The Raiders have been taking a pounding in their non-league games of late. They started 4-6 against Division-I foes last year and 1-7 two years ago.
They eventually recovered in 2021-22, winning the Horizon League tourney and an NCAA First Four game. But they never did get untracked last season, finishing 18-15.
“We’ve had very, very slow starts, particularly on the defensive end. I’m trying to get that changed where we actually have a good start defensively,” said Nagy, whose team opens at Colorado State on Friday and then faces Toledo at home and Indiana on the road.
“Those three teams are good offensively, so that’s going to be a challenge. But we just shouldn’t have as slow a start based on the people who are going to play the most minutes and how long they’ve been with us — and knowing how we feel about (defense). I think we’re moving closer to that.”
Nagy, though, takes some of the blame for the clunky starts.
He’s a strict man-to-man coach and detests zones. But while that helps players get more locked in because they have clear assignments, opponents know what’s coming, too.
“That won’t change a lot for us. What needs to change the most is me being willing to try some other things if what we’re doing isn’t working — be willing to play some zone or whatever to keep people a little off balance,” he said.
“But that’s hard for me. I’ve not really done that, and I can be stubborn.”
What Nagy uses to measure his defense is points per possession, known as defensive efficiency.
The Raiders were 229th (out of 358 teams) two years ago, giving up an average of 1.017 points each time their opponents had the ball.
They did a bit better last season with a .997 average, but that still was only 138th in the country.
Nagy wants to get back to what they were in 2020-21. They finished 16th nationally and allowed only .912 points each possession.
But that team had Loudon Love, a 6-9, 275-pound space-eater who clogged lanes and created congestion on the blocks.
The long-armed Grant Basile, a 6-9 forward, also was a defensive nuisance.
Love set the career program record with 138 blocks, while Basile is second with 127.
They’re the only Raiders to reach 100.
“He was our defensive anchor in the middle of the floor,” Nagy said of Love. “When we had Loudon and Grant, it was hard for people to score around the basket at all.”
The Raiders have size this season in 6-8 Brandon Noel and 6-9 A.J. Braun, but neither has Love’s imposing frame.
Noel had 34 blocks and Braun 23 in 33 games last season.
“You look at Brandon, and he’s not a big-time shot-blocker. Some of that is just natural. A.J. is not a big-time shot-blocker. So, we don’t have that around-the-basket anchor,” Nagy said.
“Now, Brandon can do some things those other guys couldn’t — he can switch on a guard. He can guard just about anybody with the way he moves his feet. But we still don’t have that shot-blocker.”
The Raiders have a bunch of wily veterans: a trio of three-year starters in Trey Calvin, Tanner Holden and Braun; a two-year starter in Noel; and a player in Alex Huibregtse who has made 13 career starts.
Nagy believes they’ll be more adept than past lineups at keeping dribblers in front of them.
“With this group, we’d like to be in the top 100 (in defensive efficiency),” he said. “The conventional wisdom is you’ve got to play slower to be great defensively, and I just don’t want to have to think that way.
“You ought to be able to play with freedom and play quickly and aggressively offensively and still be a great defensive team.”
About Colorado State: The Rams opened the season Monday with an 81-73 home win over Louisiana Tech before 4,331 fans. They trailed by one at halftime but shot 64% in the second half and made 23 of 26 free throws overall.
Two transfers are starting — Nique Clifford coming from Colorado and Joel Scott from a Division-II school. They led the win with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
The Rams were picked fifth in the Mountain West preseason poll behind favorite San Diego State, Boise State, New Mexico and Nevada. They were picked fourth in the league and 59th overall by SI.com.
Guard Isaiah Stevens, who averaged 17.9 points and 6.7 assists last season, is the preseason player of the year.
The Rams went 15-18 overall and 6-12 in the MWC last season. They lost three times to NCAA runner-up San Diego State: 82-76 at home, 77-58 on the road and 64-61 in the conference quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
They were 25-6 and 14-4 in 2021-22, losing to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA tourney.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Colorado State, 9 p.m., Mountain West Network (streaming on wsuraiders.com), 1410, 101.5
About the Author