2014–15 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team

2014–15 Dayton Flyers men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
2014–15 record	27–9 (13–5 A-10)
Head coach	Archie Miller (4th year)
Assistant coach	Kevin Kuwik
Assistant coach	Allen Griffin
Assistant coach	Tom Ostrom
Home arena	University of Dayton Arena

The 2014–15 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team represented the University of Dayton during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flyers, led by fourth year head coach Archie Miller, played their home games at the University of Dayton Arena and were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 27–9, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for second place. They advanced to the championship game of the A-10 Tournament where they lost to VCU. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Boise State in the First Four and Providence in the second round before losing in the third round to Oklahoma.

When the Flyers were selected to play at home in the First Four, they became the first team since 1987 to play an NCAA Tournament game in their home arena. The NCAA made a rule in 1989 that no team could play a tournament game in their home arena. However, with UD Arena always hosting the First Four, Dayton is the only exception to the rule.^[1]

Previous season

The 2013–14 Dayton Flyers finished the season with an overall record of 26–11, with a record of 10–6 in the Atlantic 10 regular season for a tie for a fifth-place finish. In the 2014 Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Flyers were defeated by Saint Joseph's, 70–67 in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament which they upset Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford in second and third rounds and the sweet sixteen before falling to Florida in the elite eight to end their Cinderella run.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

Incoming recruits

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Darrell Davis SG	Detroit, MI	Douglass Academy for Young Men	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 8, 2013
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Steve McElvene C	New Haven, IN	New Haven High School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Sep 13, 2013
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-04-27.

Season synopsis

The Flyers entered the season with three players capable of playing as centers, but by the start of 2015, none of the three were available to the team. First, the NCAA declared incoming freshman Steve McElvene a "partial qualifier", rendering him ineligible for the entire 2014–15 season. Then, in December 2014, starting center Devon Scott and intended backup Jalen Robinson were dismissed from the team after allegedly being caught committing theft in a campus dormitory. Two other players were sidelined by injuries. Junior college transfer Detwon Rogers was lost for the season to a knee injury, and graduate transfer Ryan Bass quit basketball on medical advice due to post-concussion symptoms.^[2]

These departures and injuries left Dayton with arguably the most limited roster, in both depth and physical size, in Division I. The Flyers played the bulk of their season with only six players who started the season on scholarships. In January 2015, Bobby Wehrli, who had begun the season as a walk-on, was given a scholarship, but only for the spring of 2015.^[3] No one left on the active roster, whether on scholarship or not, was taller than 6'6" (1.98 m).^[2][3] CBS Sports journalist Gary Parrish had this to say about the Flyers' roster limitations (emphasis in original):

"To put this into perspective, consider that Kentucky has seven scholarship players taller than 6-8, and that UK's starting backcourt (Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison) is just as tall as Dayton's starting frontcourt (Dyshawn Pierre and Kendall Pollard)."^[2]

Despite these limitations, the Flyers remained in contention for the A10 title for most of the season, ultimately finishing second in the regular-season standings,^[4] and advanced to the A10 Tournament final, losing there to VCU.^[5]

Roster

2014–15 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Home town 1.5 !G 1 Davis, DarrellDarrell Davis 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1.0 !Fr Douglass Academy Detroit, MI 1.5 !G 3 Davis, KyleKyle Davis 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2.0 !So Morgan Park Chicago, IL 5.0 !C 5 McElvene, SteveSteve McElvene  83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1.0 !Fr New Haven New Haven, IN 1.5 !G 11 Smith, ScoochieScoochie Smith 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2.0 !So Putnam Science Academy New York, NY 4.5 !F/C 12 Robinson, JalenJalen Robinson (S) 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 3.0 !Jr Northland Columbus, OH 1.5 !G 14 Bonsu, JeremiahJeremiah Bonsu (W) 71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2.0 !So Pickerington North Pickerington, OH 1.5 !G 15 Haldes, NickNick Haldes (W) 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1.0 !Fr Mattawan Chicago, IL 3.5 !F 21 Pierre, DyshawnDyshawn Pierre 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 3.0 !Jr Anderson CVI Whitby, ON 1.5 !G 24 Sibert, JordanJordan Sibert 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 4.5 !RS Sr Princeton Cincinnati, OH 3.5 !F 25 Pollard, KendallKendall Pollard 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2.0 !So Simeon Career Academy Chicago, IL 3.5 !F 30 Rogers, DetwonDetwon Rogers   78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 3.0 !Jr New Hanover College of Southern Idaho Raleigh, NC 4.5 !F/C 40 Scott, DevonDevon Scott (S) 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 3.0 !Jr Northland Columbus, OH 1.5 !G 44 Gruden, JoeyJoey Gruden (W) 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 2.0 !So Sycamore Leesburg, VA 3.5 !F 50 Wehrli, BobbyBobby Wehrli 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 3.0 !Jr Benet Academy Naperville, IL 1.5 !G 51 Dupuy, WilliamWilliam Dupuy (W) 68 !5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 157 lb (71 kg) 2.0 !So Grapevine Colleyville, TX 1.5 !G – Cooke, CharlesCharles Cooke (I)  77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 3.0 !Jr Trenton Catholic Academy James Madison Trenton, NJ	Head coach Archie Miller (North Carolina State) Assistant coach(es) Kevin Kuwik (Notre Dame) Allen Griffin (Syracuse) Tom Ostrom (Minnesota) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

^[6]

Rankings

See also

2014–15 Dayton Flyers women's basketball team

References