Wright State Raiders
2018-2019 Overall Rank: #141
Conference Rank: #2 Horizon
The expectations are rising at Wright State after the program went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The Raiders did not give Tennessee much of a game in the NCAA Tournament, but Coach Scott Nagy has done good things with this program since taking over prior to the 2016-2017 season. Last year Wright State ended the regular season with a 14-4 record, one game back from a regular season title, so this year the goal will be to win the Horizon League regular season title on top of the conference tournament.
2017-18 Record: 25-10, 14-4
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Scott Nagy
Coach Record: 45-22 at Wright State, 455-262 overall
Key Departed Players:
Grant Benzinger, Guard, 14.3 ppg
Everett Winchester, Guard, 8.0 ppg
Justin Mitchell, Guard, 11.1 ppg
Tye Wilburn, Guard, 2.0 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Loudon Love, Sophomore, Center, 12.9 ppg
Mark Hughes, Senior, Guard, 9.7 ppg
Cole Gentry, Junior, Guard, 9.1 ppg
Parker Ernsthausen, Senior, Center, 5.3 ppg
Jaylon Hall, Sophomore, Guard, 9.1 ppg
Alan Vest, Senior, Guard, 0.8 ppg
Key New Players:
Bill Wampler, Junior, Forward, Transfer from Drake
Skyelar Potter, Freshman, Guard
Malachi Smith, Freshman, Guard
Grant Basile, Freshman, Forward
James Manns, RS Freshman, Forward
Projection:
The backcourt has some work to do with the departure of Grant Benzinger, Justin Mitchell and Everett Winchester. The Raiders spent most of last season without Mitchell anyway and they do return plenty of backcourt experience. Cole Gentry will handle the point guard duties and the junior is a steady playmaker and decent offensive threat, especially behind the arc. The backup point guard spot could prove to be a concern this year though. Mark Hughes will again man the shooting guard position after averaging 9.7 points last year. He will likely be the top outside shooting threat on the team. Jaylon Hall can knock down some shots too and, whether starting or not, can spark the offense. The addition of Bill Wampler, a transfer from Drake, will provide the Raiders with another shooter from the wing. Loudon Love is the star of the frontcourt. The 6-9 center had a superb freshman campaign, averaging 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He is an efficient scorer in the paint and will only get better as his overall game develops. Parker Ernsthausen is an experienced big man, but the frontcourt does lack depth and redshirt freshman James Manns will need to play a relatively large role. If that lack of depth catches up to Wright State, they may fall just short of their Horizon League championship goals.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.4 (241st in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.9 (29, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.2 (252, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.5 (48, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.8 (260, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.7 (242, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.5 (163, 6)
Rebound Margin: 2.5 (93, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.1 (207, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.1 (193, 3)
