There’s nothing better than the start of basketball season, and when you get to celebrate that start early with an exhibition it’s even better. Last night, Wright State welcomed in the Wilmington College Quakers from Division III to prep for the season ahead.
In comparison to another Gem City team ten miles down the road who was holding their own exhibition, Wright State brought in and easily dispatched their Division III foe. The Raiders used their quick transition offense and man-to-man pressure to go up by ten early on in the game and kept their foot on the gas pedal throughout. By the time the Raiders were up by 30+ in the second half, the freshmen additions to the squad were put in the game to show off their skills. At the end of the night, the team won soundly at 108-59 where all 14 members saw the floor and made impacts to the game.
Some notable stats of the night include five double-digit scorers in Logan Woods, Keaton Norris, Jack Doumbia, as well as freshmen Ayden Davis and Alex Bruskotter. The Raiders’ rebounding margin was +32, one of the highest in recent memory.
It had been 6 years since Wright State last held an exhibition match in their home stadium and this newest iteration of the squad did not disappoint. Here are some of my impressions of the exhibition matchup:
The speed will continue – Last season, Wright State ranked as one of the highest pacing teams in the NCAA. During this game, nothing looks to have changed. The Raiders kept up an offensive pace that saw them regularly scoring 80-90 points in games in the past and continued to effectively pass and assist each other throughout. The 108 points scored last night is the highest since facing Northwest Ohio in 2022.
“There’s a rhythm to motion, a rhythm to basketball and everybody on our team I feel like has a pretty good understanding of when to make that next play,” Sargent commented on the pace. “So yeah, I’m glad to see that show up.”
Keaton Norris may be phenomenal – After scoring 11 points on near perfect shooting and tallying a game leading 5 assists, Norris made a statement for himself after spending a year in redshirt. Whenever Norris was in possession of the ball, he was making the necessary moves to get points on the board whether through his passing plays or his three point shot. When Woods was also on the field, the two worked in concert to rain threes on the opposition.
Imariagbe and Doumbia fit in seamlessly – The two transfers impressed in their first showings in green and gold with Michael Imariagbe (Eh-mar-ee-bay) showing strong rebounding skills and Jack Doumbia (Doom-bee-uh) showing some flashy quickness in driving to the rim. Imariagbe led the game with 10 rebounds.
“He has incredible hands. His timing on rebounding and his ability to rebound out of his space is really good. He plays extremely hard and I love that he wants to win… I’ve been getting upset with some other guys about their lack of rebounding but maybe it’s just because Michael is getting all of them,” Sargent chuckled.
Zone! – While it wasn’t the main theme of the day, Wright State was able to sneak in some 2-3 zone coverage in practice against the Quakers. Its appearance was brief and although the Quakers were able to get points when it was implemented, the basics of the scheme looked to be fleshed out. Time will tell if this will become a reliable defensive scheme for the Raiders.
The future is bright – I would hate to be the one making redshirt decisions this year with the glimpses we saw of the freshmen. During 10 minutes of play, C Ayden Davis and G Alex Bruskotter were able to put up double digit points while Andrea Holden slotted himself just behind the lead rebounder with 7, four of which were offensive rebounds. They also handled themselves really well while on the floor, not making too many mistakes and getting back into transition quickly.
Clint Sargent remains undefeated – Fun little factoid, Coach Sargent has had games in the head coaching chair due to COVID sidelining Coach Nagy for a time. With this recent matchup (and with a reported victory in a secret scrimmage against Bowling Green), he remains an undefeated head coach. On the sideline, Coach Sargent could be seen smiling and chatting with his bench throughout the game.
Next up – Wright State starts the season officially at Rupp Arena against University of Kentucky on November 4th. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU as both Clint Sargent and Mark Pope take over head coaching roles at their new institutions.
“I want to step in to the lion’s den with this team and not flinch,” Sargent commented ahead of the UK game.
