Dayton guard Vee Sanford was a prolific scorer in high school and never really had to learn the fundamentals of man-to-man defense because his team always played a zone.

He improved during his two years at Georgetown, but he wasn’t really challenged as a defender until transferring to UD and earning a prominent role this season under coach Archie Miller.

“I like to play it,” Sanford said. “Coach stresses it to me a lot because he feels like I can be a really, really great defensive player, just with my tools. He’s helping me realize that’s really my main role, to play really good defense. And I take pride in it. And I’m taking more pride in it as the season progresses.”

Sanford’s defensive skills will be on display this week when he matches up with two of the best shooting guards the Flyers will face all season. He’ll be assigned Wednesday to Illinois State’s Tyler Brown, who is averaging 17.5 points per game. After that, he’ll face Murray State All-American Isaiah Canaan on Saturday.

The 6-foot-4 junior was tested Saturday against Florida Atlantic’s Greg Gantt, one of the top scorers in the nation at 21 points per game. Although Gantt tallied 26, Sanford and the Flyers held him to 7-for-17 shooting.

“He still managed to get 26 points, but I felt we slowed him down in a major way,” Sanford said. “As far as Tyler Brown and Isaiah Canaan, those are really great players. The team is going to have to help me … but it’s a challenge we’re all looking forward to.”

Sanford has the skills, combined with long arms and excellent quickness, to cause problems for opposing players.

“He’s got great length. He’s got great instincts. He can shoot some gaps. He can do a lot of things,” Miller said. “Vee’s deal will be concentration on defense — don’t break away (mentally). But he does have the ability to be a good college basketball defender.”

He might become even better now that he has 20-20 eyesight. Even though he wears glasses off the court, he always thought he could see well enough when he played basketball to not need anything to correct his vision.

After a failed experiment with contacts, he finally donned thick-rimmed goggles for the first time Saturday, and he was surprised at the difference they made.

“I could see so much better,” he said. “I was just used to seeing how I saw. It’s a benefit.”