Dayton Flyers

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DAYTON RETURNS HOME TO FACE UNC-WILMINGTON ON SATURDAY
Before heading to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic, the University of Dayton Flyers return home to face the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET from Tom Blackburn Court. The game will be televised on WHIO-TV, carried by WHIO Radio and is available with live streaming video, stats on Gametracker and streaming audio at DaytonFlyers.com.

Dayton is 1-1 overall, but coming off an overtime loss at Miami. Senior Paul Williams leads the Flyer attack averaging 17.5 points per game off the bench. Field goal shooting has not been an issue for UD. Dayton leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in field goal percentage, connecting at a .533 percent clip. In fact, Dayton has four players shooting better than 66 percent from the field - (Williams, Benson, Luke Fabrizius and Matt Kavanaugh). Dayton is looking to start 2-0 at home for the sixth consecutive season.

ABOUT UNC-WILMINGTON
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks are 0-1 overall coming off a 71-62 loss at Maryland. Freshman guard Adam Smith paced UNCW with a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the first half. The Seahawks were picked to finish 10th in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll. UNCW is tied with three other schools for the fifth youngest team in the NCAA with seven freshmen on the roster. Junior Keith Rendleman is a preseason all-CAA Second Team selection after leading the conference in field goal percentage (.582%) last season.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads the all-time series 2-0 with both contests at UD Arena. The Flyers defeated the Seahawks 68-59 in the 2001 NIT. A year later, UD won again, this time in the regular season 59-48.

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
Dayton has had six consecutive winning November months dating back to the 2005-06 season. Over the last six seasons, UD is 24-6 (.800 winning percentage) during the November months.

DAYTON PICKED SIXTH IN ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
The University of Dayton men’s basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 this season in a poll of coaches and media. Senior forward Chris Johnson was a preseason Second Team All-Atlantic 10 pick.

FABRIZIUS, JOHNSON, PARKER & WILLIAMS NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Archie Miller has named his four seniors – forwards Luke Fabrizius and Chris Johnson, and guards Josh Parker and Paul Williams – team captains for the 2011-12 season. The senior class has been a part of 74 victories over the previous three seasons, an NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance and two NIT bids, one of which was an NIT Championship.

POSTSEASON STRING OF SUCCESS
Dayton has advanced to the postseason in four consecutive seasons. UD went to the NIT three times and NCAA Tournament once. The last time that happened was when the Flyers made it to the postseason in five straight seasons from 1999-2000 to 2003-04.

COACHING TREE HOUSE
Archie Miller is part of the most prolific active coaching tree in college basketball. A total of nine of Arizona State coach Herb Sendek’s former full-time assistant coaches (not former players, managers or GA’s) are currently Division I head coaches. They are Jim Christian (TCU), Charlie Coles (Miami of Ohio), John Groce, (Ohio), Larry Hunter (Western Carolina), Ron Hunter (Georgia State), Thad Matta (Ohio State), Archie Miller (Dayton), Sean Miller (Arizona) and Mark Phelps (Drake). Rick Pitino has seven branches on his coaching tree, while Jim Calhoun and Mike Montgomery each have six.

CHRIS CROSSING THE CHARTS
Chris Johnson, a 2010-11 Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention selection, is quickly moving up the charts in the program’s history. CJ became UD’s 43rd member of the 1,000 point club in the final regular season game of 2010-11. Johnson’s 1,083 points rank him 36th all-time in scoring. Next up is Richard Montague with 1,093 points. CJ also ranks 6th on UD’s all-time list for 3-pointers made (169). Norm Grevey is next at 208. He also ranks seventh in career offensive rebounds (235).

PREMIUM PRODUCTION
Chris Johnson has earned Atlantic 10 accolades in each of his previous three seasons – All-Rookie, Chris Daniels Most Improved, Honorable Mention All-Atlantic 10. In 2010-11, he was second on the team in scoring (11.7) and rebounding (6.0), while leading the team in minutes (29.7), FT% (.830, 83-100), three-pointers (77) and steals (31). CJ opened the season with eight points and 10 rebounds versus Western Illinois. He battled foul trouble, but still scored six points at Miami.

THAT’S SOME WILL-POWER
Paul Williams leads the Flyers in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game. He opened the year notching 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting against Western Illinois. Williams added to that by scoring a career-high 20 points at Miami.

P-DUBYA
Paul Williams is the only UD player to score in double figures in both games this season. He came alive on the offensive end last season scoring in double figures 14 times. Williams also leads the Flyers in field goals (14), 3-pointers (7) and minutes played (30.0 mpg).

PARKER BROTHERS
After primarily serving as a backup last year, Josh Parker has moved into a starting spot and continues to produce. Against Western Illinois, Parker scored 11 points and had six assists to one turnover.  He added six points and four rebounds at Miami.

