The word coach Scott Nagy has been pulling out repeatedly to describe his team is “soft.”
The Raiders are giving up 78.8 points per game, which is last in the Horizon League and 331st out of 351 teams nationally.
Opponents are shooting 47.9%, which puts them ninth in the HL and 333rd in Division I.
And while they’re on pace to set 30-year highs for the program in points per game (81.8) and field-goal shooting (50.8%), Nagy said: “We’re one of the top offensive teams in the country, and I still don’t feel like it’s very good.”
But Calvin, a fifth-year guard who is second in the league in scoring with a 21.0 average, has seen the Raiders go through rough starts before and finish with a flourish.
They lost seven of their first nine games two years ago but captured the league tourney and won an NCAA First Four game.
“I feel we’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “Obviously, we have a lot to work on. But I have faith in this team and faith in our coaches. We’ll be good in the end.”
The Raiders were third nationally last year in field-goal shooting at 49.6%, trailing only Gonzaga and Colgate.
They’re 16th this year but have reason to believe they’ll climb even higher.
They have three of the top individual percentages in the league: A.J. Braun is first by far (68.2), while Tanner Holden is fifth (51.1) and Calvin seventh (48.4).
Brandon Noel, the league leader last season at 60.9%, has gotten off to a slow start at 46.6. And Alex Huibregtse’s shooting is down slightly from 46.9 to 44.8
That’s why it seems likely they’ll become the first team at Wright State to top 50% since the Bill Edwards-led bunch hit 51.6 in 1992-93.
“We make a lot of layups and take a lot of shots in the 10-foot zone in the paint,” Calvin said, explaining their shooting prowess.
But he was quick to add: “It doesn’t really matter if we’re not playing good defense. We’ve got to focus on that.”
Calvin scored 20 points in a 64-60 road loss to the Hilltoppers last season. But while they’re considered one of the nation’s best mid-major programs, they’ve undergone radical changes.
Coach Rick Stansbury resigned after seven years and is now an assistant at Memphis. New coach Steve Lutz led Texas A&M-Corpus Christie to the NCAA tournament the last two years.
Star guard Dayvion McKnight, who scored 32 against Wright State, transferred to Xavier.
And 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp, the tallest player in college basketball, transferred to Ole Miss.
He led the nation in blocks the last two seasons, averaging 4.1 and 4.6, and was a two-time Conference USA defensive player of the year.
He looked as if he was playing on stilts, and asked what it was like going against him, Calvin said: “It was fun, but it was hard. He was contesting every single shot in the paint. It was hard to get anything around the rim.”
The Hilltoppers (7-3) are coming off a 82-65 win at Buffalo. They led by 21 at halftime.
They were picked third in the CUSA preseason poll. Liberty and Middle Tennessee State were named co-favorites.
“They’re in the top 10 in the country in average length of possession. They’re going to play fast. They get it and go up the floor. They take quick shots and are ultra-aggressive offensively,” Nagy said.
“My hope is, emotionally, we’ll be much more locked in (than the last two games) or we’re going to get smoked. We have to be much more prepared — and I expect we will be.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Western Kentucky at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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