NEXT GAME
Who: Toledo at Wright State
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: Nutter Center
TV/Radio: ESPN3, 106.5-FM
Wright State coach Scott Nagy knew when he was recruiting Mike La Tulip as a high school prospect that the slick-shooting guard would be a good fit in his program.
He just had to wait five years to get him.
After averaging 22.5 points and earning all-state honors at Prospect High School in Illinois, La Tulip spurned scholarship offers from 15 schools — including one from Nagy’s previous team, South Dakota State — to be a walk-on for the home-state Illini.
Though he couldn’t crack the regular rotation, he has no regrets with the path he took. He played on a team that won the Maui Invitational, knocked off No. 1 Indiana and picked up a first-round win in the NCAA tournament.
What’s more, he earned a degree in communications.
But he had a yearning compete at the college level, and he could transfer without sitting out a year since he was a graduate with one year of eligibility left.
He heard from about 30 schools, including South Dakota State again. And after Nagy took the Wright State job, he kept pursuing the 6-foot-1, 175-pound La Tulip, who made a visit to the school and fell in love with the place.
>>> PREVIEW: Toledo at Wright State
“Once I came here and saw the facilities — and I love the coaching staff and the guys here — it was a pretty easy decision,” La Tulip said.
“I consider myself an extremely competitive person. In my four years, I was able to release that competitiveness in practice every day, but I at least wanted to get a taste of what it was like when I used to play a lot in games. I’m thankful.”
The Raiders are grateful to have him. Nagy calls La Tulip the team’s best 3-point shooter. He’s hit a pair of treys in each of the first two games and is 4-for-9 this season.
“Mike’s a good player because he knows what he’s good at, he knows what he’s limited by and he doesn’t try to do things he can’t do — which is what we need all our players to do,” Nagy said. “Mike is highly competitive, a good addition. He’s gone against a lot of good players over the years. He’s not afraid of anybody.”
La Tulip, who played in 48 games for Illinois with a career high of 14 points, was known in high school as a 3-point specialist. He had 11 in a fall-league game and eight in a regulation contest.
And while he still brings value with his ability to stretch a defense, he’s played the third-most minutes on the Raiders because he’s a tenacious defender.
“If you’re watching Mike, you’re not going to say that’s his strength. But I think he’s bought into that philosophy, and he knows if he’s going to stay on the floor, he’d better guard. He’s working really hard at it,” Nagy said.
“He’s very tough, highly competitive, gritty. Even though he doesn’t weigh a lot, he’ll fight you. We like that about him.”
The Raiders need more of their players to adopt La Tulp’s mindset. Their two wins — 89-87 over Miami and 85-81 at Southern Illinois — were offensive shootouts and exposed the Raiders’ defensive shortcomings.
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They hadn’t given up 80-plus points in back-to-back games since losing to Georgetown and DePaul early in the 2013-14 season.
“What I took pride in during high school is different than what I take pride in now,” La Tulip said. “In high school, I’ll be the first to admit, you focus a lot on your offense. You want to score a lot. But my main focus now is defense, because I know that’s what’s going to keep me on the floor. When you defend, then you’re an asset.”
He also hopes to set the tone for the team with his never-give-an-inch style.
“At my size, you kind of have to be that way,” he said. “I think as guys look at you — and I don’t look at myself as the most intimidating person — you’ve got to bring something to the table. I try to be fearless and show that to my teammates, too, because that can be contagious.
“In my four years at Illinois, I was playing against Big Ten players in practice. I’ve seen the cream of the crop. There’s not really a lot that scares me. I think that’s a positive.”
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