“I call it a ‘heart’ stat,” he said. “When I look at rebounding, if we’re getting whipped on the glass, I know they’re playing with more heart than we are.”
That hasn’t been happening too often for the Raiders, who have made giant strides in that department.
They are out-rebounding opponents by 4.5 per game. Last year, they lost the board battle by 3.4 per outing.
“It’s a gang mentality. It has to be,” Nagy said, meaning a collective effort. “We’re not very big. There’s probably not another team in the country that their starting (guards) are their leading rebounders.”
Point guard Justin Mitchell is on pace for one of the highest individual rebounding averages in the program in the last 20 seasons. The 6-foot-4 junior is third in the Horizon League at 7.1 per game.
He’s one of two guards in the top 10 along with Milwaukee’s Brock Stull, who is averaging 6.5. Fellow Raider Grant Benzinger, a 6-3 junior, is tied for 11th at 5.4.
“Some of it is just instincts, and he has a great feel for missed shots and where they’re going,” Nagy said of Mitchell.
“You can do repetitions and get guys to block out. You can do repetitions and chase the ball off the glass. But there’s some guys who are great rebounders because they have a feel that is uncoachable.”
Mitchell could become the first Raider to average more than seven rebounds since Scottie Wilson pulled down 7.2 per game in 2007-08.
Seth Doliboa averaged between 7.0 and 7.5 three straight seasons from 2001-04. The last Wright State player to post more than that was Thad Burton, who averaged 10.9 in 1997-98.
“Credit goes to our ‘bigs’ for boxing out,” Mitchell said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to get all those rebounds.
“I’m a point guard and most point guards don’t go to the basket, but I can read how the ball is coming off the rim.”
He had the most critical rebound in a 55-51 win Thursday over Cleveland State. When the Vikings missed a potential tying jump shot, Mitchell beat others to the ball, drew a foul and made the clinching free throws.
“He’s been great on the glass,” forward Steven Davis said. “Defense and rebounding are what Justin takes pride in. He’s always around the ball.”
Wright State’s rebounding prowess partially stems from a change in philosophy. Nagy wants at least three players crashing the boards on offense, while the previous staff had all five players retreating on defense to prevent fastbreaks.
The Raiders (11-5, 2-1 Horizon League) had 12 offensive boards against Cleveland State, which was critical on a poor shooting night.
They’re averaging 11 this season, up from last year’s 6.6 clip. And Nagy doesn’t believe they’re getting hurt by opposing fastbreaks.
“Some people say you can’t be a great rebounding team and be great in transition (defense), and I say, ‘Why not? Why can’t you do both?’ You just demand it. If one guy doesn’t do it, we’ll play someone else,” Nagy said.
“We’re probably not as great as some teams that check five people back every time. But we had 12 offensive rebounds, which helped us win a basketball game, and we were still good in transition.”
TODAY’S GAME
Who: Youngstown State (7-9, 1-2 Horizon League) at Wright State (11-5, 2-1)
When: 4 p.m.
TV/Radio: ASN, ESPN3/106.5-FM
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