The second-year Wright State coach — who turns 37 on Sept. 10 — can see now his timeline was a little ambitious, but he wasn’t off by much.
He and wife Jill, who was his girlfriend at SDSU and a women’s hoop standout herself, are expecting their fifth child Oct. 25. The new addition will join Gracie (11), CJ (8), Jordy (6) and Landry (3) in the Sargent brood.
“I thought the quiver was full before it was,” Sargent said, laughing. “It’s overflowing.
“We sure love it. We’re having a blast. It’s the best role I have.”
Jill actually found out about the baby near the end of last season, but she kept the news to herself, wanting her husband to give the final few games his full attention.
“I actually referenced (that assignment) to Jill when she knew she was pregnant and when I didn’t. It was like, ‘Hey, do you remember that paper I wrote? I said by the time I’m 30, I’d love to have five kids and be a head coach,’” he said.
Jill may have wanted to burst but stayed mum.
“The Lord’s been so good,” he said. “We knew we’d love to have a big family. It’s just funny how fast life moves. You fast-forward from writing that paper in a psychology class with my then-girlfriend to today, and No. 5 is on the way.”
Sargent welcomes the turbulence that’s bound to be coming in his personal life, but he wouldn’t mind a little less of it in his professional life.
He has to replace his top four scorers from last season, all of them leaving the program with eligibility left — Brandon Noel (Ohio State), Alex Huibregtse (Bradley), Jack Doumbia (Towson) and Keaton Norris (Samford).
The Raiders, who finished 15-18 for their first losing season in 10 years, lost 71.6% of their scoring and 71.1% of their rebounds.
The experienced returnees are Logan Woods, who averaged 6.9 points, Michael Imariagbe (6.7), Solomon Callaghan (6.7) and Andrea Holden (4.1).
The Raiders have been going through their eight-hours-per-week organized workouts and start practice Sept. 22.
Sargent has opted for now to keep the intensity low and interaction high.
“With how much time you get with your team in the summer and the fall, we’ve taken the approach of just getting our players together — less skill work and more teaching all the way around,” Sargent said.
The staff picked up four transfers: TJ Burch (Ball State), Bryan Etumnu (Merrimack), Dominic Pangonis (Stephen F. Austin) and Sam Alamutu (Vermont).
Like nearly every Division-I team, the Raiders can’t really tell what they have while playing against each other. But Sargent likes the vibe among the players.
“I’ve really enjoyed the personalities of the team. To me — with all the things you’re evaluating and with everybody retooling their rosters every year — you want to make sure you can grow together. To do that, you need the right people and the right character,” he said.
“It sure seems like this team is very close off the floor. We have a ton of good energy and excitement to everything we’re doing.”
SCHEDULE: Sargent said he was close to releasing a full schedule but still needed to nail down some contracts.
The Raiders did announce they’ll be playing in the two-game Greenbrier Tip-off in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
They’re in the River Division and will face Radford at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, and Kent State at noon the next day. The games will be played in a 1,000-seat gym at the Greenbrier Resort.
About the Author