Raider Connection
Feb 29, 2008 13:14:40 GMT -5
Post by rock70 on Feb 29, 2008 13:14:40 GMT -5
www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/02/29/ddn022908raiderconnection.html?cxntnid=rc-022908
Raiders deserve congrats for 20-win season
By Marc Katz
Staff Writer
Friday, February 29, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS — No matter what happened Thursday night at Butler (and you know it wasn't good) — or what happens in the next two weeks, Wright State is to be congratulated for this basketball season.
And may I tell you I saw it coming.
I mean the 20-win part.
Wright State was 23-10 last season, but lost its two best players, Horizon League Player of the Year DaShaun Wood and Drew Burleson, to graduation.
This year's team didn't have any certain replacements for those two, and the best of the reserves were freshmen or transfers.
So my prediction was 18-20 victories. That was actually a downgrade because the WSU coaching staff kept hammering away at how young the reserves were.
I tried asking coach Brad Brownell how many games he thought his team could win, but he said he doesn't think that way.
"I'm not sitting here trying to predict," Brownell said this week. "You coach your team. You hope you make progress with your guys."
It was difficult to predict wins and losses this year anyway. Most seasons, you can run your finger down a schedule and mark the wins and losses. This year, there didn't seem to be any sure things, unless that game with Presbyterian could be considered a sure thing.
The way the games turned out, almost every one came down to the last minute. Six were decided by a point, all in WSU's favor.
Also, consider this. It was done with a lineup hit with as many injuries — maybe more — than a lot of programs around, including in town. No starter was lost for more than a game or two, but the injuries to Gavin Horne, Ronnie Thomas and John David Gardner changed the team's makeup considerably.
When those guys couldn't play, it forced Brownell and his staff to go to other guys who weren't so far ahead — like Cooper Land and N'Gai Evans. Troy Tabler had to play more minutes.
It was not ideal, but it worked. Brownell patiently pointed out his team had some injury problems, but never made them a focal point. He had no excuses.
Now, as the season nears a close, he needs none. He'd just like to wipe away the five league losses — by five points to Valparaiso, 11 to Milwaukee, three to Green Bay, two to Cleveland State and now by five to Butler.
Twenty victories — or more — doesn't seem like much to a bunch that considers only championships worth touting, but when you consider where WSU has been, it's a major step forward.
Raiders deserve congrats for 20-win season
By Marc Katz
Staff Writer
Friday, February 29, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS — No matter what happened Thursday night at Butler (and you know it wasn't good) — or what happens in the next two weeks, Wright State is to be congratulated for this basketball season.
And may I tell you I saw it coming.
I mean the 20-win part.
Wright State was 23-10 last season, but lost its two best players, Horizon League Player of the Year DaShaun Wood and Drew Burleson, to graduation.
This year's team didn't have any certain replacements for those two, and the best of the reserves were freshmen or transfers.
So my prediction was 18-20 victories. That was actually a downgrade because the WSU coaching staff kept hammering away at how young the reserves were.
I tried asking coach Brad Brownell how many games he thought his team could win, but he said he doesn't think that way.
"I'm not sitting here trying to predict," Brownell said this week. "You coach your team. You hope you make progress with your guys."
It was difficult to predict wins and losses this year anyway. Most seasons, you can run your finger down a schedule and mark the wins and losses. This year, there didn't seem to be any sure things, unless that game with Presbyterian could be considered a sure thing.
The way the games turned out, almost every one came down to the last minute. Six were decided by a point, all in WSU's favor.
Also, consider this. It was done with a lineup hit with as many injuries — maybe more — than a lot of programs around, including in town. No starter was lost for more than a game or two, but the injuries to Gavin Horne, Ronnie Thomas and John David Gardner changed the team's makeup considerably.
When those guys couldn't play, it forced Brownell and his staff to go to other guys who weren't so far ahead — like Cooper Land and N'Gai Evans. Troy Tabler had to play more minutes.
It was not ideal, but it worked. Brownell patiently pointed out his team had some injury problems, but never made them a focal point. He had no excuses.
Now, as the season nears a close, he needs none. He'd just like to wipe away the five league losses — by five points to Valparaiso, 11 to Milwaukee, three to Green Bay, two to Cleveland State and now by five to Butler.
Twenty victories — or more — doesn't seem like much to a bunch that considers only championships worth touting, but when you consider where WSU has been, it's a major step forward.