Sophomore development key for Dayton Flyers

Crosby, Williams, Mikesell, Miller will play big roles

Editor’s note: The Dayton Flyers start the season Nov. 11. In the 26 days leading to the opener, the Dayton Daily News will explore different aspects of the program in the A-Z Guide to Dayton Basketball. This is the ninth installment. I: Improvement.

Archie Miller doesn’t know who of his four sophomores will contribute the most for the Dayton Flyers this season. He just knows that Sam Miller, Ryan Mikesell, Xeyrius Williams and John Crosby will contribute immediately, and all four know that they have to.

“At what level they produce is really going to determine how good we are,” said Miller last week at Atlantic 10 Media Day in Pittsburgh. “They all have to be a year stronger. Ryan, Xeyrius, Sam and John are huge cogs. If their development is what it’s supposed to be, we’re going to become that team that’s six, seven, eight, nine, 10-man deep. That’s what I like.”

PHOTOS: Best of sophomore class

The 2015 freshman class combined to average 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds last season. Asked last summer who had the best freshman season, Miller couldn’t name one. All four had their ups and downs. All four saw their minutes rise and fall and sometimes rise and fall again. In other words, they were typical freshmen.

“The thing about these guys a lot of people don’t understand is a lot of them won games individually because they played, especially early in the year,” Miller said, “but then Dyshawn (Pierre) came back and things changed for them. Especially Xeyrius was impacted by Dyshawn’s return.”

Here’s a look at each of the players:

Crosby: The 6-foot-2 guard from Baltimore and the New Hampton School (N.H.) will back up starting point guard Scoochie Smith for the second straight season. Crosby played in 32 of 33 games last season.

“John’s made some significant strides in the offseason,” Miller said. “One thing we’re really looking to do more is play him with Scooch. He’s going to play point. He’s going to play with Scooch. He could play with Scooch and Darrell (Davis), where we have three perimeter guys and we’d be a little smaller at times.”

Like all the freshman last season, Crosby saw his minutes rise and fall over the course of the season. He played 12 minutes in the season opener but didn’t play more than eight minutes in the next seven games.

Crosby had two breakout games, scoring 11 points and tallying five assists against Massachusetts on Jan. 6 and scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds at George Mason on Feb. 6.

Smith rarely left the court in some of the biggest games down the stretch, and Crosby’s minutes plummeted. He saw three minutes of action in the regular-season finale against VCU and four minutes in the NCAA tournament against Syracuse.

Crosby’s final numbers (2.4 points per game, 1.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 9.1 minutes) do not match Smith’s numbers when he was a freshman (3.6, 2.0, 17.3), but Smith earned more minutes because the starter that season, Khari Price, battled knee pain for much of the year.

“John’s biggest leap here in this second year is being able to be a good defender and taking care of the ball, making good decisions,” Miller said. “If he’s playing confident and feeling comfortable, you’ll see a guy that gets into the paint and gets fouled a lot more and can score the ball at the rim a little more. He’s done a nice job. The times he’s played with Scooch in practice and the times he hasn’t, he’s been effective.”

If Smith and Crosby are both on the floor, Smith will be the point guard, Miller said.

“John sometimes is more comfortable being able to make plays and not thinking as much about other people,” Miller said. “Just make a play. It’s a similar role to Vee Sanford had a couple years ago. Vee was instant offense. When Vee was in the game, he was going to make plays. But we need John to continue to get better on defense. He’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Mikesell: The 6-7 forward from St. Henry High School has put on 15 pounds if you compare his weight on the 2016-17 roster to last year's roster. He burst onto the scene with a game-high 21 points against Alabama A&M in the season opener and totalled 46 points the rest of the season.

Mikesell did not play in the last two games of the season, the losses to St. Joseph’s in the A-10 tournament semifinals and to Syracuse. He averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game. He appeared in 22 games.

“We’re going to move Ryan all over the floor this year, offensively, defensively,” Miller said. “He’s probably our second best playmaker. He’s able to facilitate and make people better. He can put the ball on the floor. He can play the four guard or the three with two front-court players.”

Miller: The 6-9 forward from Arlington, Va., and Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., played in 27 games as a freshman. He weighed 244 pounds last season and weighs 238 this season.

“Sam’s body has changed,” Miller said. “Sam’s one of those guys who had to go from higher body fat to lower. He’s in great shape right now.”

Miller played double-figure minutes in five of his first eight games and saw his stock rise midway through the A-10 schedule. He scored eight points in 30 minutes in a victory at Rhode Island on Feb. 12. That ended a three-game stretch in which he made 6 of 12 3-pointers and scored 25 points.

Miller’s numbers fell off after that. He didn’t play in three of the last four games. For the season, he averaged 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.

“Sam has to be able to play without fouling, rebound, and he’s got to concentrate offensively on being able to go in and out and do both,” Miller said. “Sam is as good as he’s been since he’s been with us for about six-week straight period. He’s been very consistent. He’s got to continue to become more physical and rebound the ball and play defense. I think Sam can provide that very unique 3-point shooting ability from the front line.

Williams: The 6-8 forward from Wayne High School has put on 16 pounds and weighs 210. He appeared in 26 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game.

“Xeyrius still looks as skinny as a rail, but he’s probably 17 pounds heavier than he was a year ago,” Miller said. “We’re asking them all to do very different things right now. Xeyrius has to bring us versatility. He has to bring us activity level. He’s got to rebound the ball.”

Williams played double-figure minutes in the first eight games last year, including a season-high 25 against Monmouth on Nov. 27. There were times during A-10 play when he didn’t see the court at all, but when Pierre fouled out on Senior Night against Virginia Commonwealth, Williams found himself on the court at the most important time of the season and helped the Flyers make several defensive stops in the final minutes of the second half and overtime.

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