“Most of it is they don’t know how to play basketball the way we do,” Nagy said of the newcomers, which include freshmen Tyler Mitchell, Jaylon Hall, James Manns and sophomore transfer Bill Wampler.
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Redshirt freshmen Everett Winchester and Loudon Love and sophomore transfer Cole Gentry practiced with the team last year but did not play.
“My freshman year we had like seven new guys, so it reminds me a lot of that,” senior Grant Benzinger said. “We have a lot of new guys that don’t know the system. We’re teaching them how to play the game right, the hustle plays and the importance of offensive rebounding.
“So far they’ve been pretty impressive,” he added. “So far they haven’t looked like freshmen. They’ve handled themselves well. They work hard. It’s been awesome.”
In addition to losing seniors Steven Davis and Mike La Tulip off last year’s 20-win squad, the Raiders were forced to find replacements for two others when leading scorer Mark Alstork went to Illinois as a graduate transfer and sophomore Ryan Custer suffered an injury in April that left him paralyzed.
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Because of Custer’s injury, the Raiders have another open scholarship, but Nagy said it likely will go unused this season.
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“There’s a pretty good chance we won’t use it because we’re not going to add somebody just to add somebody,” he said.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Wampler (Drake) is ineligible this season and Gentry (South Dakota State) can’t play until the end of fall semester.
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That means the five freshmen have a chance to play big roles, especially Tyler Mitchell, who could find himself running the point in the season opener.
“All my life I’ve been training to play college basketball,” Mitchell said. “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m just trying to put on some weight and get stronger and get my 3-point shot better.”
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The lack of a true point guard was an issue for the Raiders last year, but Justin Mitchell stepped into the role better than anyone could have hoped, leading the team in assists (4.0) and rebounds (8.3) while adding 11.5 points per game.
With the addition of Tyler Mitchell and Gentry, both of whom are true point guards, Justin Mitchell will be able to move to his more comfortable spot at 2 guard.
Nagy said his message to Tyler Mitchell is the same as it is for all of the freshmen.
“All I’m telling them is I want them to play free and wide open and not worry about making mistakes,” he said. “Let’s find out what you can do when you’re completely turned up.
“For freshmen, they’re trying to figure out where they fit in and don’t want to cause any waves. But I want them to cause waves. If you can start and be our best player, be that guy.”
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