Horizon League Preview: #6 Wright State Raiders

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Everything lined�up perfectly for Wright State during the Horizon League Tournament. The third seeded Raiders knocked off Cleveland State in the semifinals, and host Green Bay was upset by Milwaukee. Wright State’s lineup of five seniors that helped win six straight games prepared to host a team that hadn’t won in Dayton in over a decade, and Billy Donlon looked poised to make his first NCAA Tournament. But a quick start by Milwaukee was too much for Wright State to overcome, and the Raiders fell 63-69.

Mar 11, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; Wright State Raiders forward

(11) during the first half against the Milwaukee Panthers during the championship game of the Horizon League tournament at the Nutter Center. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Outside of losing the lineup that helped the team get to the Horizon League championship game, Wright State’s biggest story this offseason involved legal troubles. The biggest story broke last week, when Donlon dismissed rotation player Tavares Sledge. Sledge missed 12 games last season following an arrest that resulted in a 19-day stay in jail. Junior forward JT Yoho was arrested for drunk driving and sophomore guard Mark Howell was cited for underage drinking. To this point, no punishment has been announced for either Yoho or Howell.

Nobody in the Horizon League faces the roster turnover that Wright State does. Five of the top six scorers on the Raiders roster graduated. The good news for the team is that Coach Donlon uses bench players extensively: four returning players averaged more than 20 minutes per game. Still, replacing former All-Horizon League forwards AJ Pacher and Cole Darling will be difficult for a team that brought in mostly guards in recruiting.

With so many departing players, it’s no surprise that Wright State has a big�recruiting class coming to Dayton. Two junior college transfers will be joined by six freshmen this fall.

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Junior college transfers Michael Karena and Joe Thomasson figure to be the significant�additions to Wright State’s roster. Following the dismissal of Sledge, big man Karena will make an immediate impact with the team. While his numbers at South Plains Community College weren’t particularly impressive, he reportedly played through injury last season. Given that some impressive schools showed interest in him, it’s fair to believe that his numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Guard Joe Thomasson is a local product that joins Wright State after two seasons at State Fair College. Thomasson starred at Thurgood Marshall High School and committed to Oklahoma State before failing to qualify academically and heading to junior college. While his recruiting list�isn’t as impressive as it was out of high school, beating out programs like Creighton and St. Louis is a pretty impressive feat for Wright State. Thomasson will be an instant-impact addition to the team.

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With Sledge’s dismissal, it seemed that post players Parker Ernsthausen and Zach Lett would see immediate playing time, but Justin Boggs of the Wright State Guardian indicates that the plan is still to redshirt both players�. Expect Roderick Davis to see a substantial playing time as one of two players over 6-foot-7 on the team’s bench.

Given Coach Donlon’s tendency to use a large rotation of players, at least a couple of the incoming guards are likely to see the court regularly. Justin Mitchell and Grant Evans are both talented scorers, with each setting career scoring records in high school.

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Determining the starting lineup for a team that uses everybody in the rotation nearly�equally isn’t easy. Last year Cole Darling was an unquestioned starter�after earning Second Team All-Horizon League honors as a junior, but at the end of the season he was ninth on the team in minutes per game. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see several familiar faces in the team’s lineup this year.

While Wright State lost most of its minutes leaders from last season, four rotation players return and it seems that each of the four has a great chance to earn a spot in the starting lineup. Three senior guards return to a backcourt�that is otherwise very young. Reggie Arceneaux, Kendall Griffin and Crishawn Hopkins played extensively and all three are strong candidates for starting jobs. Transfer Joe Thomasson is the top contender for one of the three backcourt spots, but unless he clearly beats out one of the returning players he might have to earn his starting position during the season.

JT Yoho and Michael Karena likely fill Wright State’s front court. Yoho is the team’s returning leader in several categories and neither sophomore Steven Davis nor incoming freshman Roderick Davis is likely to overtake him in the starting lineup. Karena is almost certain to start because the team’s severe lack of size leaves him as the only option. Without giving Karena starter minutes, the team won’t have enough size to compete in Horizon League play.

Normally, a team losing five of its top six scorers would be pegged to finish closer to the bottom of the league than most are predicting Wright State to finish this season. Billy Donlon’s substitution patterns allow the Raiders to overcome this by giving experience to players whose spots in the rotation usually wouldn’t command 20 minutes per game. Still, the team lacks frontcourt depth and is likely to struggle with conference foes that have more talented forwards.

Projected Finish: 6^th�Place