COOL HAND LUKE
Luke Fabrizius opened the 2011-12 season in perfect form. He was 3-of-3 from the field and connected on his two 3-point attempts en route to eight points against Western Illinois. He had five points at Miami.

BOOM BOOM BENSON
After closing last year well, Josh Benson began his junior season with a career-best performance. Benson scored a career-high 21 points (8 more than his previous career best) on 10-of-13 shooting in the opener against Western Illinois. Benson shot 4-of-6 from the floor en route to eight points at Miami. In the last nine games of 2010-11, Benson averaged 6.9 points and shot 25-of-43 (.581) from the floor.

KAVAN-AUGHSOME
Matt Kavanaugh might benefit more than any other player with the coaching change. A true road-grader down low who uses his muscle to clear out and keep balls alive on the offensive end, Kavanaugh did just that with 15 points and seven rebounds versus Western Illinois. The 15 points matched a career high. He added four points and four rebounds at Miami.

DON’T MESS WITH THE BIG BOYS
Talk about efficiency in the post. The duo of Josh Benson and Matt Kavanaugh went a combined 17-of-22 (77 percent) shooting from the floor against Western Illinois. This year the two Dayton-area products are both in the Atlantic 10 top 10 in field goal percentage.

DILLARD DISHING DIMES
Kevin Dillard is quickly making a name for himself as one of the top point guards in the Atlantic 10.  In the opener against Western Illinois, Dillard had nine assists with zero turnovers. Dillard then added 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals at Miami. A Chicago native, he was the 2008 Illinois Mr. Basketball award winner. Dillard played his first two seasons at Southern Illinois where he averaged double digits both years at SIU. In 2008-09, he was named the Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year after leading Southern Illinois in scoring (12.2 ppg).

OLIVER TWIST
Devin Oliver opened the year with four points, a career-high four assists and two rebounds versus Western Illinois. He added four points and five rebounds at Miami.

KING OF THE HILL
Ralph Hill looks to improve upon a freshman season where he averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Hill had a rebound against Western Illinois.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alex Gavrilovic was the first recruit signed by Archie Miller. A member of the French U-20 that won the European championship in 2010, he originally signed with Providence, but the NCAA Clearinghouse did not approve his credits. He opened the season with two points and two rebounds against Western Illinois. Gavrilovic followed that up with three points and three rebounds at Miami.

UD ADDS SANFORD & DERENBECKER
Continuing to add to the Flyers’ talent pool, head coach Archie Miller added transfers Vee Sanford (Georgetown) and Matt Derenbecker (LSU) over the summer. At Georgetown, Sanford played in 27 games in his sophomore year averaging 6.6 minutes a game. Derenbecker, a two-time Louisiana High School Gatorade Player of the Year, played in all 32 of LSU’s games in 2010-11. He started 16 games and averaged 6.5 points and 2.1 rebounds a game.

IT’S ALL ABOUT WINNING
The 2010-11 Dayton Flyers recorded 22 victories. That team became just the 19th squad in the program’s history to have won 22 or more games. The Flyers also reached the postseason in four consecutive seasons. The last time that happened was during a stretch between the 1999-2000 and 2003-04 campaigns.

THE EUROPEAN UNION
This summer, Dayton went on an 11-day European exhibition tour, where the Flyers went 4-0 in games against the Netherlands National U-23 team and three professional teams from the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Dayton had four players who averaged in double figures: Kevin Dillard (13.0 ppg), Chris Johnson (11.8 ppg), Josh Parker (11.5 ppg) and Luke Fabrzius (11.0 ppg).

AMONG THE BEST IN NCAA ATTENDANCE
The University of Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men’s basketball attendance for the 14th straight season in 2010-11. The Flyers finished 27th in the NCAA in attendance with an average of 12,567 fans a game, after averaging 12,259 a year ago. Since UD Arena opened in 1969, Dayton has been in the NCAA`s top 35 in attendance every season. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 14th straight season. UD averaged more than 2,400 fans a game better than any other team in the conference.

MILLER ANNOUNCES 2011 RECRUITING CLASS
Head Coach Archie Miller has announced the signing of three top high school players to letters of intent. They are 6-foot-9 high school teammates Jalen Robinson and Devon Scott from Ohio powerhouse Columbus Northland High School, and coveted 5-foot-11 point guard Jevon Thomas from Queens, N.Y. by way of Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C.

COLONIAL HISTORY LESSON
Dayton is 19-10 all-time against Colonial Athletic Association opponents and has won five of the last six games.

YOUNG GUN
Dayton’s Archie Miller is the fourth-youngest NCAA Division I head coach. At age 33, Miller is behind Robert Morris’ Andy Toole (31), Appalachian State’s Jason Capel (31) and Wisconsin Green Bay’s Brian Wardle (32). Tony Jasick at IPFW is 33 as well, but has an earlier birthday than Miller.

