gregory was known as an old-fashioned, no-nonsense recruiter, Miller comes from the new school of talent procurement.

“He’s young and he understands the whole dynamics of telecom, with Facebook and Twitter and everything,” said Benji Burke, who coaches All-Ohio Red, one of the state’s premier travel clubs. “He is from that era. He connects with the kids, and that’s huge.

“I think he’s one of the top five up-and-coming coaches, and I know he hasn’t coached his first game, but it’s all about talent and he understands recruiting. I think they’re going to compete with Ohio State for some of these kids.”

Miller’s older brother, Arizona coach Sean Miller, has earned a reputation as one of college basketball’s elite recruiters. On a smaller scale, the younger Miller has been showing some of the same traits. In the spring he secured a commitment from Columbus Northland 6-foot-7 small forward Jalen Robinson, a former West Virginia commitment. Robinson and West Virginia parted ways primarily because his playing style didn’t match well with Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins’ ultra-physical style.

“He’s a finesse-type player. He can shoot the 3,” Burke said. “I think he’ll go in there and create some matchup problems.”

Miller, 32, also scored 6-7 LSU transfer Matt Derenbacker, who averaged 6.5 points and 2.1 rebounds as a freshman, even though Derenbacker hadn’t visited UD’s campus.

“Player development was huge for me, and I think I can really improve my game there,” Derenbacker told cbssports.com.

With Miller at the helm, Burke believes Dayton basketball could replicate the emergence of the suddenly celebrated program located a couple hours west on Interstate 70.

“I think they’re going to be a Butler-type of program, a mid-major none of the high-majors want to play,” Burke said. “It all starts with talent, and I think they got the right guy in Archie.”

While it may be awhile before the Flyers are winning recruiting battles against the Buckeyes and other top national programs, Miller’s already proving his chops on the trail. In late September, with help from assistant Allen Griffin — a former player at Syracuse whose East Coast recruiting ties will be relied upon heavily — he beat Seton Hall for standout Jevon Thomas, a one-time St. John’s recruit regarded by some as the top senior point guard from New York City.

In an effort to improve his academic transcript and qualify to enroll next fall, Thomas has transferred from Our Savior New American School in Centereach, N.Y., to Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C., said Our Savior coach Ron Stelzer.

Recruiting notes

• As of mid-October, Miller was working to get Robinson’s Northland teammate, 6-8 power forward Devon Scott on campus for an official visit. A former Cincinnati commit with offers from Alabama, Tennessee and others, Scott was strongly considering Ohio and Dayton because he preferred to stay close to home.

• Chicago junior Kendrick Nunn, Scout.com’s No. 6 shooting guard in the Class of 2013, listed Dayton as an option for a while and recently backed out of his commitment to Texas A&M. But his father, Melvin Nunn, said he hasn’t heard from Dayton recently and isn’t considering the Flyers. Landing Nunn would’ve been tough, as he has interest from schools like Kansas, Illinois and UCLA.

• The Flyers seemed close to receiving a commitment from senior shooting guard Eron Harris of Lawrence (Ind.) North until West Virginia swooped in and snagged him in September .

• UD was among the first schools to seriously pursue Springboro big man Maverick Morgan, but after the 6-10 junior’s strong late-summer showing, the Flyers face heavy competition from schools like Notre Dame, West Virginia and Southern California. Ohio State also is keeping tabs on Morgan.

• New Hampton Prep (N.H.) senior point guard Olivier Hanlan was scheduled to visit Dayton in late September, but the visit was canceled when Dayton received a commitment from Thomas. Hanlan likely will end up at Boston College or Virginia Tech.