They’re 349th out of 362 Division-I teams in defensive efficiency, giving up 1.139 points per possession.
That’s way down from last year when they were a respectable 138th and reached their goal of giving up less than one point per possession at .997.
But knowing he’s probably pounded away at their shortcomings long enough, Nagy took a different tact this week.
“The conference season just started. There’s certainly stuff to get fixed. I’m still confident we will. It doesn’t MEAN we will, but I believe we can. The key is getting players to believe it and see themselves differently,” he said.
He seemed fed up and sounded off on his post-game radio show after losing at Milwaukee on Sunday, saying: “I can’t have any babies in the locker room. If we’re going to pull that, we’re going to have to remove them. We need tough people now.”
Asked if those comments were meant to send his players a message, he replied: “Well, that probably was getting a message across to me first. I’m not necessarily saying ‘tough’ in terms of being physical or anything on the floor. It’s being able to deal with the dips in life and not fold up.
“That message is mostly for me. Otherwise, I can’t get it across to the players.”
One area where Nagy was willing to expound on more this week than in the past was how proficient the Raiders have been on offense.
They’re averaging a robust 83.5 points per game, which is tied for first in the league and 32nd in the nation.
That’s on pace for the program’s highest average since the Ralph Underhill-coached Runnin’ Raiders from in the early 1990s.
Nagy’s team has a share-the-ball mentality, and every starter has an impressive field-goal percentage:
Tanner Holden is first in the league at 58.6% and is shooting 45.5 from 3.
Trey Calvin is sixth in the HL at 47.8% and is hitting 42.1 on 3′s.
Brandon Noel is at 49.2% overall, A.J. Braun 66.0 and Alex Huibregtse 46.9.
“Tanner has always been an efficient offensive player. Trey has always been efficient — and Brandon, too. Those three guys take most of the shots. And A.J. has always shot a high percentage,” Nagy said.
“It’s the players. I don’t think we’re doing anything different than what we’ve done since we’ve been here.”
But Nagy deserves credit, too. In an age of micromanagers among coaches, he gives his players plenty of freedom with his motion offense.
He doesn’t run plays. He puts players in position to MAKE plays.
“That’s what motion is — allowing them to take advantage of their talent.” he said.
The Raiders are shooting 52.4%, which is on pace to set a school record for the Division-I era (since 1987) and is second in the nation behind only Colorado State’s 53.2.
They’ll likely need to keep that up when they face Cleveland State (10-5, 3-1), which has finished first, first and second in the HL regular-season race the last three years.
It’s probably too early to put the game in the must-win category, but, with three straight road games coming after that, a sense of urgency is advisable.
“They’re very good,” Nagy said of Cleveland State. “They’re physical, super athletic and highly aggressive. It’s obviously a big challenge for us.”
The Vikings have a proficient offensive player themselves in 6-foot-8 senior forward Tristan Enaruna, who is fourth in the HL in scoring (17.9) and field-goal shooting (51.3).
He was a first-team all-league pick last season.
“He’s a great player,” Nagy said.
THURSDAY’S GAME
Cleveland State at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN2, 101.5, 1410
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