The NIT loss at Iowa may have written a disappointing postscript to Dayton's season, but it also may have provided a blueprint for what the Flyers need to do to move up in 2012-13.
The Hawkeyes were able to expose the Flyers' inside game in posting their 84-75 victory.
Iowa got more than half of their point production from its frontline while the Flyers really had no legitimate inside threat.
The good news for the Flyers is that second-year coach Archie Miller is bringing in a pair of three-star front-court prospects (Scout.com) in 6-foot-8 high school teammates Devon Scott and Jalen Robinson from Columbus (Ohio) Northland High.
With Matt Kavanaugh, who made tremendous strides from his sophomore to junior year, and Devin Oliver both returning joined by Josh Benson, who missed more than half the season because of a knee injury, and LSU transfer Matt Derenbecker, the Flyers should be more athletic and physical at the forward spots.
They already look set at guard even with the loss of Paul Williams, their No. 4 scorer.
Kevin Dillard, who sat out 2010-11 after transferring from Southern Illinois, proved himself one of the top playmakers in the Atlantic 10 and led the Flyers in scoring as well.
Vee Sanford, a transfer from Georgetown, looks to step in at the shooting guard spot. He didn't play a lot for the Hoyas but shot 52.2 percent from the field in 27 games as a sophomore in 2010-11.
A third signee, Jevon Thomas from New York, is projected as a backup for Dillard at the point.
NOTES, QUOTES
Senior class finishes with 94 wins
--Dayton's senior class of F Chris Johnson, F Luke Fabrizius, G Josh Parker, and G Paul Williams finishes with 94 victories, second-most for a class in school history. Last year's senior class (Chris Wright, Devin Searcy, and walk-ons Logan Nourse and Peter Zesterman) won 97 games.
Dayton has had five consecutive seasons with at least 20 victories.
--In addition to a signing class of three freshmen (6-9 Jalen Robinson and 6-9 Devon Scott from Columbus Northland High and PG Jevon Thomas from Queens, N.Y.), Dayton also will have two transfers eligible who sat out 2011-12. They are F Matt Derenbecker from LSU (16 collegiate starts) and G Vee Sanford from Georgetown.
FINAL RECORD: 20-13, 9-7, tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10
2011-12 SEASON RECAP: After knocking off the likes of Minnesota, Alabama, and Ole Miss, the Flyers went into A-10 play with an 11-4 mark. They became a streaky team in league play, going 4-1 at the start to assume first place and then losing four in a row. They finished by going 5-2 to earn a share of fifth place and a home game to open the league tourney, which they won over George Washington. They lost to Xavier by one point in the quarterfinals. Though assigned a No. 2 seed in the NIT, they had to go on the road for their first game because their arena was not available, and they lost at Iowa.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think the most important thing was our fans and our community and everybody understands we have a brand of ball, and now let's watch it grow over the course of the next couple season." -- Coach Archie Miller, in the Dayton Daily News, on the Flyers' future.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THE GOOD NEWS: Dayton returns team leader Kevin Dillard, one of the top point guards in the league. The Flyers overcame a laundry list of injuries, one of which cost them starting F/C Josh Benson for more than half the season, and very easily could have been playing for the A-10 title in the league tourney in coach Archie Miller's first year if not for those bad breaks.
THE BAD NEWS: Dayton had some obvious problems on defense that are going to have to be corrected if the Flyers are going to take the next step and compete for the title in the A-10. F Chris Johnson was a big reason for the overall success, and he must be replaced.
KEY RETURNEES: Dillard, a transfer from Southern Illinois, was a huge factor in Dayton's success, not only leading the team in assists (198 against 94 turnovers) but in scoring (13.3) as well. He could improve his shooting (41.2 overall, 32.5 on 3-pointers), but even so is an all-conference candidate. F Matt Kavanaugh, a little-use backup his first two seasons, had a breakout season in his first year under coach Archie Miller and started all 33 games. Sophomore G/F Devin Oliver was starting on a wing by the end of the season, and freshman F Alex Gavrilovic had his moments as well.
PLAYER NOTES:
--F/C Josh Benson continues to progress in his rehab from the knee injury that ended his season prematurely after 14 games, but the Dayton Daily News reported he won't be back to running and cutting until likely May. Benson, who was averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a game when he was injured, has one year of eligibility remaining.
--G Kevin Dillard finished his first season at Dayton with 198 assists, second only to the 216 of Negele Knight in the school record book for assists in one season.
--F Chris Johnson ended his collegiate career with 1,467 points and 846 rebounds and shot 82.1 percent from the free throw line. He also made 236 3-pointers, shooting 37.1 percent from behind the arc.
