Associate head coach Clint Sargent suggested it first. And Nagy seized on the idea.
It’s nothing out of the ordinary for them. They would have given thanks for the season if they’d lost, only in private.
“God cares about everybody on that floor. And he probably has more to worry about than a game between Wright State and Northern Kentucky,” Nagy said. “But he’s involved in all our lives. And I’ve learned — even at my lowest points — to continue to thank him.”
The 55-year-old Nagy is a devout Christian but would never be accused of being preachy. And he’s had plenty of good and bad in 27 years as a head coach to practice being grateful.
“It’s like I said at the game: Sometimes he gives you what you want and sometimes he doesn’t. But he always, ALWAYS gives me what I’ve needed,” he said.
Going with is gut: Nagy was on the mark with how he used his timeouts in the final 20 seconds against Northern Kentucky.
When Marques Warrick hit a 3-pointer to give the Norse a 71-70 lead, Nagy let his team push the ball up the floor, and point guard Trey Calvin found an opening near the foul line for his game-winning jumper with 10 seconds left.
Without taking a timeout to design a play, the Norse found themselves in scramble mode while dropping back on defense.
“I’m never going to call timeout at that point. It lets them set their defense and, in those moments, defenses are always in a little disarray,” Nagy said.
“That’s why, when we scored, I DID call timeout, so we wouldn’t be in disarray. I didn’t used to do that, but I do it for sure now.”
The Norse had to go the length of the floor, and Warrick was likely their first option given that he’d scored 28 points.
But after inbounding the ball, he never got it back.
“It was very similar to when we played at Oakland (in a two-point game Feb. 18). Trey was guarding Jalen Moore, and Trey knew Moore was going to throw it in and get it back. Trey stole that ball,” Nagy said.
“He saw Warrick was throwing it in, and he wasn’t going to let him get it back.”
Freshman forward Sam Vinson ended up dribbling the length of the court and threw a hurried pass to Bryson Langdon, who missed a contested 3 in the final seconds.
“Vinson is probably their best player off the bounce and in penetration (outside of Warrick), so he took it. But it looked like he didn’t want to take the shot. When he gave it up, we were in a pretty good spot,” Nagy said.
Stretching their legs: The Raiders took Wednesday off after winning the HL title and won’t have any intense workouts before finding out their NCAA foe during the Selection Show at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
“It’s probably the hardest time all year to practice — when you don’t know who you’re going to play,” Nagy said.
“During the season, you know who you’re going to play, and you get ready for that. Now, have three or four days when we have no idea.”
Nagy is making his fifth NCAA trip, including three at South Dakota State. Though the previous four ended in first-round defeats, his teams at times were competitive.
The Jackrabbits lost to Maryland, 79-74, as a 12 seed in 2016; to Michigan, 71-56, as a 14 seed in 2013; and to Baylor, 68-60, as a 14 seed in 2012.
The Raiders were a 14 seed when they lost to Tennessee, 73-47, in 2018.
“The main thing is to try to keep them in shape, keep them as sharp as you can, keep them healthy, obviously, and keep their edge,” Nagy said.
Reaping rewards: The Raiders don’t need to sign any new players among current high school seniors, but earning an NCAA bid on ESPN in prime time seemingly would galvanize recruiting.
Nagy, though, downplayed the bump it provided:
“We’re to the point now where we’ve had a little bit of success. The last six years, we’ve had two NCAAs and two NITs, and the year we didn’t go, we had the highest NET (or RPI) that Wright State has ever had.
“That validates what we’re doing more (than a HL championship).”
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