Another recruit for the Raiders

By Marc Katz | Sunday, November 8, 2009, 02:41 PM

FAIRBORN — Cory Stanton, a point guard from Springfield, Tenn., has given a verbal commitment to Wright State and says he expects to sign his letter of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the signing period.

Stanton, listed at anywhere between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot, will be the fourth commitment for the Raiders, who also have a commitment from Chaminade-Julienne’s Mark Vest, who will enter school next fall but not receive a scholarship or begin play until the following season.

“I have a great relationship with my high school coach,” Stanton said, “and I want to have that same kind of relationship in college. I felt comfortable with the coaches at Wright State and wanted to get this out of the way. I didn’t want to be bothered during my high school season.”

Stanton averaged 19.9 points and six assists for Springfield as a junior.

Wright State’s other recruits for 2010 are 6-4 Kegan Clark of Jeffersonville, Ind.; 6-9 A.J. Pacher of Vandalia Butler and 6-7 Cole Darling of Holt, Mich.

When they sign, the Raiders will have one scholarship remaining.

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New lineup, lots of options

By Marc Katz | Friday, November 6, 2009, 08:30 AM

FAIRBORN — When the starting lineup was announced Thursday night for the exhibition game against Central State, Vaughn Duggins wasn’t in it and neither was John David Gardner.

Oh, and in the stands was Will Graham.

Those are three starters from last year’s team that went 20-13.

Part of the reason — okay, most of the reason — the Raiders didn’t win more was because Duggins missed all but four games with an injury and Gardner missed 12 with an injury.

However, that helped this year’s team. N’Gai Evans and Troy Tabler, both juniors now, had to play more, and both were in the starting lineup Thursday, taking the place of Duggins (short suspension) and Gardner (a little longer injury leave of absence).

For now, the point guard duties will be left with Evans and freshman Darian Cartharn, but even those two were outdone on the assist line by Tabler (five) and another junior, Scott Grote (four).

This was just one game, and against a Division II opponent as well, but WSU fans had to like what they saw. Everybody played, everybody scored, and the Raiders hit 56.1 percent of their shots, 47.6 percent from the 3-point line.

Wright State won 83-55, and at one point led 70-35.

Senior Todd Brown showed he’s ready to become a leader on the team and is working hard to avoid the early-season slump he encountered last year. Ronnie Thomas and Cory Cooperwood are stronger inside.

But it’s players such as Evans and Tabler, forced into action a year ago, who might make the biggest difference in the Raiders.

Duggins is expected to come back strong following his three-game regular-season suspension, and coach Brad Brownell hopes Gardner will be able to finish the season the way he started last year.

All is not lost without them, though. Evans and Tabler — and Grote — are playing more with Duggins and Gardner out of the lineup. That additional experience should help considerably by the time the Horizon League schedule begins.

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Raiders make it look easy in exhibition

By Marc Katz | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 08:46 PM

FAIRBORN — Exhibitions are supposed to be a mismatch, and this one was, although there was some worry that nearby Central State would give Wright State a tough battle tonight at the Nutter Center.

The Raiders took an early 16-4 lead and went on to beat the Marauders 83-55 in front of about 3,000 fans.

Since it was an exhibition game, the Raiders, a Division I team, had to play down a division. Central State is Division II.

Wright State, which opens its regular season in a four-team tournament in Seattle on Nov. 13, opened the scoring on a Ronnie Thomas layin just 35 seconds into the game.

Soon, every player in WSU’s starting lineup scored, including Todd Brown, Cory Cooperwood, Troy Tabler and N’Gai Evans. Tabler took the place of Vaughn Duggins, who was suspended for this game and the first three games of the regular season by coach Brad Brownell for an off-court incident.

Evans is in the lineup because John David Gardner is out following hip surgery. Gardner also missed the final 10 games of last season, allowing Evans, a junior, to gain valuable playing experience.

Brown led the Raiders with 17 points and Tabler added 12. Gino Smith led Central State with 19.

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A first look at the Raiders

By Marc Katz | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 09:22 AM

FAIRBORN — Exhibition games serve their purpose, I guess, allowing teams to play a game and find out what their early-season strengths and weaknesses are.

Sometimes, they’re used just to allow a Division I school to show superiority over a school in a smaller division.

Whatever the reason, it’s a first chance to see the team other than in a scrimmage against itself, and Wright State provides an interesting game tonight against Central State at 7 o’clock.

Not only will the Raiders be on display for the first time, but they’ll be playing another area team, and one that is also expected to be good this season.

This is the second straight year the Raiders have provided an interesting match-up. Last year, WSU invited a DII school from Texas that featured Cooper Land’s bother. Land is a WSU junior forward.

Always, a DII school such as Central State, wants to test itself against a DI school, and in this case, the two schools are only a few miles apart. So fans shouldn’t come to expect a rout.

That’s good, even in an exhibition. Wright State will be expected to win, but the teams should make it an enjoyable evening.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, WSU senior Todd Brown has changed his number from 21 to 32. The change is because his father wore 32 as a player. Asked why he didn’t change his number sooner — since no one else on the team has worn that number in Brown’s previous three seasons — Brown said James Craft had the number when he came in.

Craft left the team before Brown’s freshman year began, but Brown never bothered to make the change.

