Former Raider Loudon Love, a two-time Horizon League player of the year, was a frequent target. But the gentle giant had a good enough nature to shrug it off.
Sophomore forward Brandon Noel, the league freshman of the year last season, ends up in Nagy’s crosshairs on a regular basis. And though the eighth-year coach would like to tone it down a notch, it actually could be considered a compliment.
“Probably the biggest challenge for me with Brandon is he has such a high ceiling because he’s such a good athlete. He’s a smart player. He shoots a high percentage. There’s so much of an expectation, it almost feels like he never meets it,” Nagy said.
“You’re like, ‘HE’S NOT REACHING HIS POTENTIAL!’ So, I’m on him. I’m probably on Brandon more than I am anybody. He may feel like I’m picking on him sometimes, but it’s because, oh my goodness, he can be so much better than he already is.”
What he’s been so far is pretty special. After redshirting for two years, he was second on the team with 13.0 average last season while shooting a league-best 60.9% from the field and finishing third in the conference in rebounding at 8.7 per game.
His 11 double-doubles also were third-most in the HL.
Those numbers are comparable to what Love posted in his first season.
“I was after Loudon all the time, saying, ‘He could be better, he could be better!,” Nagy said. “Having that potential is great, but there’s also the curse of that where the expectation is you can do even better than you are.
“Some guys have hit their ceiling. With guys like Brandon, it almost feels like he CAN’T hit it.”
Noel is level-headed enough to respond with maturity to those challenges.
Actually, he’s already put pressure on himself to reach higher standards this season.
“What I did last year, I want to take it and do more performance-wise and also leadership-wise,” he said.
“I’m going into my fourth year here. It’s kind of expected of me — and the rest of the older guys — to bring a leadership role and take my knowledge, whether I’m sitting or playing, and try to help the younger guys out.”
Noel also sees an area where he can make a jump: 3-point shooting.
He’s a 6-foot-8, 235-pound beast inside, but the Lucasville, Ohio, native also has a deft touch.
He went a modest 15 of 42 on 3′s for 35.7% last season. The Raiders have an array of outside threats — Andrew Welage shot 47.7% from the arc, Alex Huibregtse 39.3 and Trey Calvin 39.0 — but Noel could be a migraine for foes if they have to guard him all over the floor.
“I shot a decent percentage, but it was a low number (of attempts). I’m not saying I’m going to triple the amount of 3′s I take this year. I still have my strengths. But I’d like to increase my 3-point percentage and my attempts, too,” he said.
He added of Nagy: “He has a lot of trust in his guys — me and everyone else. That’s one of the things he preaches on offense: trust and freedom. As long as you don’t abuse it and do the right thing, it’s going to be rewarded.”
Nagy has already encouraged Noel to let it fly if he’s open, but the coach has been emphasizing another facet of the game more.
“He needs to offensive rebound. In my opinion, he should average four or five offensive rebounds a game,” Nagy said.
Noel averaged 2.2 last season.
To Nagy, a guy can stand near the basket and get two a game just by catching the ball before it hits him in the head.
“Nobody should be able to stop him (on the boards). Physically, he’s capable of dominating — particularly in our league. And he needs to do that for us,” Nagy said.
Noel, though, is the kind of player every program wants, excelling on and off the court.
He’s a chemistry major and was named the Horizon League winter scholar-athlete of 2022-23.
He’s been named to the HL academic honor roll every year he’s been eligible.
He’s on pace to earn a bachelor’s degree in the spring and then plans to work toward a Master’s degree for his last two years.
“I don’t know if I’d say I take pride in it,” he said of his academic prowess, “but it comes naturally to me.”
Just like so much else.
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