“The game has changed so much, and we’re one of the few teams that like big kids to be big kids and want the ball with their back to the basket,” Nagy said.
“It’s one of the things we can show them with who we are and what we’ve done. If you’re a center, this is probably a pretty good place to play because you’ll see the ball quite a bit.”
Their pitch paid off with the 2024 class, which is made up of three players who would form a towering frontline by themselves.
And after signing only three guards in 2023, the group filled a desperate need for size.
Alex Bruskotter averaged 22 points and five assists for Shelby (Ohio) High School as a junior last season. The 6-8 forward picked the Raiders over offers from Toledo, Akron, Ohio, Belmont and Illinois State.
He was a second-team Division II all-state pick and will be attending his father’s alma mater. Aaron Bruskotter played baseball at Wright State from 1995-98.
“Alex is a heckuva good player,” Nagy said. “We were the only one in our league who had a shot at him, but a lot of MAC schools were recruiting him. Ones that knew they were out of it were telling me, ‘We hope you get him because we don’t want to see him in our league.’”
Jaheem Webber of Normal (Ill.) Community High School made only honorable mention all-state at the Class 4A level. But the 6-10 center had offers from Bradley, Illinois State and Southern Illinois and also visited Iowa, Illinois and Belmont before picking the Raiders.
He averaged 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds as a junior.
Ayden Davis, a 6-10 two-time all-state pick from Onsted (Mich.) High School, averaged 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks last season. He also shot 72%.
He had scholarship offers from several MAC schools, including Toledo.
“Ayden has a little edge to him, which we really like. We need more of that from all our players,” Nagy said.
“We like both (centers). They’re pretty physical and have good hands.”
His coach, Brad Maska, told the Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram: “Ayden is an absolute game changer. With the pressure on him, he continued to perform all year despite being the focus of every team we played.”
Nagy called last year’s recruiting haul of Dayjaun Anderson, Soloman Callaghan and Kaden Brown his best class in seven years at Wright State. And the momentum carried over into this year.
If there’s a key to the Raiders’ success, Nagy believes it’s the staff’s ability to forms bonds with prospects.
“Relationships are important. Everybody wants to say those things aren’t important anymore. It’s what can you give a kid — blah, blah. But we’re still pushing the relationship piece in it,” Nagy said.
“In the end, you can talk about the NIL and all these things, but what people desperately need is relationships, not just stuff. With people who that’s important to, we have a chance.”
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
IUPUI at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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