Now, with one year left, he has.

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Shorthanded Raiders not complaining

By Marc Katz | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 07:15 AM

FAIRBORN — John David Gardner walked into the Setzer Pavilion without crutches Monday and impishly said, “I should be ready to play next week.”

Of course, that’s not the case following a second hip surgery just last week, but Gardner said his rehab is coming along fine.

“They didn’t do as much as they did the last time they went in (in April),” Gardner said. “But no, I won’t be able to play next week.”

Gardner was being counted upon to help the Raiders to a faster start than last season’s 0-6 nightmare. Now, not only will he be on the sideline when WSU is at Seattle for three games in a tournament with Washington, Portland State and Belmont, another key teammate will be there with him.

Sunday, the Raiders participated in a closed scrimmage at Eastern Kentucky. Under NCAA rules, coaches aren’t allowed to give scoring summaries and the like about those scrimmages, but WSU coach Brad Brownell said the scrimmage went well.

Over the weekend, Brownell also suspended junior Vaughn Duggins for three games, the result of a drunk driving charge in August.

That leaves the Raiders short-handed, but Brownell said he did what he thought was right.

It might also be pointed out the Raiders played their final 10 games last season without the injured Gardner or Duggins in the lineup and won six of them. Two of the losses were to league champion and nationally-ranked Butler.

Certainly the Raiders have replacements, with juniors N’Gai Evans and Scott Grote likely to fill the early-season holes. One thing about injuries and suspensions, they give opportunity to others. Evans especially has gained valuable experience the last two seasons because of injuries to others.

Thursday, we’ll be able to see how it’s working out as the Raiders host Central State in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center.

Just a week after that, the team will be flying to Seattle, where Gardner and Duggins won’t be needing their uniforms.

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Duggins suspended three games

By Marc Katz | Saturday, October 31, 2009, 04:17 PM

FAIRBORN — There was probably no way Wright State basketball coach Brad Brownell was going to make everybody happy, so he didn’t try today, when he announced a three-game suspension for star junior guard Vaughn Duggins.

Duggins, who also will not be allowed to play in Sunday’s closed scrimmage at Eastern Kentucky or in Thursday’s exhibition game against Central State, will accompany the Raiders for their regular-season opening Seattle tournament appearance Nov. 13-15, but will not play in the games against Washington, Portland State or Belmont.

Duggins is being suspended for being picked up Aug. 28 for OVI — operating a vechicle under the influence. He was stopped by an Ohio State Highway Patrolman near the WSU campus and a breath test showed him at .163, more than twice the allowable limit.

“I feel like the punishment is appropriate,” said Brownell, who is at home tonight to go trick-or-treating with his two young daughters. He’ll join the team for the scrimmage Sunday. “It’s as simple as that.

“The season is starting, and we’re just trying to get ready to go. It’s in the best interest of the team to put this behind us.”

As a freshman, the 6-foot-3 Duggins was a key addition to a team that won the Horizon League championship. As a sophomore, he led the team in scoring, and was leading the team last year when he broke his shooting-hand finger before the fourth game.

He ended up playing in that game, but eventually took a medical redshirt and has two years of eligibility remaining.

While his loss will obviously hurt the team, the Raiders did recover to win 20 games last season without him, and his suspension will leave the team vulnerable as John David Gardner, who replaced Duggins so well last season, is also out with a hip injury.

Gardner missed the final 10 games last season and is expected to miss at least that many to start this season.

“It’s less than ideal,” Brownell said. “But we think we run a good program with good kids.”

In order to send the message that’s the way he wants it to stay, Duggins — who has not been in trouble in three previous seasons — will have to sit.

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Nice introduction for teams

By Marc Katz | Friday, October 30, 2009, 08:59 AM

FAIRBORN — Thursday night was a nice way for Wright State to introduce its men’s and women’s basketball teams to the community.

There was plenty of candy at the Nutter Center, lots of skill contests for the players and a Halloween-themed video involving the men’s team.

And, of course, there was the Thriller dance performed by all the players.

What struck me was the general buzz among the fans, especially the season ticket-holders who had a special reception in the upstairs Berry Room. For the first time in a long time, there are some expectations here, especially on the men’s side.

Remember, when coach Brad Brownell took over in 2006, the Raiders had not posted a winning record for four seasons and had not won 20 or more games since 1992-93. The Raiders went 23-10 and won the Horizon League regular season (tied) and tournament championships.

DaShaun Wood was a senior on that team.

The next year, the Raiders went 21-10, their first back-to-back 20-win finish in their Division I history.

Then last season, despite injuries to Vaughn Duggins, then John David Gardner, the Raiders did it again, finishing 20-13 when 20 victories seemed impossible.

Now, the Raiders are a more mature team, and seem to be healthy, save for Gardner, who will be out with a hip injury for 6-8 weeks. Ironically, his injury last season led to more playing time and the development of N’Gai Evans and Scott Grote, so the team is more equipped to deal with Gardner being out of the lineup.

Besides, if the choice were to have Gardner at the end of the season rather than the beginning, the end would be preferable.

It can be argued, the Raiders — for the first time in years — are expected to win at least 20 games this season. Hopefully, those fans who showed up Thursday will bring their friends to the games to find out.

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