Nagy was still recovering Wednesday over news that star center Grant Basile — a two-time second-team All-Horizon League pick and former all-freshman team member — was entering the transfer portal.
The fourth-year junior will have two years of eligibility at his next school.
James Manns, a seldom-used forward, also is looking to play elsewhere for his final season, but he’d already made his intentions known by being part of the Senior Night ceremony last month.
“It hurts. I wouldn’t be honest if I said otherwise,” Nagy said of losing Basile. “We poured a lot of time into him and he into us. It’s a real shock.
“But I don’t put much time into thinking about where he’s going or what he’s going to do. I’m locked in, and it lights a fire under me.”
Basile made his announcement on Twitter, thanking his former coaches and teammates along with the fans, though he didn’t explain his decision.
He probably has the skills to play at a higher level. He was fourth in the league in scoring (18.4 per game), second in rebounding (8.5), first in blocks (1.6) and fourth in field-goal percentage (49.8%).
In the last five games under win-or-go-home pressure, he averaged 19.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.\
Asked if he had an inkling Basile was leaving, Nagy said: “No. None. It’s a surprise. It’s disappointing. But we’re just trying to be there for the guys who are committed to us.”
Junior Tanner Holden led the Raiders in scoring with a 20.1 average and was second in rebounding at 7.1. He appears content at Wright State but is talented enough to move up.
“Right now, we don’t have any (knowledge) of other people are leaving,” Nagy said.
“We want all of them to come back. But I don’t want to operate in fear like that. We’re going to put our attention on the kids who want to be here.”
Though he had options to make the jump, Loudon Love played four years with the Raiders and finished last season as their all-time leading rebounding and third-leading scorer.
But anyone who believes bigger schools aren’t putting out feelers to mid-major players — or being even more aggressive than that — is probably naïve.
Nagy teed off of them last year, saying he knew for a fact Love was being courted.
“In every business, there are people who don’t do it the way they’re supposed to do it. I’m guessing that’s the same in our business,” he said.
“I think, every day, we’re recruiting our (current) players and proving to them we’re still worthy of them staying here.”
The NIL has complicated matters, too.
Six-figure annual incomes for players are being tossed around at the top level.
“It’s essentially made cheating legal,” Nagy said bluntly. “There’s practically no more cheating.
“Some people hate that. Whether I like it or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s here. We need to embrace it and figure out how we can use it to our advantage.”
According to VerbalCommits.com, 1,740 D-I players entered the transfer portal after last season. That’s an average of almost five per school.
There were 942 relocating in 2020.
The Raiders have fared better than most. Nagy has had seven transfers among the players he’s recruited in his six years.
Malachi Smith, who left in 2019, averaged 20 points for Chattanooga this season and was the Southern Conference player of the year.
Skyelar Potter and Jaylon Hall, who transferred in 2020 and 2021, respectively, finished in the top five in scoring this season for Morehead State.
“It’s not going to get any better with the NIL and everything else,” Nagy said. “It’s changed in a hurry. It’s a different day for sure.
“But as difficult as it is, we’re still trying to fight it — to keep kids committed to staying here and being part of something that’s a little more special than running around and getting what you can get.”
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