CONQUERING GOLIATH
The Flyers have proven they can handle the big-name programs. Dayton is 12-5 in the last four years against BCS programs and won five of its last seven games against BIG EAST opponents. Dayton’s 12 victories have come against Ole Miss (twice), North Carolina, Illinois, Louisville, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Auburn, Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh.

BALL CONTROL OFFENSE
One of the building blocks to coach Archie Miller’s offense is sharing and taking care of the basketball. Those two principles were on display in the Flyers’ opener against Western Illinois. Dayton dished out 25 assists with only eight turnovers. Four different Flyers also scored in double figures. In UD’s loss at Miami, the Flyers committed 22 turnovers. That’s the most UD has turned the ball over since their 22 miscues against Georgia Tech on Nov. 19, 2009.  

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
After leading by only three in the first half and allowing Western Illinois to shoot 65 percent from the field, the Flyers clamped down in the second half. UD limited Western Illinois to 5-of-26 shooting from the floor and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Opponents this season are shooting just .257 (9-of-35) from beyond the arc against UD.

TAKE FIVE
Dayton was solid in the final five minutes of regulation last year, out-scoring its opponents 420-368. The Flyers continued the trend under coach Archie Miller after out-scoring Western Illinois 11-7 in the last five minutes.

THIRD IS THE WORD
Dayton has hit at least one 3-point shot in 84 straight games.

EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD
The Flyers are 54-8 in the last nine seasons when they score 75 or more points. The Flyers are 1-0 this season and went 7-2 in 2010-11 when reaching the 75 point mark. UD has a 24-4 record the previous four seasons.

GRADUATION SUCCESS AT UD
The NCAA Graduation Success Rate report on Division I student-athletes released places the University of Dayton in familiar territory – among the nation’s best in graduating its student-athletes. UD’s 95 GSR in this year’s report places the University tied for 21st in the nation and tied for first in the Atlantic 10. The Flyer men’s and women’s basketball teams both have 100 GSR scores. UD’s men’s team is the only one in the Atlantic 10 with a perfect GSR, while the women are one of five. Dayton is one of just four institutions whose men’s and women’s basketball programs have perfect GSR numbers and both won at least 20 games last season.

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD
More than 8 million fans have attended UD Arena in the last 43 seasons. UD’s last 186 regular season home games have had attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 15 years, 99% of UD’s home games have drawn at least 10,000 (425 of 428), including the last 224 regular season games.

UD LOCKED IN TO REGULAR SEASON INVITATIONALS THROUGH 2013
Dayton announced they will compete in three consecutive regular season tournaments in the next three seasons. UD has signed deals to play in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando in 2011 and an ESPN Regional-sponsored event in 2012. The Flyers will return to the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational in 2013, 10 years after the Flyers won the event.

HOME SWEET HOME
Over the last six years on Tom Blackburn Court, the Flyers are 77-10. The 77 victories are the eighth-most in the NCAA since the 2006-07 season. Just ahead of UD are Kansas (91), Ohio State (88), Pittsburgh (84), Syracuse (83), Florida and Texas A&M (79), UNLV (78) and Dayton (77). Dayton won its 500th game at UD Arena on Dec. 29, 2009 and is 520-187 in 41 seasons at the Arena. The Flyers have a home all-time winning percentage of .781 (778-219).

FORTUNE 500
The Flyers celebrated their 500th win at UD Arena on Dec. 29, 2009. The Arena opened in 1969. UD Arena is one of just 27 active facilities to have hosted at least 500 wins for its home team, and only one of two built since 1969. The list includes Cameron Indoor Stadium, The Palestra, Pauley Pavilion, Freedom Hall, Allen Fieldhouse, The Pit and Hinkle Fieldhouse. Only four facilities – Pauley Pavilion, The Pit, Freedom Hall and the Huntsman Center – had 500 wins faster than UD Arena.

THE FLYER FAITHFUL
For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the Jan. 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD’s fans were tabbed as college basketball’s best. And they prove it to everyone the Flyers play. UD Arena has had 99 sellouts in its 40-year history. The record for sellouts is eight in the Arena’s first season (1969-70). The Flyers finished the 2010-11 regular season averaging 12,567 fans a game.

DAYTON THE HOST FOR THE NCAA FIRST FOUR ONCE AGAIN
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced that the Road to the Final Four will begin once again at the University of Dayton Arena this year.  In fact, it will begin in Dayton for at least the next two years as the NCAA’s “First Four” event will be held in at the Arena March 13-14, 2012 and March 19-20, 2013.  UD served as the host for the inaugural First Four last March.  The games drew more than 10,000 fans each night to UD Arena, and a national viewing audience of over five million people.

MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
The University of Dayton Arena has hosted NCAA tournament events in 25 of the 42 years since opening its doors in 1969. The NCAA First Four games made UD Arena the most-used tournament venue in NCAA history. To date, UD Arena has hosted 86 NCAA men’s tournament games, tying it with Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.

DID YOU KNOW?
UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers’ .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the 1960s.