Wright State coach Scott Nagy: Raiders ‘as deep as we’ve been since I’ve been here’

What he’s seen in preseason practice should send shudders around the conference:

“We only have 13 guys on the team, which is really shallow. But in terms of guys who can play for us, we are deep — probably as deep as we’ve been since I’ve been here.”

The headliner is league player of the year Loudon Love, a fifth-year senior who averaged 15.9 points and 9.7 rebounds last season. He’s been a model of consistency over his career, and the only thing that changes from year to year is how he wears his hair (will it be a man bun, cornrows or Samurai ponytail?)

The 6-foot-9, 260-pound center is 15th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,365 points, just behind Hall-of-Famer Bob Grote. He’s also second in career rebounds with 882 and needs only 26 to pass Bill Edwards.

He’s also a lock to break the record for career rebound average, which is 8.7. He’s currently at 9.2.

“He’s stayed in shape, hasn’t gained a lot of weight,” said Nagy, who is in his fifth year with the Raiders and 26th overall. “He looks good. He’s quick. Really, no one can deal with him (in practice), which is normal.”

The Raiders — who went 25-7 last season to tie the program record for wins in the Division I era (since 1988) — will have a dynamic supporting cast again, including a pair of all-freshmen team picks: 6-6 Tanner Holden, who averaged 11.8 points on 61.1% shooting, and 6-9 Grant Basile, who started five games last season while Love was out with a fractured elbow and averaged a double-double in that span (13.8 points, 10.0 rebounds).

Another key returnee is fourth-year junior wing Jaylon Hall, the team’s assist leader (2.9 per game) and a long-armed defender.

Sophomore point guard Trey Calvin earned crunch-time minutes last season. And 6-7 junior James Manns can be expected to provide instant offense off the bench. He scored 142 points in 195 minutes in 2019-20 (29.1 points per 40 minutes).

“We’ll play slower, a little more methodical. We’ll probably throw it inside more,” said Nagy, named the league coach of the year. "I think we have a chance to be a better defensive team and a better rebounding team. We were a good rebounding team last year, but we have a chance to be bigger and more physical.

“It’s not going to be in the 50s,” he added of the scoring average, “but it probably won’t be in the 80s, either. It’ll be ground and pound.”

The Raiders, who were NIT-bound before the tourney was cancelled because of Covid-19, will miss graduates Bill Wampler, a 3-point specialist and second-team all-league pick, and Cole Gentry, a third-teamer who ended up second behind Jesse Deister on the school’s all-time free throw percentage list (.866).

But Tim Finke, a 6-6 sophomore transfer from Grand Canyon, is a deep-ball threat. And Nagy has been pleased with his five-player freshman class, including 6-3 guard Andre Harris, who redshirted last year.

“Our freshmen have played very well. They’re going to push the other guys,” Nagy said.

But the Raiders aren’t exactly going into the season with a pat hand.

“The biggest hole we have to fill is who’s going to be the point guard? We probably have three or four guys who can play that position, but that’s the biggest thing we have to figure out,” Nagy said.

“Cole played so many minutes, but it doesn’t have to be just one guy like that who plays 35 minutes. We have several guys who can do it.”