Young Dayton Flyers coaches learning fast in tumultuous seasons

The younger segment of the staff — Frank, 28, Walsh, 27, and Sander, 23 — have made their own impact in their own way. They sit behind the head coaches on the bench and stand behind them during the national anthem, but they are a big reason the Flyers are 17-5 and shooting for a second straight Atlantic 10 title.

Frank is a Gainesville, Fla., native who walked onto the team at Kent State and was a captain as a senior in 2013-13. Walsh, who was promoted to assistant director of basketball operations after last season, is a Sewickley, Pa., native. He played for the Akron Zips and led the Mid-American Conference in 3-point shooting percentage as a senior in 2012-13. Sander is a Cincinnati native who went to Taylor High School and graduated from the University of Arizona.

The three sat down for a group interview Monday at the Cronin Center a day before the Flyers play St. Joseph's at UD Arena. Here's an excerpt of the interview, and you can read more of the conversation on DaytonDailyNews.com in the coming days.

Q: How did you get your job with the Flyers?

Sander: I was a student manager at the University of Arizona. I graduated in 2015. That Cincinnati connection with Sean Miller at Xavier and some of the guys on his staff, that's kind of how I made my way out west. For four years, I experienced some really great teams, back-to-back Pac 12 titles, back-to-back Elite Eights. It probably should have been back-to-back Final Fours if it wasn't for Wisconsin. I got to know the Miller family that way. After I graduated, I met with Sean and some of the assistants there. I just felt Dayton was the place for me. Being similar programs, similar styles and being 50 minutes from home, it was kind of a win-win.

Frank: I had a normal desk job (after college). I was working at the Cleveland Clinic. I saw randomly that my high school coach was in Cleveland going to an Indians game. My buddy (Tyler Holt, who's also from Gainesville) was playing for the Indians at the time. I was going to go. (My high school coach and I) met up for a beer. I told him, 'I'm tired of what I'm doing. I think I want to get back into basketball.' We had a conversation. He said we'll start exploring some GA spots for you. Two weeks later, he called me back and said, 'What do you think about Dayton?' He happened to run into Ostrom at a basketball clinic and overheard him saying he needs a GA.

Walsh: I started playing at Xavier for Sean Miller. After my freshman year, when I redshirted because I broke my hand, he took the job at Arizona. Then I transferred to the University of Akron and finished my career there. When I was done playing in 2013, there were a few graduate assistant jobs open at Akron. I was kind of flirting with going to play overseas. Coach (Keith) Dambrot asked if I wanted to get right into coaching right away, so I did that right away and really loved it. I knew I wanted to get to a bigger school as quickly as possible. Then I was at the Final Four (in 2014) for the big coaches convention. I knew Bill Comar because he was at Xavier with Sean way back whe. I ended up running into him and told him I was looking. He said there's a couple of GAs who are finishing up, and he said I'll keep you in the loop.

Why did you want to get into coaching?

Sander: My parents own their own business. My dad played college basketball. I'm just a guy that loves basketball. If you want a deeper meaning behind it, I was a decent high school player, probably Division II or III at best. But I had four knee surgeries in high school, so my playing career was put on hold. I have that hunger, that drive. I want to be involved in basketball because I couldn't really walk away.

Frank: My dad was an All-American swimmer in college at New Mexico. My best friend's mom is the head volleyball coach at Florida. Growing up, I was always around her success. For me, it was just the role I developed as a walk-on at Kent. I didn't play. I got to practice. But I found my voice. Coach (Rob Senderoff) made me a captain my senior year. We had our most vocal captain go down with an injury early in the year. The other three of us didn't speak too much, so I had to have my own voice on the team. I think that's when I started to realize this is something I could see myself doing.

Walsh: It was kind of right after I was done playing. I knew I wanted to be involved in sports in some capacity. I absolutely love basketball. My brother played in college. My dad was a baseball player in college. Sports is huge in my family. I've been around it my whole life. I didn't really know what else I have a passion for that would match what I have for basketball. I just love it. In this business, if you don't love it, you've got not chance. Every day, it's not work to me. I get to come in and do what I love.

What have you learned from Archie Miller?

Sander: I think one thing that Archie does exceptionally well — and he does everything well in terms of coaching basketball, recruiting, dealing with the media — is how he connects with his players. He understands what they're going through as a player because he was a player at N.C. State.

Frank: If you look back and our three years here, it's been pretty crazy in terms of what we've dealt with. We've had a front-row seat to see how he handles all that adversity. When you talk about having to kick two players off in the middle of the season, going down to seven players and navigating that and having the success we did, to last year and losing Dyshawn (Pierre) for half the season and bringing him back in the middle of the season and having to balance guys and keep the team together to this year and losing Steve (McElvene). That's three things that the majority of coaches in college basketball will never go through, and we've been through them in the last three years.

Walsh: The fiery guy you see on the court, he's that intense every day in his preparation. It keeps you sharp as a young guy. If you're not on top of your things, you're going to get called out. It keeps you on edge, which is really good."

TUESDAY’S GAME

St. Joseph’s at Dayton, 8 p.m., ASN, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO