The Basketball Tournament: Former Dayton assistant enjoying run by Boeheim’s Army

“Seeing it from that perspective, you know why the fans there love it,” Griffin said Monday. “It’s such a great basketball environment, regardless of who you’re watching.”

When Miller left Dayton for the Indiana Hoosiers after the 2016-17 season, his sixth at Dayton, Griffin returned to his alma mater, Syracuse, to join the staff of his former coach. The 2021-22 season will be Griffin’s fifth on Boeheim’s staff. The Orange have played in the NCAA tournament three times in the last four seasons and twice reached the Sweet 16.

Griffin had a similar level of success at Dayton, experiencing five NCAA tournament victories and two Atlantic 10 Conference championships. The memories flooded back as he turned to UD Arena. It was his first trip back since the three-year renovation project ended in 2019.

Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan gave Griffin a tour to show off the improvements.

“Neil has done a phenomenal job with the place,” Griffin said. “It’s a whole new arena. You could just tell the game experience has gotten so much better. Kudos to those guys. Neil, Scott DeBolt (UD Arena director), they’ve done a great job.”

Griffin has many memories of walking up and down the ramp from the locker room at the Donoher Center to the court. He did so again with Sullivan

“We looked at each other and said, ‘We didn’t lose too many times here,’ when you think about our home record,” Griffin said. “So many memories. Seeing the one picture of Kyle Davis on the wall, I said, ‘Holy (cow), I remember that game.’”

The championship game at 9 p.m. Tuesday will be televised on ESPN. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com. In addition to Griffin, one of the most familiar faces in the stand will be Boeheim’s.

According to a report by Donna Ditota, of the Post-Standard, Syracuse’s Hall of Fame coach will travel to Dayton for the game.

Boeheim’s Army’s 10-man roster features six former Syracuse players. Griffin credited Syracuse fan Adam Weistman, a businessman in Binghamton, N.Y., for helping fund the team, along with Boeheim.

Boeheim’s Army will try to become the fourth alumni team to win the TBT. A Notre Dame team won the first championship in 2014. Carmen’s Crew, an Ohio State team, won in 2019. The Golden Eagles, from Marquette won last year. Overseas Elite, a collection of top European pros, won four straight titles from 2015-18.

Although Syracuse alums dominate the Boeheim’s Army roster, it was a former Boston College player, Tyrese Rice, who won the game Sunday with a steal and game-ending layup. The team is coached by Jeremy Pope, an assistant coach at the University of Portland.

“It’s a great win for our team,” Pope said Sunday. “These things are hard to come by. It was a tough, gritty win. We’ve got tough, high-character guys. Everyone’s contributions were needed. Everyone fought to the end.”