By Doug Harris

Jim Jabir ran essentially the same system last year he always has at Dayton, but he hardly had a chance to slow down in the offseason because of a surge in folks wanting to know about in his up-tempo offense and trapping defense.

In September alone, the Flyer women's coach did clinics for the high school basketball associations in Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

He also took a trip overseas to Denmark, where he and another college coach were flown in to share their expertise.

"It's been really, really exhausting, but it's been really good, too," Jabir said. "I'm humbled because I don't think I'm all that special. I'm just fortunate to have had an Ally Malott and Andrea Hoover and kids like that."

Jabir has done his share of clinics in the past, but he's been in high demand since last spring because of the Flyers' Elite Eight® run. They notched wins over Iowa State, No. 11 Kentucky and eighth-rated Louisville and then took eventual national champ Connecticut to the limit before finally bowing out.

Jabir, whose team was ranked 17th in the final poll last season, has not only encountered other coaches being interested in what he has to say, but he's also found a receptive audience among high-level recruits, too.
The Flyers reached the NCAA tourney in five straight years from 2010-14, but that Magical March has elevated the program in the eyes of top prospects.

"Our coaching staff has done a great job of getting us in with great players," Jabir said. "And I think the combination of our coaches and our season last year has combined to put us in a great place. 
"There are a lot of kids we're in the hunt with where it's down to us and some BCS schools — across the board. People are very interested in us."

Jabir, who is in his 13th year at Dayton, is determined to strike while the program is hot.

"We have to get into as many homes as we can and do as much as we can now because by February and March, in our circle, they lose sight pretty quickly and move on," he said.

Jabir wants to make sure his Flyers have moved on from what they accomplished last season.  They have to replace Malott and Hoover — the first two players in the program to be drafted by the WNBA — and they'll face highly motivated opponents each game because of that deep tourney run. 

Although Jabir is concerned about a leadership void, the Flyers return a solid nucleus in Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year Amber Deane, A-10 All-Defensive Team selection Kelley Austria and conference All-Rookie pick Jenna Burdette.

Deane believes the Flyers won't have trouble generating the same intensity they had last season.

"I still look at us as underdogs — we're from a (smaller) conference and still have a lot to prove," she said. "We always have that chip on our shoulders, I think."

The cast of players may be slightly different, but the goals haven't changed.

"It's not even about getting to the NCAA Tournament anymore," Deane said. "It's about getting out of that first weekend — actually doing what we did last year, winning two or three games while we're there."

Jabir has set up a schedule to give the Flyers a chance to prove they're worthy of a NCAA berth.

They play Vanderbilt and Wisconsin at home and Purdue on the road.

They also host Princeton, which went undefeated in the regular-season last year, and Gonzaga, a perennial NCAA tourney team.

But while the Elite Eight® trip has opened new doors in recruiting, it still hasn't produced major inroads in scheduling.

The Flyers sought out other major powers in the region for a home-and-away series but were rebuffed.

It's the same problem the men's team encounters. The top women's programs know they risk defeat by playing at UD Arena, and they're only going to go places where a loss is considered acceptable and not such a blow to their pride.

"It takes a while," Jabir said. "I still think there's a credibility issue, and maybe rightfully so. Yeah, we made an Elite Eight® run and that was amazing, but we've advanced past the first round three times out of six. Three times we've been knocked out. 

"We have to make deep runs, consistently, for people to start looking at us in a different light; a light we want to be seen in."

While the Flyers will need sustained success before top-tier programs see them as an equal, their fan base already is comparable to those of many power-conference schools.

They ranked 50th in home attendance last season at 2,536 fans per game — their third-straight year in the top-50. And season-ticket sales are on pace for a 15 percent increase this season.
The support has helped the Flyers go 44-3 in the arena the last four years.

"I would like to see a big jump. I would like for us to get another 1,000 or so," Jabir said. 

"I don't want to say the kids deserve it, but the program has shown what it's capable of. If you're a Dayton fan, it would be great if people supported the kids because (the Elite Eight® run) is something I think we can do again. Our fans make a very big difference."