NEXT GAME
Who: Wright State at Loyola (Ill.)
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
TV/Radio: ESPN 3/106.5-FM
Mark Alstork is leading Wright State in points per game. That part has come easily.
But the junior guard wants to have the same production over the remaining two-thirds of the season while also keeping an upbeat attitude. That’s going to require some work.
The 6-foot-5 junior guard is a fierce competitor who tends to scowl more than he smiles, and he can become flustered when things aren’t going well.
He’s still deciphering how to play with intensity without letting his emotions get the best of him.
“It’s something I definitely have to try to improve,” he said. “I can get frustrated throughout games.”
Alstork said an NBA agent made an observation about him that hit home while talking to the player’s mother at a game.
“He said people shouldn’t be able to see frustration or see how I’m feeling during a game. Hearing that from someone made me realize I need to change and be more even keeled,” Alstork said.
Alstork is averaging 21.6 points, which is 28th in the country and fourth in the Horizon League. But he’s coming off a 3-for-18 shooting effort in a 72-50 loss at Penn State, continuing a downward trend that coincided with increased attention from opposing defenses.
He’s 13 of 57 from the field in his last five games (22.8 percent).
“I’m definitely struggling with learning how to play without the ball so much — because teams aren’t allowing me to just get it like I used to,” he said. “I’m struggling to learn how to play without the ball and still be an effective player on the floor.
“It’s nothing new. For the most part, the teams I’ve played on, I’ve been one of the players they’ve focused on. But it’s learning how to play against a box-and-one and being denied for a whole game or whole half and then, all of a sudden, I haven’t taken a shot for five or six minutes. I have to mature as a player and figure things out.”
Alstork, who is shooting 39.5 percent from the field, has still been scoring at a high clip because of his ability to attack the basket and draw fouls. He’s first nationally in free throws made (73) and attempts (85). He’s first on the team and fifth in the league in free-throw percentage at 85.9.
“I’m going to take what the defense gives me. When I need to assert myself, I will,” Alstork said. “I don’t really think, one-on-one, there’s a lot of people who are going to be able to guard me. As long as I trust my teammates and continue to get better, I don’t think (scoring) will be a problem even if they’re denying me.”
Wright State shot 24.2 percent from the field against Penn State. Coach Scott Nagy said he can’t recall a worse shooting performance by one of his teams in 21 years on the sidelines.
But the Raiders have gone from a structured style to an up-tempo pace in their first season under Nagy, and some duds on offense probably should be expected during the transition.
“It’s just a different system, and they’re still learning it,” Nagy said. “I don’t think it’s just Mark. I think it’s a lot of the kids. They’re trying to figure out where they fit in with the newfound freedom they have.”
Nagy has been working on Alstork’s demeanor, thinking sometimes his competitive fire can be detrimental.
“It’s a strength of his. But for all of us, the strengths we have can become weaknesses when they become overpowering,” Nagy said.
Alstork is getting the message. His goal for the Loyola (Ill.) game Wednesday is to “play happy and enjoy it,” he said.
He added: “Whether you play good or bad, God is going to love me at the end of the day, so just go out and play free and be who I am.”
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