Connectivity guides Raiders into March Madness
From the beginning second-year coach Clint Sargent and his gamers, six of whom had been again from final yr’s 15-18 disappointment, mentioned that is the important thing to their 23-11 turnaround, which has earned them a spot because the No. 14 seed right here.
“Last year, we had a great group of dudes, but we didn’t have this level of connectivity,” mentioned 6-2 sophomore Solomon Callaghan, the Raiders’ fourth main scorer (9.9). “That all translates.
“I feel like we embody that when we play. I feel like that’s the biggest difference going from 15-18 to the NCAA Tournament.”
His coach contests.
“We’re very connected, very real,” mentioned Sargent, who was an assistant on Scott Nagy’s workers the final time Wright State made it to the Big Dance in 2022. “They’ve been absolutely from day one in the summer very honest and open with what they struggled with coming off 15-18 and how hard that was.
“I could tell from day one I had a group of young men that wanted to be real. From there you have a chance to be very good on the basketball floor.”
Now how does that translate when they take on 29-5 third seeded Virginia?
“It’s going to come down to still playing our game,” mentioned Michael Cooper, the group’s main scorer, (13.4). “Make them play at our pace instead of settling for what they want to do.
“You can’t be scared to go down there, but we have to be smart. They’re really good at crashing the offensive glass. We have to block them out and limit them to one shot per possession.”
At the same time Sargent wants them to savor this moment — to a degree.
“There’s a fine line between absolutely enjoying every part of this, because you want them to, but then also understanding our responsibility to put our best foot forward and to perform and compete,” he emphasised. “You think about the amount of thousands we’ve traveled, the diving, all the things.
“Just to wake up and have another day. When you’re rooted in humility and gratitude, it gives you your best chance to be present. When you can have that be your lead foot, all the performance all the pressure of it starts to fade away, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Still, since the Horizon League champions learned their fate Sunday it’s been a thrill ride. “It’s a super surreal moment,” Callaghan admitted. “One you’ve been waiting for your entire career.
“It was initially just extreme excitement. After that, you got to lock in and game plan.”
But it’s even more special for one Raider.
“I haven’t been on winning teams,” mentioned Sr. ahead Michael Imariagbe, their third main scorer (11.8) who’s taking pictures a blistering 58.9% from the sector. “This is the first year I’ve been on a winning team with this new group of guys.
“When I decided to stay, I didn’t know what was going to happen this year, but it’s been fun.”
For the enjoyable to proceed into Sunday towards both Tennessee or a potential rematch with upstart Miami — who knocked them off 83-76 again in December — the Raiders know it is going to take a supreme effort. At the identical time Virginia, which is aware of what it is wish to lose to a decrease seed—having develop into the primary No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 when UMBC shocked them in 2018 is taking nothing without any consideration.
“We have a lot of challenges,” mentioned Riley Odom, who took over for Tony Bennett, who bounced again from that indignation to win all of it the next yr. “They’re extremely well-coached and they know how they need to play on offense and defense in order to be successful.
“They put pressure on you at the rim, whether by the drive or the post-up. They’re a really good passing team and cutting team and they defend really, really well. When you have that balance on both sides of the ball, you have a chance to advance in this tournament.
“They have our full attention.”
With that, let the insanity start.
