Retirees Association

DDN: Raiders feel like they ‘hit a home run’ with two newest recruits

AJ Braun

Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News

For Wright State coach Scott Nagy and his assistants, recruiting is a never-ending endeavor. They’re either trying to out-work higher-profile programs or looking for hidden gems.

But the staff is as close to being able to take a breather in that area as they’ll ever be after landing 6-foot-9 A.J. Braun of Fenwick and 5-11 Keaton Norris of Hilliard Bradley in the early-signing period this week.

Quality centers and Division-I-caliber point guards are hard to find, especially for mid-majors. And the Raiders are set at those spots with still one scholarship left for the 2021-22 freshman class.

“It puts us in a position where we don’t have to say, ‘We’ve gotta have this or that.’ We can go find the best player, the best fit, for us,” Nagy said.

Norris had no scholarship offers until playing in the 270 Hoops Challenge, a two-hour recruiting showcase in June for Columbus area seniors-to-be.

College coaches weren’t allowed to attend because of COVID-19, but it was available online, and Nagy knew he found his point guard when it was over. Norris accepted a full ride three weeks later.

“We’ve been watching him. They’ve been to our team camp. But that’s the first time we’d been able to see him after his junior year,” Nagy said. “He made a pretty big jump physically. When that event took place, we saw he’s just a hard, hard worker.”