Dayton Flyers legend Bucky Bockhorn will miss Archie Miller

Miller one of UD’s all-time best, Bockhorn says
WHIO’s Larry Hansgen, left, and Bucky Bockhorn broadcast the Flyers’ victory over Fordham in the second round of the A-10 tournament on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. David Jablonski/Staff

WHIO’s Larry Hansgen, left, and Bucky Bockhorn broadcast the Flyers’ victory over Fordham in the second round of the A-10 tournament on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. David Jablonski/Staff

Archie Miller called Bucky Bockhorn on Saturday after the news broke of him leaving the Dayton Flyers for the Indiana Hoosiers.

“He said we’ll get together before we get out of here for a beer and pizza,” Bockhorn said Sunday.

Bockhorn, the Dayton Flyers legend and longtime radio analyst for the games on WHIO, said he’s going to miss Miller. They grew close in Miller’s six seasons at the helm. Bockhorn not only attended most games, home and away, he was a consistent presence at practice.

“He treated me with a lot of respect,” Bockhorn said. “I was the first guy that met him when he got here, and he did a hell of a job, no doubt about it. He was one of the hardest-working coaches I’ve ever been around in my life. He surrounded himself with some pretty good people, and I’m going to miss the little (guy), It’ll you you that.”

RELATED: Seven reasons the UD job will coveted

Bockhorn said he was flabbergasted UD hired such a young coach in 2011 — Miller was 32 at the time — and Miller was shy around him at first.

“Of course, I’m a legend, you know how that goes,” Bockhorn joked.

Bockhorn would put Miller among the greatest UD coaches, right up there with Don Donoher and his own coach, Tom Blackburn. He was sad to hear Miller is leaving but said it wasn’t about the money and it was hard to blame Miller for taking such a big job.

“I called him briefly and told him he did a hell of a job and whatever he decided to do I’m 100 percent behind him,” Bockhorn said.

About the Author