1997-98 was a season of change. WSU President Dr. Harley Flack introduced the university community to a fresh-faced young coach[1]
, a revamped roster and, surprisingly, even a new mascot.[2]
The rumors that the old mascot was considered “racist” or “sexist” appear to be unfounded.
Ed Schilling
New head coach Ed Schilling lived the old adage that you never want to follow a legend.
He was lured away from the New Jersey Nets of the NBA to fulfill the vision of President Flack
and athletic director Mike Cusack to make the Raiders a "top 50 program" with "top 40" attendance.
[3][4]
Right from the start he promised to work his players "harder than they've ever been worked" and demand strict discipline.[5]
This inevitably was challenging for the roster he inherited, who had been recruited
by Ralph Underhill and Jim Brown. He worked hard to fill roster positions as they opened, and his recruiting would show a willingness to take chances on talented players with troubled history, trusting his rules-based approach to give guys a fair chance.[6]
What was inescapable, however, was that the former hoops star and high school coach had only one year of experience as a college assistant and one in the NBA. He was a young, ambitious coach taking over from a legend at a university that expected to win big.[7][8]
Roster Changes
Joining
Incoming freshman recruits were forward Onome Scott-Emuakpor from East Lansing,[9]
guard Brandon Pardon from Van Wert Lincolnview,[10] and Center Bruno Petersons of Wheaton Acadamey in Illinois.[11]
Tony Baultrippe, a point guard out of Ellet High School in Akron, joined the Raiders from Iowa Western Junior College.[12]
Forward Sherman Curry from J.F. Shields High School in McWilliams, Alabama transferred in from Wallace State Community College.[13]
Marvin Rogers, a 6' 9" forward, was a controversial late signing from Wallace Community College due to past legal trouble from his time at West Virginia.[14][15]
Inus Norville tranfered in from University of Massachusetts to redshirt for his transfer year.[16]
Leaving
Rob Welch graduated following the 1996-97 season.
John Sivesind (G) left the team on April 24, following a season where he started 27 games and was named to the Horizon league all-newcomer team, saying "I don't want it to be a job."[17]
De'Andre Shepard (F) left the team on April 24.[18]
Lequient Lewis (C) was dismissed by Coach Schilling on June 18 for missing classes and tutoring sessions.[20]
Mark Oliver (F) was placed on academic probation in September.[21][22]
Michael Richardson (G) quit the team on November 8 to transfer to Georetown College in Kentucky.[23]
Marvin Rogers (F) was dismissed February 3 for missing classes. He had previously missed 5 games from three separate disciplinary issues.[24]
Tony Baultrippe (G) was dismissed February 13 for missing class, although it was also announced that he was charged with criminal damaging resulting from a disturbance at Wallaby's Sports Bar.[25]
Final Result
A difficult first season for the new coach. A university that clearly wanted more winning and less chaos hadn't yet achieved
those goals. An eight game league losing streak buried any hopes of a rebound season. Suspensions and dismissals showed that all was not well inside the locker room. The season did end on an optimistic note with a 3-2 stretch run to finish league play including an upset of Butler who was ascendant as the league's top program. This was followed by an upset of #2 seed UIC in the MCC tournament before losing to eventual champion Butler.[26]
Roster
1997–98 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team
