The Raiders won 20 regular-season games in his first season, their most victories going into the Horizon League tourney since 2007-08. But trying to coach players he didn’t recruit — and moving to a new locale after 21 fruitful years at South Dakota State — led to some second-guessing on his part and had him pining for what he left behind.
“It was hard,” he said. “The first year I spent looking back, wondering if I made the right decision. It was just so many years at one place.”
“I wasn’t completely sold. We still won 20 games … but it was more the personal side of it, grieving over a place I loved and trying to figure out my way in a new place.”
Nagy certainly has found his way. He’s been named the league coach of the year the last three seasons, and he notched his 100th win with the Raiders on Saturday against Cleveland State, reaching the milestone in just four seasons plus 13 games.
He’s had a remarkable 10-year run. He led the Jackrabbits in their transition to Division I and then turned them into a Summit League power, winning three regular-season titles and three conference tourney crowns (along with making three NCAA trips) in his last five years there.
“We’ve kind of done it the same way here. I have a good staff, and we have good players. They do what we tell them to do, for the most part. They trust us. And that usually results in winning,” he said.
The Raiders have averaged 22.8 wins the last four seasons, up from 18.3 in the six years before that.
Now 510-287 in his 26th year overall, Nagy still has the same principles, but he’s learned to change with the times.
Players went through the baggy-shorts era (they’re wearing them much more snug these days), and they’re often prone to self-promotion — like flashing three fingers while running down the floor after making a 3-pointer.
The 54-year-old Nagy, though, is willing to flex no matter what’s in vogue.
“You have to figure out which hills to die on,” he said. “There are some things in culture — it used to be haircuts. When I was younger, I was so idealistic. Everybody’s got to look the same with same haircut, blah, blah. I moved past that.
“It really doesn’t matter what a kid’s hair looks like. If he has his own culture and I have mine, why would I enforce my culture and the way I think a kid should look on him?”
Not that there aren’t some non-negotiables.
“I always tell the players, ‘Some things are just culturally different between how you grew up and how I grew up, but there are other things that are VERY important to me. And you have to figure those things out and make adjustments because I’m the boss,’” he said.
“’If being on time is important to me and never has been to you, you have to make that adjustment. That’s how it’ll always be in the world when you’re working for someone else. You have to figure out what’s important to them, and you’d better do those things or you won’t be around.’
“There are certain hills you have to be willing to die on, things you know result in character-building for the players. If you have good players and you focus on character, it’ll turn into winning.”
Nagy, who started his career as an Illinois assistant in 1988, can’t help but notice the change in players over his career — they’re bigger, stronger and faster, but they also come through the doors with more baggage.
“I personally feel we’re such an entitled culture now. People think they just deserve things,” he said. “I always tell our players, ‘Sometimes you earn things and STILL don’t get them. That’s reality. You work your rear end off and it still doesn’t work out how you want it. But for you to think you’re going to be handed things, it’s just not the way it works.’
“We’re battling this AAU culture and microwave society where everybody thinks they have to get what they want right away. College basketball doesn’t work that way.”
Along with clear communication, Nagy ascribes the adage that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
“If we do a good job and our players understand we care about them, it allows us to be better coaches for them,” he said. “I think it’s hard to coach anybody if they don’t have a good idea you care about them. They don’t really respond to you. We try to build that trust.”
The Nagy Way is working. The Raiders made an NCAA appearance and earned two NIT berths the last three seasons. They also won the first outright league title in program history last year.
But nobody would mistake him for Jim Valvano in the warm-and-fuzzy department. He’s not running around after big wins looking for someone to hug.
Even his players find him intimidating — until they get to know him.
“He jokes about it — and people joke about it sometimes — that he’s hard to approach and talk to,” star center Loudon Love said. “But honestly, he’s a very genuine guy. He has strong relationships with his assistant coaches. He also develops strong ones with the players.”
Love, a fifth-year senior, hails from Geneva, Ill., and committed to South Dakota State primarily because of Nagy. When the coach left, Love followed him to Wright State.
“I think you see players grow from their freshman year. I’ve seen it with Tanner and Grant,” Love said of sophomore stars Tanner Holden and Grant Basile. “They come in, and you see how they’re timid around him at first, and they kind of open up and get closer and closer.
“You get accustomed to how (Nagy) interacts, and he builds unique relationships with everybody. He never promises people anything. He says, ‘If you work hard, I’ll give you a chance.’ It’s not, ‘I’ll give you this, I’ll give you that.’ It’s, ‘I’ll give you a chance. That’s a big part of (his success).”
Nagy has assistants who seem poised for long-term careers in the business.
Asked what advice he’d give aspiring coaches, he said: “Have balance in your life, No. 1. It can’t always be about basketball.
He and wife Jamie have five grown children. Nick is on staff as an administrative assistant, and T.J. is a walk-on sophomore guard.
Along with close family ties, Nagy’s faith keeps him centered.
On his Twitter feed recently, he posted the song, “Earth to God,” a Christian tune with lyrics that are perfect for these challenging times.
And while he still looks back at South Dakota State, it’s not in a longing way.
He takes pride in their success because it shows he left a strong foundation. They’ve averaged 23 wins and have made two NCAA trips and one NIT appearance in the last four years.
“They’ve done very well since I left there. I’m happy about that. It’s good we left it in good shape,” he said.
And the transition period that was so taxing didn’t last beyond that first season.
“The second year, I moved past it. I had a lot of good friends back there and miss a lot of people. But we’ve made good friends here now,” he said.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Wright State at IUPUI, Noon, ESPN3, 106.5
About the Author