“Coaches can try to oversell that (closeness) about their teams. I don’t care what team you’re coaching, you’re going to battle selfishness,” he said.
“If you know YOURSELF, then you understand you’re going to battle that even in yourself as much as you are your players. But I really do think our guys are fighting that, and they’re trying to maintain a team focus.”
One area where that togetherness is being displayed is in the Raiders’ hefty assist totals. They’re racking up 16.4 per game, which is on pace for their highest average since the 1992-93 team dished out 18.3 per game.
Mark Woods set a program record that season with an 8.4 average.
Part of the impressive clip this year is the result of the team leading the nation in field-goal shooting — a pass isn’t an assist unless it leads to a basket, of course — but assists also aren’t handed out on possessions where players monopolize the ball before shooting.
The Raiders’ average is first in the Horizon League and 31st in the nation.
In the last 30 years, they’ve averaged 15 or more just three times — 15.0 last season, 15.4 in 2020-21 and 15.3 in 1995-96.
Having the majority of the top assist averages from the past 30 years during Nagy’s tenure shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The Raiders’ motion offense encourages players to be creative with the ball and active without it.
“I think we’ve probably always been a little bit like that. We’re not real conventional. We don’t run a lot of sets. We let our guys play,” Nagy said.
The team record for assists is 20.4 in 1990-91 when it averaged 92.6 points.
Woods — who is by far the school’s career assist leader in the Division-I era with 744 (Vernard Hollins is next at 472) — averaged 7.4 that season.
The Raiders don’t have anybody with Woods’ playmaking ability, but they do have three players in the top 10 in the league in assists: Trey Calvin, who was named HL player of the week Monday, is at 4.2, Tanner Holden 3.3 and Alex Huibregtse 2.9.
In an 83-76 win at IUPUI on Sunday — their 13th straight victory over the Jaguars — they assisted on 20 of 26 baskets. Huibregtse led the way with a career-high nine.
But Nagy wasn’t satisfied with that effort against the lowly Jags.
“When you’re playing a game like that, it can get — and it’s not purposeful — but there’s a sense of no matter what we do, we can win. You can get a little wonky offensively,” he said.
“We only shot 49%, and most people would be happy with that, but that’s not normal for us. You get a little wonky offensively because there’s a sense that ‘I can kind of do what I want to do,’ and that can get you in trouble.
“But whatever. I’m happy. We went on the road and won two games (including an overtime win at Cleveland State). That’s a good deal for us.”
Beware of the Penguins: Youngstown State, which visits Wright State at 9 p.m. Thursday (ESPNU), has won three straight games and six of its last seven.
Its latest conquest was a bit of a shocker: an 82-52 home annihilation of HL preseason favorite Northern Kentucky, outscoring the Norse, 44-21, in the second half and holding them to 25% shooting.
Five players reached double figures, and fifth-year forward D.J. Burns, who transferred from Murray State in the offseason, had his 12th double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
He’s the league’s leading rebounder with a 9.4 average.
The Penguins are 16-6 overall and in a virtual tie for first in the league at 8-3. Green Bay is 9-3 and Oakland 8-3.
Wright State, which has lost its last three games in the series and six of its last eight, is fourth in the HL at 12-10, 7-4.
THURSDAY’S GAME
Youngstown State at Wright State, 9 p.m., ESPNU, 101.5, 1410
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