Miller, now in his third season with the Flyers, is also old enough to call his players kids. He did that Thursday, two days before the 2 p.m. season opener against IPFW at UD Arena, when talking about his sophomore class.
Dyshawn Pierre, Khari Price, Jalen Robinson and Devon Scott represent the present and future of Dayton basketball and even the near past. A year ago, all saw significant minutes as freshmen.
If all four improve (Miller says they have), that’s a big reason the Flyers can be better than last season when they finished 17-13 to snap a streak of five straight 20-win seasons.
“All four kids, whether they were ready for it or whether they knew it, were very fortunate to be thrown into the fire,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of freshmen who don’t get the run they got. We were a victim of it at some points during the season. There’s three of them out there at any given time. Whether it’s good, bad or ugly, they had to be out there.”
The players combined to average 19.7 points per game. Pierre averaged 27 minutes per game, Robinson 19, Price 18 and Scott 9. They should have even bigger roles this season, though Scott missed the two exhibition games because of an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Whatever the Flyers lost at times by playing freshmen last season, Miller said, they will gain this year because of that experience.
“As sophomores, all of them are much more prepared to take the floor and not only take the floor but be successful,” Miller said. “They all have heavy roles moving into their second year. I do think as we move forward all four of them could be anchors if we stick together. They continue to show how we develop our players. They’re all better. That’s a big thing for us.”
Price, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Slidell, La., started against Findlay and had five rebounds, five assists and one turnover in 29 minutes. He worked hard on his ball-handling and jump shot in the offseason and also his leadership skills.
Price averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 assists per game a year ago. He wants to be more vocal on the court. As a point guard, that’s his job.
“I’m definitely much more comfortable,” Price said. “After you get that first year of experience, things start to open up. You start to learn more things.”
Pierre, a 6-6 forward from Whitby, Ont., averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds as a freshman and shot 46 percent from 3-point range.
Talk turned Thursday to who might be the Flyers’ go-to guy this season now that senior Kevin Dillard, the leading scorer last season with 15.3 points per game, has moved on. While Miller conceded that the go-to player could change by the game this season, depending on matchups, he also pointed to Pierre as the player most likely to seize that role.
“Without a doubt, a guy that’s going to be able to take the next step for us and be able to deliver some of those go-to moments is Dyshawn Pierre,” Miller said. “He has the capability to do that. I do think Vee (Sanford) and Jordan (Sibert), as scoring guards, have that ability, but I think it’s going to be by committee all season long.”
About the Author
