But the real catalyst behind the transformation occurred behind closed doors — in the locker room, in meetings, in practice — where the players made a commitment to tracking wins this year more than their minutes.
Coach Clint Sargent didn’t come up with a fresh approach to building the culture — he was preaching the same thing while going 15-18 in his first season. But this group embraced the change.
“Credit to the players because they were trusting through it all,” Sargent said.
He first had to convince them to buy into a 10-man rotation, which is seldom done. But the Raiders, who are 23-11, did so well at restocking their roster that they almost had no choice but to make room for 10.
In the previous three years, they rotated eight, seven and seven players with the game on the line.
“When you’re playing a big rotation, probably every game somebody’s getting squeezed out of a minute or two they deserve. But they continue to sacrifice, put the team first,” Sargent said.
“That’s allowed us to have one of the healthiest, most competitive cultures I’ve ever been around. We practiced very well. That’s allowed us to grow. It’s allowed us to win different ways — games where you have to score 100 and games where you win in the 60s. Depth was really a difference-maker for us.”
For the first time in 13 years, the Raiders didn’t have a player average 30 minutes per game.
Reggie Arceneaux averaged 29.4 and Kendall Griffin 29.1 for that 2012-13 team, which went 23-13.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Solomon Callaghan led the way with 28 minutes per game this season, and five others averaged in the 20s.
Most years, multiple players have topped the 30 mark.
Having a deep bench did require increased conversation with players, but no ego-massaging.
“A big part of how we tried to handle it was to communicate as much as you can to the team AS a team. There’s some things you have to work out and listen to one on one, which our staff does a great job of. But everyone knows what’s being said behind one door is being said to the whole team,” Sargent said.
“I think that’s very important in this era: the trust factor.”
Having versatility with the roster meant the coaches had plenty of options. Foul trouble was never an issue, and they didn’t have to stick with guys who were having off nights.
“We said it early: Our biggest job as a staff is seeing our personnel clearly, in the moment, in the heat of the battle, and getting the right guys on the floor at the right moments,’ Sargent said.
“Thankfully, to our staff’s credit and to our player’s credit, we were able to do that.”
Next game
Who: Wright State vs. Virginia
What: NCAA first round
When: 1:50 p.m. Friday
Streaming: TBS
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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