Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State coach Scott Nagy was trying to figure out what he had in Malachi Smith through the first half of the season. And the freshman guard was trying to get a read on Nagy at the same time.
“I didn’t know how he coached in games that much. I didn’t know what ticked him off and what didn’t,” Smith said.
During that feeling-out process, Smith played tentatively. And as much as Nagy wanted to build a deeper bench to withstand the rigors of the season, he had only two subs in could trust, junior Bill Wampler and freshman Skyelar Potter.
- PREVIEW: Wright State vs. Green Bay
But in a tight tussle at Youngstown State on Jan. 17, with his team mired in funk with an 8-10 record, Nagy looked over his limited options and decided to give Smith one more chance.
The 6-foot-3 Belleville, Ill., product responded with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in a game that changed the course of the season while also propelling Smith to new heights.
The Raiders prevailed, 80-74, and have won 12 of their last 14 games to improve to 20-12 going into the Horizon League semifinals.
The defending tourney champs are the No. 1 seed and will play fourth-seeded Green Bay (17-15) at 7 p.m. Monday at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. No 2 seed Northern Kentucky (24-8) faces No. 4 Oakland (16-16) at 9:30. Both games are on ESPU.
After averaging 2.8 points while shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 66.7 on free throws in the first 18 games, Smith has surged to an 8.9 average while hitting 48.9 from the field and 89.2 from the foul line in the last 14 games.
“Malachi had a very slow start but never moped, continued to listen to us, continued to trust the coaching staff, and started to play with confidence,” Nagy said. “Obviously, the Youngstown State game up there was a big switch for him, and he kind of took off.”
