The Scouting Report: Dayton Flyers-2:30pm ESPN2

Head Coach: Archie Miller
2014-15 Record: 2-0

2013-14 Results: 26-11, 10-6 in A-10, Elite Eight appearance
Key Losses: Devin Oliver (11.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG), Vee Sanford (9.6 PPG)

Dayton is coming off one of their best seasons in school history, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1983-84 season.  The Flyers earned an 11-seed after finishing fifth in the Atlantic-10, and knocked off Ohio State, Syracuse, and Stanford before losing to Florida 62-52.  Coach Archie Miller has the difficult task this season of replacing three starters from a year ago.  The main piece they will have to replace is forward Devin Oliver, who finished second on the team in scoring while also leading the team in rebounds.

Dayton took care of business in their first game of the season, defeating Alabama A&M 76-52 behind junior Dyshawn Pierre’s 16 points on 6-6 shooting and 9 rebounds.  Freshman Darrell Davis provided a spark off the bench scoring 17 points on 3-5 from deep.  In the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the Flyers won an ugly ugly game over Texas A&M, winning 55-53 on a game-winning tip in by Devon Scott with 1 second remaining.  Despite shooting 36.5% from the field including going 2-17 from three, and committing 17 turnovers, Dayton pulled it out.  I watched the whole game and I’m still not sure how any team won that game.  It was that bad.

Key Players

#24 Jordan Sibert, Senior, Guard (6-4, 187): Led the team in scoring last season averaging 12.2 PPG while shooting an impressive 42.6% from three while also pulling down 2.3 RPG.  A transfer from Ohio State, Sibert fit in extremely well in his first season and was known as a big-time shot maker.  He hit a dagger 3 against Syracuse last season in the Second Round (formally third round), something that all Husky fans loved.  Sibert is averaging 9 PPG in his first two games, but is shooting a combined 5-21.

#21 Dyshawn Pierre, Junior, Forward (6-6, 230): Was one of three Dayton players to average in double figures last season, scoring 11.2 PPG while also recording 5.5 RPG. Miller says that he may be Dayton’s most gifted player as he can score in a variety of ways including in the post, driving to the basket, and hitting jumpers.  If Pierre could improve his three-point shot just a little while also making more of his free throws, he could average around 15 per game.  He had 16 points in the Flyers’ opener going 6-6 from the floor.  In the win over Texas A&M, Pierre scored 14 points on 4-7 shooting.

#11 Scoochie Smith, Sophomore, Guard (6-2, 170): Only averaged 3.6 PPG and 2.0 APG last season, but was starting at point guard by the end of the season and into the tournament.  Miller is extremely high on Smith and says that he has been working on his shooting immensely during the offseason.  He filled up the stat sheet in his first game of the season, scoring 9 points with 8 assists and 5 rebounds.  In the first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Smith could not adjust well to the "double rims," only scoring 3 points on 1-9 shooting.

#3 Kyle Davis, Sophomore, Guard (6-0, 165): Only averaged 2.0 PPG in just under 7 minutes per game, but was the team’s best defender.  Davis was often put into the game as a freshman last season to guard the opposing team’s best player, earning him the Team’s Best Defender Award.  He has already proven this season that he is another guard who will be able to score for Dayton, as he scored 13 points in their first game of the season, and 10 points in the victory over Texas A&M.

#1 Darrell Davis, Freshman, Guard (6-4, 168): A freshman coming off the bench who will be looked to for scoring immediately this season.  Davis is a three-star recruit according to ESPN, but was a huge get for Miller as he chose Dayton over Tom Izzo and Michigan State.  In the Flyers’ first game of the season, he proved that he is a scorer as he went 3-5 from three and 6-6 from the charity stripe for 17 points.  Against Texas A&M, Davis could not get going as he went 1-5 from the field, all three-pointers.

The Flyers are coached by Archie Miller who enters his 4^th season with the team where he is now 65-38.  It has been three straight winning seasons for Miller, going 20-13 in his first year earning an NIT bid, 17-14 in his second year, and then 26-11 last season.  The 36 year old has had a bright basketball career so far, playing at NC State from 1998-2002, where he shot 42.9% from three.  After his college career, he was an assistant at Western Kentucky, NC State, Arizona State, and Ohio State.  Miller then became the associate head coach for two years under his older brother, Sean, at the University of Arizona before coming to Dayton.