Nagy, Wright State searching for answers on defense
FAIRBORN — Wright State coach Scott Nagy is trying to find the balance between staying upbeat and being stern enough to get his point across while his team is lugging around a five-game losing streak.
That’s not easy. He never had more than a three-game losing skid in his previous five seasons with the Raid- ers. And he hadn’t lost five in a row since 2009-10 at South Dakota State. “I’m human like everyone else. I’m frustrated. I get angry with guys. But I know that’s not the answer,” he said.
“The answer may be to play some other people and sit some guys down. But just being angry doesn’t help the situation. Being bothered and wanting to do some- thing about it does.”
Though it’s early, the Raid- ers have taken a major step back defensively. They’re 10th in opponent scoring in the Horizon League, giving up 80.3 points per game.
Last year, they surrendered a league-low 67.4 per game. They were 16th in the country in defensive efficiency at .912 points per possession. But they’re allowing 1.093 this season. That may not seem like a huge difference, but they’ve plummeted to 319th out of 358 Division-I teams.
“I’d say right now (the players) have head knowledge of what the defense is supposed to be like. They can all give you the right answers. But they don’t have the heart about it,” Nagy said. “They’re more interested in the other end, which really hasn’t been any good, either.”
The Raiders (1-5) start Hori- zon League play with a trip to Purdue Fort Wayne (3-3) on Thursday. And Nagy said on his radio show at the Naples Invi- tational last week that it may be time to try a zone defense.
But while Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has become a coaching legend with his zone, and Baylor’s Scott Drew won a national title last season with an assortment of them, Nagy comes from the Bobby Knight school of strict man-to-man defense.
“I’d probably say there are times when it would be good to do that. Butit’s never really been who I am and how we’ve been successful in terms of what we do,” he said. “You talk about the head and heart — I think the players would know my heart wouldn’t be in that. I don’t really believe in it. And if I don’t believe in it, I can’t sell it.”
Nagy and the Raiders knew they’d have a hard time replacing two-time league player of the year Loudon Love. But they probably didn’t believe the adjustment period would last THIS long.
The 6-foot-8, 255-pound Love was a space eater in the lane, and his 138 career blocks are a program record.
“We’re still figuring out what not having Loudon around looks like,” Nagy said. “Defensively, we’ve given up WAY too many layups. It’s been a layup line against our defense. That’s the thing that has to change.”
They finished eighth in the eight-team Naples tourney, but they were without guard Alex Huibregtse and forward Riley Voss out with injuries.
“We’ve got a deep bench if we’re healthy,” said Nagy, who expects Voss back this week but not Huibregtse. “Those are two of our best shooters for sure, and we’re certainly not shooting the ball very well.”
Nagy gave freshman guard Keaton Norris the starting nod all three games in Naples. He averaged 28 minutes and had totals of three points, six assists and four turnovers. “We love Keaton. He’s not shooting the ball well, but we’re not worried about that. He’s tough,” Nagy said.
He said 6-9 freshman A.J. Braun, a Fenwick grad, could move to starting lineup. He saw his first action in Naples and scored 22 points in three games. Nagy hopes putting Braun on the floor with 6-9 Grant Basile will mean more contested shots by opponents.
“Offensively, he’s a good player. He’s way behind defensively. That’s what’s got to change for him. And he knows that’s our focus,” Nagy said.