But he went into practice this week planning to ramp up the intensity and give his players a hard word when necessary.
“Sometimes people need to recognize, ‘I need to change, and some of this is my fault,’” he said. “It all depends on how seriously the kids take it — because you know the coaches take it seriously.
“I just want to coach people who want to win and feel the same way about losing as I do. I want to coach guys who are in that same mind frame competitively.”
He believes he’s talked enough to his players about their defensive shortcomings — and it doesn’t seem to be getting through.
The next step to make sure they retain what he’s saying is to give them time on the bench.
“It’s not like I have this magic-ball answer. We do have great kids. I know they care. But to say I’m disappointed with how the season has started would be an understatement,” he said.
“The thing that has to change is maybe just play other people. If guys aren’t getting the job done defensively — or rebounding or blocking out — at some point, you’ve got to move to other people.”
Those decisions aren’t so clear-cut, though.
“Other people have to show in practice that they’re ready to go. There are no simple answers, and I’m not going to over-react,” he said.
One player making a case for more playing time is 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman Drey Carter, who is averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. He’s shooting 62.5% from the field.
Carter on Monday was named Horizon League Freshman of the week. He scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down a career-best seven rebounds in a win over IUPUI last week.
“There are some things we can do with him that we can’t do with other players because of his length,” Nagy said.
“I feel like Drey is coming along. I wish he was more physical, but it’s hard when he weighs 195 pounds. That’s one of the things he has to change as his career goes along. But we feel like he’s playing good. He’s a tough kid. He’s a team guy for sure.”
What Nagy is looking for is perhaps the one player they miss from last season: Tim Finke.
A three-year starter at wing, he saw his scoring averages drop each season, from 10.0 to 8.8 to 8.0, and his shooting percentages shrink from 42.4 to 37.4 to 36.4.
But he led the Raiders in playing time the last two seasons. In 2021-22, he set a program record by playing 1,298 minutes in 36 games (a 36.1 average).
He signed a pro contract to play in the Swedish Basketball League.
“He was about the only player we had that was a committed defender,” Nagy said. “It’s why he played so many minutes for us because he struggled mightily on offense.”
But while Nagy is open to lineup changes, he’s not letting himself off the hook.
“I have to make some changes in terms of our strategy and what we’re doing defensively,” he said.
“Mostly, it comes down to me having wisdom and making better decisions.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Bethel (Ind.) at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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