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Post by Big D on Jan 15, 2024 12:31:04 GMT -5
The long term goal is to get out of this crappy conference and into a better one, but that is not within the control of this year's team. And yes, the goal for this season is to win the league tourney and (as you put it) "sneak" into the NCAA tournament (I'd call it earning a bid). I'd also like to win the league regular season, but the goal is to win the HL tourney. I agree with Will, if we accomplish that, it would put this year among the 5 best seasons in WSU Div 1 history regardless of whether we pull an upset or (again, your words...) "get smoked in the round of 64". The goal is very much to get out of the HL and the performance of this team is making that a much harder task. You don’t get invited to a better conference when you are coming from one of the lowest rated conferences in the country if you do not dominate that conference year in and year out. We have regressed as a program over the last 2 seasons. You can try to make any excuses you want for the reason why but that fact is we have. It’s Nagy’s job to turn things around and do it sooner vs later or the fact is he will be out of a job. My guess is he has this year and next year to do so. Wright State has limited resources financially in the athletic department and a good portion of those go to men’s basketball. The big money donors are not happy with the way things are going. They ponied up for our trip to Italy because they saw this year as a breakthrough year with the experienced roster and Tanner coming back. They aren’t happy with the result in the court and like it or not their opinion matters much more than any of ours because they write the big checks that keep the athletic department afloat. Nagy really needs to reflect on why this season isn’t working and come up with a legit plan to have it fixed next year. That could/should mean a staff shake up and some roster moves. He can make a few changes and adapt to the times or he is probably getting fired next year. Bob Grant isn’t afraid to make a move like that. He knows his whole athletic department depends on the success of the men’s basketball program. I personally like Nagy but he needs to adapt to the changes going on in college athletics with instant transfers and NIL or he is going to be out of work. |
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Post by oldschooll on Jan 15, 2024 12:39:36 GMT -5
I think Nagytook it personally when he lost two players he invested a lot into in the portal. I also think, that changed his enthusiasm about coaching. I think Nagy is a good coach and a good recruiter. That said, you have to wonder if something is going on with him. He looks not just unenthusiastic, but tired or a little worn out. When they show him on camera during the game it looks like he is at the Schuster Center watching an opera, not coaching a D1 basketball game. No matter how much you like your job, it can start to grind on you after 30 something years, plus the guy is pushing 60. What he needs is for someone to light a fire under him. Bob Grant needs to push him, somehow get Nagy fired up and reinvigorated. My suggestion would be to consider revamping the assistant coaching staff after the season. Bring in an assistant that knows how to recruit the transfer portal. Bring in a coach that can teach a zone defense to the kids. One of the most important tools of being a successful manager is to surround yourself with talented people and to delegate responsibility to them. |
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Post by willgrahamsbanked3 on Jan 15, 2024 13:40:49 GMT -5
It seems like saying we're getting better as a program is just playing the results. It's great we've made it to the tournament 2 times in Nagy's 8 years, but is that just because the Horizon has gotten so bad and some one has to make it from there? We had an AdjEM average of 124 Nagy's first year + the Love years, the last three are 170, including a Nagy WSU worst 197 last year. I agree with the angle and facts of your post and BigD's an hour ago. Just to clear up my point...I am aware that the number of NCAA Tournaments is not the end-all-be-all of program health or strongly correlated with the program's trajectory. But, for me, the excitement and long lasting memories of WSU basketball start with the teams that went dancing (whether they were 100 in Kenpom or 200). |
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Post by wsuairstrike on Jan 15, 2024 15:18:57 GMT -5
Would Nagy actually get fired vs his contract not being renewed? I wouldn't think we could do a buy out for $500k. The faculty would have a fit over it.
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Post by raiderratt on Jan 16, 2024 9:00:33 GMT -5
Why would I consider Brownell to be an outlier? So success is an outlier? I see a program that made a big mistake hiring Donlon, a league that has collapsed since then, now a solid coach in Nagy but not one who will lead this program to new heights.
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Post by nuttercenterfan on Jan 16, 2024 10:54:07 GMT -5
Why would I consider Brownell to be an outlier? So success is an outlier? I see a program that made a big mistake hiring Donlon, a league that has collapsed since then, now a solid coach in Nagy but not one who will lead this program to new heights. The Donlon mistake? Same guy that got to 3 conference title games when the league was better? Same guy that recruited half of the team that won the league in 2018? Yeah....... Big mistake... |
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Post by oldschooll on Jan 23, 2024 1:18:42 GMT -5
Looking forward to this one. Youngstown St, statistically, is the most well-rounded team in the Horizon League. They are top-3 in scoring offense, scoring defense, FG defense, rebound margin, assists, turnovers lost. Wright State looked like the savvy veteran team we were all hoping for last night against a much inferior opponent in RMU. Great passing, ball fakes, aggressiveness keeping the Colonials off balance all night. That said, I do agree with others that the starters played far too many minutes, especially once the game was "in hand" (Or at least as close a WSU game can ever be "in hand" with their defense) Interested to watch 7'3" freshman Gabe Dynes. 2nd in the Horizon League in blocks despite playing under 12 minutes/gm. He only played 1 minute in their last game Meant to get back to this post last week. Your interest in Gabe Dynes was warranted. IMO he was the difference in the game. Dynes played 25 minutes off the bench, had seven rebounds, six blocked shots, and scored 5 points. He also caused the Wright State players to alter many of their shots and this led to Wright State only shooting 41 percent for the game. Wish Wright State had a seven footer on the bench, kinda like a Parker Ernsthausen or Bruno Petersons, to give the starters a breather during the games. |
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