Wright State Raiders men's basketball

History

Wright State first sponsored men's basketball in 1970 under the direction of Coach John Ross. First year varsity letter winners included: Mark Beilinski, Jerry Butcher, Mark Donahue, Jerry Hecht, John Hildebrand, Chuck Horton, Jim Schellhase, Doug Taylor, Jim Thacker. Mike Zink. Paul Brown, and Gary Webb. Jim Thacker was named the MVP and Chuck Horton, Mark Donahue and John Hildebrand took the foul shooting honors. In 1983, Wright State won the Division II NCAA Tournament. Wright State moved to Division I in 1987, and have made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1993 and 2007.

Paul Biancardi era (2003–2005)

On April 8, 2003 Wright state announced that Paul Biancardi would be the new head coach. Before coaching Wright State Biancardi was an assistant at St. Louis, Boston College and Ohio State where he coached under Jim O'Brien. Recognized nationally, Biancardi was named the No. 1 assistant coach in the country by Hoop Scoop Online. In his first season as coach, Wright State finished with a 14–14 record and finished 5th in the Horizon League Standings with a 10–6 conference record and lost to Loyola (IL) in the first round of the conference tournament. In the 2004–2005 season Wright State would finish with a 15–15 while finishing 6th in the conference standings with an 8–8 record. During the Horizon League tournament the Raiders would beat Butler in the first round but lost to Detroit in the second round. In 2005–2006, Wright State's final record was 13–15, with an 8–8 conference record they would finish 7th in the standings. The Raiders would once again have an early exit from the Horizon League tournament, losing to UIC in the first round. Despite never having a winning season in the three seasons that Biancardi coached at Wright State, it was his recruiting classes that would set the Raiders up for success in the future. Wright State and Biancardi agreed to part after the NCAA barred him from recruiting for violating rules while he was an assistant at Ohio State. Biancardi's final record at Wright State was 42–44

Brad Brownell era (2006–2009)

Brad Brownell left his position with UNC-Wilmington to take over the head coaching duties at Wright State beginning in the 2006–2007 basketball season. In his first season, Wright State was the regular season Horizon League Champion, going 23–10 overall, and 13–3 in conference play. Their 3 losses were at Youngstown State, at Butler, and at Milwaukee. In an impressive season, Wright State only lost one home game all season, that was a 3-point loss to Bowling Green. In the Horizon League Championship game, Wright State edged Butler 60–55 at the Nutter Center, and secured an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. They eventually earned a 12 seed, and lost in the first round to Pittsburgh.

The next three seasons were not as successful for Brownell as his first. Wright State has not won the regular season title since 2006. Wright State finished 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd respectfully over the 2007, 2008, and 2009 seasons. However, Brad did lead Wright State to 20-win seasons in each of his four years with the program. After the conclusion of the 2009–2010 season, Brad Brownell left Wright State to take the head coaching job at Clemson University.

Brownell finished his coaching at Wright State officially 84–45 and 49–21 in conference play in 4 completed seasons. More impressively, Brownell finished 58–10 in home contests over his 4 year tenure.

Billy Donlon era (2010–2016)

Billy Donlon took over the Wright State Men's Basketball program after the announcement that Brad Brownell would be leaving for Clemson. He has been the coach since the 2010–2011 season. In the 2012–2013 season, after being projected to finish last in the league, Wright State finished 3rd in the Horizon League, and earned a first round bye in the Horizon League tournament. Wright State would beat Youngstown State in the second round of the tournament to advance to the conference semi-finals where they would play the defending Horizon League tournament champion Detroit. Miles Dixon hit a baseline jumper from behind the backboard as time expired, lifting Wright State into the Horizon League tournament championship game for the first time since the 2009–2010 season. The team went on to lose to Valparaiso in the Horizon League Championship game by 6 points. Wright State was invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they would make it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual tournament champion Santa Clara. Billy Donlon also earned the Horizon League Coach of the Year award for Wright State's performance in the 2012–2013 season.

Building on what Brownell had started, Donlon presided over the most successful Wright State era since Coach Underhill left. Over his six seasons he accumulated an overall record 109–94 and played for the Horizon League Championship three of his final four seasons (2014–2015 was marred by injuries).

The 2015–2016 season was particularly impressive as Donlon guided a team projected to finish in the bottom half of the league to a second-place finish that included victories over every league opponent and a school-record 13–5 mark in the Horizon League regular season.

Following this impressive season Coach Donlon was controversially fired by athletic director Bob Grant. Bob Grant stated that the popular coach had failed to deliver a “top 100 program” and lacked wins against top-25 schools. Several pundits pointed out this was due to Butler leaving the league and athletic director Bob Grant consistently failing to provide a quality schedule.

Several coaches and pundits spoke critically of the unusual firing, including Archie Miller (UD), Chris Mack (Xavier), Paul Biancardi and Dan Dakich. Prior to the announcement, rumors persisted that Bob Grant had a personal difference with Coach Donlon and had given him an ultimatum to make the NCAA tournament to keep his job. For his part Bob Grant insisted that one of the best four-year runs in Wright State history reflected a diminished product on the court.

Retired numbers

Facilities

The Wright State Raiders currently play their home games at the Ervin J. Nutter Center. Ervin J. Nutter, donated $1.5 million to Wright State University in 1986. Funds from both the state of Ohio and the university contributed an additional $8 million to construction efforts which began in 1988. Completed in 1990, Wright State would host the first event on December 1 where they would defeat Tennessee State 88–66.

Coaches

The Raiders have had 8 coaches in their 43 years of history. Current coach Billy Donlon was hired in 2010 after Brad Brownell was announced as the new Clemson coach. Brownell is one of two coaches that has brought Wright State to the NCAA tournament, the other being the winningest coach in team history, Ralph Underhill. Underhill coached from 1978 to 1996 and accumulated 356 and a NCAA DII national championship in the 1982–83 season.

Seasons

WSU's records season by season since joining Division I in 1987.

Record vs. Horizon League opponents

Gem City Jam

The Wright State and University of Dayton series is known as the Gem City Jam. The two universities are located in Dayton, Ohio, only 10 miles apart from each other. Although the two schools no longer compete in this rivalry, they still compete against each other in other sports. The series currently favors Dayton at 5–3. The last meeting was held at the University of Dayton on December 13, 1997, Dayton won 94–63.

NCAA Division I Tournament history

In the Raiders 7th season as a DI program they defeated UIC in the Mid-Continent Conference championship game to make their first NCAA tournament appearance where they would face Indiana and lose 54–97. In 2007 Wright State made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament facing Pittsburgh and lose 58–79.

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Raiders have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament eight times. Their combined record is 12–8. They were the 1983 National Champions.

CBI results

The Raiders have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Their record is 2–1.

CIT results

The Raiders have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 1–1

Tournament championships

Wright State has 2 conference tournament championships, most recently in 2007 under coach Brad Brownell. The first championship came in the 1992–93 season under Ralph Underhill. The Raiders have appeared in 4 Horizon League/Midwestern Collegiate championship games, most recently was in 2013 where they lost at Valparaiso 54–62. Wright State's first and only appearance in the Mid-Continent Conference championship game resulted in a 94–88 victory over UIC.

All-Americans

(*) Denotes Honorable Mention

Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year

Horizon League Player of the Year

Raiders in the NBA

Two Wright State alumni have gone on to play in the NBA. They are: