“His recent story that’s starting to get publicity nationally is unique,” Miller said. “It’s a very real talk. What he went through and where he’s at right now is an incredible story.”
Clarett has bounced back from personal troubles after his football career ended. He spoke to the Flyers about learning to be a professional in all kinds of environment.
“Never wanted to be a speaker who had a bunch of memorized cliche statements,” Clarett wrote on Instagram. “Just want to speak truth and share my love with those who are looking to grow. Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Dayton Flyer Basketball Program. … I love when the events are over and the young guys ask more serious questions about life. The moments and the thoughts provoked are priceless.”
Meanwhile, the Flyers’ journey toward the start of the 2015 season continues. The first team meeting since the players returned to school was Aug. 26. Players completed the first week of skill instruction Thursday.
The first day of practice, Miller said, will be Oct. 2. The Red & Blue Scrimmage at UD Arena will be Oct. 24.
“We’ll be hammering through our preseason,” Miller said Thursday. “We’re on the court today and finish our first work of the preseason this week. We’re in a building process to get our team ready to practice on that first Friday of October. From that point on, we’ll try to build toward the early November non-conference slate.”
Miller brings a different message to the first team meeting of the season every year.
“Each team’s different,” Miller said. “The recent success here we’ve established, that culture is important. The guys that have been on these last couple teams understand that, but we also understand that nothing we’ve done in the past will help us if we don’t honor it in the right way and be ourselves every day. This team’s new. We have six newcomers: four freshmen and two guys who sat out. They’re going to have to figure things out.”
This team will be different from last year’s team, Miller said, in that there will be more competition for playing time. The Flyers played a seven-man rotation most of the season last winter because they had only seven players. Now they have six of those seven players and the six newcomers.
“You have real competition every day to push each other and earn minutes,” Miller said. “This could be the type of team that plays as many as 10 or 11. It could be a team that plays as few as eight or nine depending on what we’re looking to do with our rotation. We’ve got to get to work. The pursuit of being one of the best teams in our conference is our goal. We don’t want to avoid that. We want to work hard toward that every day.”
About the Author
