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Archie Miller should be one of this spring's most coveted coaches

Archie Miller should be one of this spring's most coveted coaches

There's no need to wait until after the NCAA tournament to identify who the most coveted coach on the market will be this spring.

Dayton's Archie Miller has already secured that title by doing an even more remarkable job this season than he did last year when he led the Flyers to the Elite Eight.

When Miller had to dismiss his only two big men in December, it left Dayton with only six scholarship players and nobody taller than 6-foot-6. The Flyers responded by vowing not to make any excuses, reinventing themselves on the fly and exceeding all expectations.

Dayton's 75-59 rout of co-Atlantic 10 leader Rhode Island on Tuesday night moved the Flyers within one win of securing at least a share of their first conference title since joining the Atlantic 10 in the 1995-96 season. If Dayton (23-6, 13-4) wins at La Salle on Saturday, Davidson (21-6, 12-4) will have to win its final two games against VCU and at Duquesne just to forge a tie.    

Tuesday's victory keeps Dayton on pace for about a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament with a chance to improve that if it keeps winning. Quality wins against VCU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Rhode Island aren't overly impressive, but the Flyers have a top 30 RPI because they've only suffered one sub-100 loss the entire season.

What's especially remarkable about what Dayton has accomplished this year is that its style of play is the antithesis of that of last year's team. Whereas last year's Flyers played an 11-man rotation featuring four players 6-foot-9 or taller, this year's team seldom plays more than seven guys and divides the bulk of the minutes among six.

The secret to Dayton's success the past couple months has been finding ways to exploit its quickness advantage on offense without getting pummeled in the paint or on the glass defensively.

Dayton is second in the Atlantic 10 in points per possession so far this season even though it gets little in transition and it seldom even bothers to try for offensive rebounds. When opponents have played man-to-man, Miller has taken advantage of Dayton's superior speed by spreading the floor, identifying the most favorable mismatch and attacking off the dribble. When opponents have gone zone to prevent those mismatches, Miller has a handful of skilled wings he can play in the high post and ask to shoot, drive or distribute.

Remarkably, Dayton is also third in the Atlantic 10 in points per possession surrendered and first in defensive rebounding percentage despite giving up a few inches in every game at both frontcourt positions. Dyshawn Pierre is averaging a team-high 8.0 rebounds, Kendall Pollard is averaging 5.6 and both guys are doing an admirable job defending bigger players.

"I'm not sure surprised is the word I'd use but I'm definitely proud," Miller told Yahoo Sports in January. "I'm proud of the way they've handled adversity. They have not budged. They have not moved. To be quite honest with you, they've stuck their chests out a little bit and they keep coming."

Dayton's surprising success should land Miller on the short list of candidates for national coach of the year along with John Calipari, Tony Bennett, Larry Krystkowiak and a handful of others. It also is sure to make him a popular figure with athletic directors seeking to hire a new basketball coach.

Last year, Miller reportedly received interest from the likes of Marquette and Wake Forest but opted to sign a longterm extension at Dayton instead. He'll probably have another difficult decision to make this spring, especially if name-brand jobs like Georgia Tech, Texas or Indiana were to come open.

From Louisiana Tech's Michael White, to Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson, to perennial candidates Gregg Marshall and Shaka Smart, there are lots of coaches who should be hot names this spring.

Miller should be a lot of athletic director's first phone call though. With what he's accomplished at Dayton, he has earned that.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!