4 reasons Dayton coach Archie Miller is coveted by bigger schools

After the first such story this year, we thought it was a good time to recount just what makes Miller such a highly coveted coaching prospect in college basketball:

1. He wins.

This is always the trump card.

Miller is 134-60 in five-plus seasons at Dayton and one win away from a fourth consecutive 20-win season.

He is 30 games over .500 in Atlantic 10 play heading into a game at Saint Louis tonight.

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Entering the season, his 115 wins were already the best five-year start in Dayton history, just ahead of Flyer coaching legends Don Donoher (111) and Tom Blackburn (107).

2. He develops players, and his teams play great team basketball.

A key to Miller’s success is taking players who aren’t finished products and turns them into productive collegians who fit well within his system.

That’s a skill that travels.

RELATED: Archie Miller says he hasn’t heard from N.C. State

The Flyers have won, even against tough circumstances, because Miller’s teams can handle the ball, pass and shoot as a cohesive unit.

3. He can recruit in a variety of places.

Miller’s current Flyers squad might not be overflowing with four- and five-star prospects, but he has found useful players from a wide-ranging area.

Current players have called Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland — plus five different cities in Ohio — home.

Then of course there is Kostas Antetokounmpo, an intriguing freshman originally from Athens, Greece, who is sitting out this season.

4. He’s got a lot of connections.

Miller rose quickly up the coaching ranks after working with some noteworthy mentors at major schools in three different parts of the country.

Prior to working for his brother, Sean, at Arizona, Miller was an assistant at Ohio State under Thad Matta.

The son of a legendary Pittsburgh-area high school basketball coach, Miller has also worked at Western Kentucky and North Carolina State.

The latter is his alma mater – and the subject of the most-recent report of a school interested in luring him away.