Wright State’s 2017-2018 Basketball Roster

Get to know Wright State’s 2017-2018 basketball roster

2017-2018 Basketball Roster

Roster for the 2017-2018 Wright State men’s basketball team

Head Coach: Scott Nagy

assistant coaches Aric Brooks, Billy Donlon, newly hired Jamie McNeilly

Taylor Adway 6’5″ G/F Junior Dayton, Ohio (Dunbar HS)
Steven Davis Jr. 6’0″ G Senior Indianapolis, Ind. (Broad Ripple HS) Preseason All-Horizon League
Mark Alstork 6’5″ G/F Senior Chicago, Ill. (Proviso West HS) 2017-18 Second Team All-Horizon League
Loudon Love 6’9″ F Freshman Fairfield, Ohio (Fairfield HS) honorable mention all-state as a junior and senior

Koby Avila 6’0″ G Freshman Los Angeles Calif. (Payne HS) all-area as a junior and senior by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

2017-2018 Season Outlook

Wright State enters the 2017-2018 season with high hopes. The Raiders are coming off a 2016-2017 campaign in which they won 22 games and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. Wright State returns four of its five starters from last season, including leading scorer Grant Benzinger (16.5 ppg). The Raiders also bring back point guard Cole Gentry, who led the Horizon League in assists (6.2 apg) last season.

Wright State will look to build on last season’s success and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018. The Raiders will have their work cut out for them, as they will face stiff competition from within the Horizon League Defending league champion Oakland is always a tough out, while Wright State’s in-state rivals Cleveland State and Youngstown State are also expected to be near the top of the standings.

Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Wright State is poised to make another run at an NCAA tournament berth in 2018. With a strong core of returning players and some promising newcomers joining the fold, the Raiders have all the pieces in place for another successful season

Key Returners

The Wright State men’s Basketball team will have a experienced and deep roster in the 2017-2018 season. The Raiders will feature eight returners from last year’s team, including six who played in at least 30 games.

Headlining the group of returners is senior guard Grant Benzinger, who was named First Team All-Horizon League last season after averaging 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game Benzinger will be joined in the backcourt by fellow senior Mark Alstork, who averaged 15.5 points per game last season and was named Honorable Mention All-Horizon League

In the frontcourt, Wright State will be led by junior Loudon Love, who averaged 11.9 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season. Love will be joined in the frontcourt by fellow juniors Parker Ernsthausen and Billy Wampler. Wampler was limited to just nine games last season due to injury but averaged 10.1 points per game as a freshman in 2015-2016.

Newcomers

The 2017-2018 Wright State men’s basketball team will have six newcomers, including four who will be eligible to compete this season.

Joining the team are graduate transfers Cole Gentry (San Jose State) and Grant Benzinger ( Northern Kentucky), junior college transfer Skyelar Potter ( Sinclair Community College) and freshman Jaylon Hall (Springfield).

Gentry, a 5-foot-10 point guard played two seasons at San Jose State after transferring from Ventura College. He averaged 10.1 points and a team-best 4.6 assists as a junior last season.

Benzinger, a 6-foot-7 forward, played three seasons at Northern Kentucky, seeing action in 102 games with 63 starts. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a junior last season while shooting 42 percent from three-point range

Potter, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, played two seasons at Sinclair Community College As a sophomore last season, he averaged 16.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 60 percent from the field. He was named second team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference and was an honorable mention NJCAA Division II All-American.

Hall, a 6-foot guard/forward, was a three-year starter at Springfield High School where he averaged 14 points per game as a senior while helping his team to a 24-4 record and the regional semifinals for the second straight year.

Position Breakdown

Wright State’s 2017-2018 Basketball Roster includes 1 Senior, 4 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, and 6 Freshmen.

*Positions:*
--point guard (1): Senior
--shooting guard (2): Junior, Sophomore
--small forward (2): Junior, Sophomore
--Power Forward (3):Junior, 2 Sophomore
-Center (3): 2 Freshman, 1 Sophomore

Schedule

The following is Wright State’s 2017-2018 Basketball Schedule The Raiders will look to build on last year’s success and make a run at the NCAA tournament

-11/10 vs. Northern Kentucky
-11/12 vs. Wright State
-11/17 at Dayton
-11/19 vs. Ohio
-11/24 vs. Miami (OH)
-12/2 at Purdue
-12/5 at Xavier
-12/9 vs. Oakland
-12/16 at Detroit Mercy
-12/19 at Toledo
-12/21 vs. Youngstown State
-1/2 vs. Green Bay
-1/4 at Milwaukee

Game-by-Game Analysis

The 2017-2018 Wright State men’s Basketball team represented Wright State University during the 2017-18 NCAA Division I men’s Basketball season The Raiders, led by fifth-year Head Coach Billy Donlon, played their home games at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio as members of the Horizon League They finished the season 22–13, 14–4 in Horizon League play to finish in second place. They defeated Youngstown State and Oakland to advance to the Championship game of the Horizon League Tournament where they lost to Northern Kentucky. As a regular season league champion and tournament runner-up, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Notre Dame

Predictions

Wright State’s 2017-2018 Basketball Roster has yet to be released, but we can make some predictions based on the team’s previous season. The Raiders are likely to return four starters from their 2016-2017 squad. They will also have several Key Players returning from injury, including Big Ten transfer AJ Avery.

Wright State will have a strong core of experience and talent, and they should be able to build on their success from last season. They will be one of the top teams in the Horizon League and should be in contention for an NCAA tournament berth.

Season Wrap-Up

Wright State’s 2017-2018 basketball season came to an end in the NCAA tournament’s first round after a hard-fought loss to Tennessee. The Raiders finished the season with a record of 25-9, their best since joining the Horizon League in 2001.

Wright State was led by seniors Grant Benzinger and Mark Alstork, who were both named to the All-League first team. Benzinger averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5% from the field, 37.5% from three-point range, and 85.7% from the Free Throw Line Alstork averaged 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 47.4% from the field, 32.7% from three-point range, and 78.9% from the free throw line

The Raiders will return four of their five starters next season, as well as their leading scorer off the bench in sophomore Loudon Love. With another year of experience under their belts, Wright State will be looking to make a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season.

Off-Season Plans

The Wright State men’s basketball team is looking to rebound after a disappointing 2017-2018 season. The team has a lot of talent, but they will need to make some changes in order to compete at the top of the conference. The Coaching Staff is currently evaluating the roster and making plans for the off-season. Here is a look at the current roster:

point guard
-Cole Gentry
-Bracket Wallace

shooting guard
-Jaylon Hall
-Mark Alstork

small forward
-Loudon Love
-Trevor Anderson

power forward
-Bill Wampler Jr.
-Darius Quisenberry
center
-Steven Davis – Parker Ernsthausen