Archdeacon: UD’s Grant on Miller: ‘As an alum, I’m proud of what he did here’

With just a couple of minutes left on the pregame clock, he entered UD Arena from the visitor’s tunnel dressed all in black, except for the small RHODY logo over his heart.

He’s the Rhode Island coach now and the Rams’ small group of followers sitting behind the bench included his wife Morgan and older brother Sean, the head coach at Xavier again.

Soon, though, everyone in the sold-out arena was focused on him. He was the gritty, give-no-quarter coach of the Dayton Flyers before Anthony Grant took over and he had tremendous success, highlighted by four straight trips to the NCAA tournament.

He left for the big time in 2017, but his four seasons at Indiana didn’t pan out and now he’s in his second year rebuilding Rhode Island.

There was some speculation as to the reception he’d get Saturday, but that was quickly dispelled when public address man Jeff Stevens announced him to the crowd:

“Welcome back to UD Arena, former Flyers coach, Archie Miller!”

The standing crowd applauded him and there were a few whoops of appreciation.

Minutes earlier, as both teams had faced each other during the national anthem, Grant saw in Miller a coach for whom he had “great respect.”

“He’s a hell of a coach,” Grant said later. “As an alum, I’m proud of what he did here. And having played here for Hall of Fame coach Don Donoher and knowing the history of the guys who came through here, I appreciate the job Archie did.”

After the game — which UD won in a romp, 96-62 — Miller returned the flowers and praised all things UD:

The Arena, the fans and the school’s administration, which, in 2011, had made him one of the youngest coaches in Division I basketball when it hired him at age 32 and he had no head coaching experience.

“I’ll forever be grateful for that,” he said.

Most of all Miller saluted the current UD team, which is 15-2, has won 12 games in a row and is ranked No. 21 in the nation:

“They’re one of the best teams in the country. A terrific team. They’re extremely well coached and are having a fantastic season. I expect them to go a long way.”

In between the pregame and postgame niceties, the Flyers gave Rhode Island a thorough beat down.

The Rams never led and, in fact, found themselves down 11-0 at the start after their first four possessions ended with two turnovers and then two airballs.

Miller’s familiar sideline animation — getting down in a defensive crouch, pacing, yelling, waving his arms, anything to amp up his team – had been to no avail and he was forced to call a timeout less than three minutes after the opening tip.

“I knew coming in here the first 4 to 8 minutes was really, really, really going to be important and we really struggled,” he said.

The Flyers had one of their most dominant performances of the season Saturday. They made 16 of 27 3-point attempts — that’s a dizzying 59.3% — and, just as impressively, had two turnovers in the game.

DaRon Holmes II played just over a half and finished with 21 points and three blocked shots. Point guard Javon Bennett made 8 of 9 field goal attempts — including 4 of 5 3-point hoists — and had 22.

Koby Brea made five treys for 15 points and at game’s end Brady Uhl came in and kept the crowd roaring when he hit two of his three shots from beyond the arc.

After that performance by UD, Miller looked as smart as anyone for nixing the suggestion by Kendall Pollard, one of the stars of his NCAA tournament teams here, that there might be a tribute video to the former coach before the game.

“It wouldn’t have been right, and I wouldn’t want it anyway,” Miller said. “This was not about me. It’s about the UD team, their staff, and the great things they have going on.”

And yet, on a day when dreams of UD glory this season are beginning to take real shape, you can’t imagine that without reflecting on the last time that fantasy was an ongoing reality here.

While there was the glorious 29-2 season here four years ago, that effort got cut short by COVID.

Before that there were the four straight NCAA tournament teams Miller coached.

He was asked about two of them specifically after the game:

The 2013-14 team that made it to the Elite Eight and then the following season when he guided a team decimated by injuries and pair of player expulsions that left just six players and a walk-on and yet they made it to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

Miller smiled when asked about the Elite Eight team:

“That was really the group that was the beginning stages of breaking through to the tournament. In general it gave a lot of credibility to what we were trying to do.

“It opened up the eyes of what college basketball is all about … And realistically we were 40 minutes at the jump ball away from the Final Four. That’s pretty powerful. I’m proud of that group who set the pathway.”

That said, he seemed to especially warm when the next season was brought up:

“That was probably the most incredible group of people I’ve ever been around. In terms of what they were able to accomplish. Their resiliency, the tenacity of that group. They didn’t let all the great things that happened the prior year go by the wayside. There was a tremendous will and pride in that group.”

In his six seasons at UD, Miller went 139-63 and twice finished first in the Atlantic 10.

It was that kind of legacy that caused Grant to embrace him in a private moment outside the press room after the game and express his appreciation.

Miller understands that, but admitted earlier those glory days “seems like a long time ago.”

After the tough four years at Indiana, he’s trying to lift up the Rhode Island program. The Rams were 9-22 last season – they did beat the Flyers – and now they are 9-9.

“I’ll always appreciate Dayton and what a special place it is,” he said.

Then with a bit of that give no quarter attitude, he added:

“But when you get your ass kicked like we did today, it makes you change your mind a little bit on the way out.”