“I’m trying to figure out what they’re looking at,” he said. “That’s way higher than I would have thought. We lost two guys who averaged about 40 points for us.
“But it all shakes out differently anyway. It did last year.”
The Raiders lost two players to major-conference schools in Tanner Holden (20.1 average) and Grant Basile (18.5), but, after being picked second in the preseason poll last year, they won the conference tourney and an NCAA game.
Plus, they didn’t just stand pat after those departures. Among the newcomers is senior guard Amari Davis, a former HL freshman of the year. He joined teammate Trey Calvin on the preseason all-league second team.
“Amari has proven himself, and the way Trey finished last year, he showed what kind of player he is,” Nagy said.
Davis was a 2020-21 second-team all-league pick at Green Bay. He averaged 15.9 and 17.1 points with the Phoenix and then 9.0 in 32 games (13 starts) after transferring to Missouri last season.
Calvin averaged 14.6 points last season, about five more than the previous year, and he was first in assists (3.4) and steals (1.6).
He seemed to thrive in the biggest moments, averaging 18.2 points in the three games of the HL tourney and two against NCAA foes.
Though he didn’t admit it at the time, he felt snubbed over not making any of the three all-league teams last season, saying now, “I was shocked and confused.” That may have fueled his late-season surge.
“It feels good to be recognized after last year,” he said. “Last year, I feel I should’ve been at least on the third team. I have a chip on my shoulder after that.”
He’s put on about 10 pounds, bulking up to 175, and he said: “That will help me defensively and with getting my shot and getting to my spot on the floor.”
He also found motivation in the team being picked third.
“They see we lost Tanner and Grant and think we’re not going to be as good, but I think we’re going to be better,” he said. “We’ve got guys to fill their spots.
“Tanner and Grant weren’t the best defensive players. We can have a good defense with the returners.”
After flirting with a transfer to a higher a level, Antoine Davis, a four-time all-league pick, has returned to Detroit Mercy and was named the preseason player of the year. The 6-foot-1 guard has a 24.6 career average and was eligible for a fifth season because of the NCAA’s COVID-19 rule.
NKU’s Marques Warrick, Oakland’s Jalen Moore, PFW’s Jarred Godfrey and Youngstown State’s Dwayne Cohill, a former Dayton Flyer, also were first-team picks.
Robert Morris’ Kahliel Spear and NKU’s Trevon Faulkner and Sam Vincent joined Calvin and Davis on the second team.
While the Mastodons (17) and Norse (15) collected most of first-place votes, the Raiders received three, Oakland and Detroit Mercy two each and YSU one.
The Raiders, like all Division-I teams, are allowed to have two preseason scrimmages against other schools, as long as they don’t publicize the results. And Jeff Goodman of Stadium Basketball Insider reported they’ll play at Ball State on Saturday and host Kent State one week later.
Nagy said he’ll have a better handle on his team after that.
“It’s hard to say right now, but I think we’re better offensively than we were last year. We’re going to shoot a higher percentage. We’re going to have less turnovers,” he said.
“It could be that (the offense looks good) because our defense is so bad, but we’re locked in and focused, focused, focused on defense. And we can’t stop them.”
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