As it turns out, though, his first seven months on the job couldn’t have been more rewarding.
“The personalities, the care level — a lot of the things you can’t predict — I love about this group, and it’s led to a lot of healthy days,” he said.
“Not that we’re having perfect days all the time by any means. But we’re sure recovering (from bad practices) a lot quicker. And I think if you put that together for a four- or five-month season, then you can produce and win.”
Fans will get their first glimpse of the Sargent-led Raiders in an exhibition against visiting Wilmington at 7 p.m. Saturday.
College basketball teams are allowed either two closed scrimmages against Division-I foes, two public exhibitions or one of each. Sargent went with option No. 3.
And even though he’ll stick with a vanilla game plan, he hopes playing before prying eyes will help get his team ready for its much-anticipated opener at Kentucky on Monday, Nov. 4.
“I just think stepping in front of fans would be a good idea before we go to Rupp and play in front of 22,000, just to get a little taste of an in-game environment with our fans and get that in-game rhythm,” Sargent said.
“We want to make sure when the bright lights are on, even if it’s an exhibition game, that our togetherness, connectivity and defense (are all there). I want a healthy priority list for our team — not just, OK, the bright lights are on, so we’re going to get offensive minded.”
Sargant has already earned a thumbs up from his team by sticking with the motion offense that’s worked so well for years.
The Raiders have virtually no set plays, except for maybe end-of game or out-of-bounds situations. Players move constantly and are allowed to play instinctively when they have the ball.
Wright State finished fourth nationally in scoring last season at 86.5 points per game and first in field-goal shooting at 53.0%.
“I think players maybe now more than ever like the freedom, but we work really hard to educate them on what freedom means. It’s not just a flying around, and we’re just going to chuck and duck. There has to be a discipline to it. And that takes a lot of trial and error,” Sargent said.’
“That’s why I’m thankful we have a lot of experience because they’ve caught a lot of it through the years, what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Wilmington at Wright State (exhibition), 7 p.m., 101.5, 1410
About the Author