“Our evaluation is: ‘Why do you want to come here? What’s your humility level? And how badly do you want to win?’” Sargent said.
“It can turn into the ‘me season’ right now. And we’re very intentional about, ‘Hey, we finished tied for third last year. It wasn’t even close to good enough. There’s a standard here to win championships. If you’re not about winning and what it takes to contribute to a team, this is not the spot for you.’”
Three players from the transfer portal — all from Division-I schools — and an area high school prospect apparently had the right responses and have become Sargent’s first four signees.
“We’ve added guys with good hearts and the right mindset to come in here and work and do what the team needs,” he said.
Liberty transfer Ben Southerland, a 6-foot-7 forward and a first-team all-state pick at Cincinnati Sycamore High School, committed last week. He redshirted because of a foot injury his first year and then played in 26 games last season.
He averaged just 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds but had high games of nine points and 10 boards for the 18-14 Flames.
“His ceiling as a player really excites me,” Sargent said. “He’s got a great skill set, great frame. He’s a very good athlete. He just hasn’t had the time to develop and play. You get a guy like that, and the sky’s the limit.”
He joins two other players from the transfer portal: 6-7 forward Michael Imariagbe of Houston Christian and 6-6 wing Jack Doumbia of Norfolk State.
Sargent called 6-6 wing Andrea Holden of Hamilton High School — who officially became a Raider on Wednesday — a “hidden gem.” He averaged 12.2 points and 7.9 rebounds last season.
Holden, whose first name is pronounced ON-dray, was chosen for the Ohio-Kentucky all-star game in April and scored five points, while another Raider incoming freshman, Shelby forward Alex Bruskotter, led Ohio with 18.
Sargent needed to fill four vacancies after one of three early signees joined previous coach Scott Nagy at Southern Illinois and three holdovers transferred: A.J. Braun, Dayjaun Anderson and Kaden Brown.
Braun, a 6-9 center who averaged 12 points and 6.2 rebounds as a junior last season, left for California Baptist of the Western Athletic Conference, while Anderson, a Ponitz High School product who redshirted last season, hasn’t announced a destination.
Brown’s departure has been a bit befuddling. He was part the playing rotation as a true freshman and was lauded for his defensive prowess.
He struggled offensively, though, going just 8 of 44 on 3′s and averaging 2.3 points.
He’s returning to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich., to play at Division-II Grand Valley State for former Dayton assistant Cornell Mann, who has gone 34-27 in two seasons.
Brown told WestMichiganballers.com that Nagy’s departure triggered his desire to look elsewhere. He said 10 teams contacted him after entering the portal.
He was named the Michigan Division 2 player of the year after averaging 24.1 points for Catholic Central High School.
Asked why he chose GVSU, he said: “Just the relationship I built with coach Mann and coach (J.R.) Wallace. They recruited me out of high school. Grand Valley was the best place for me to play the style of basketball I want to play and get back to being me.”
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