Following consecutive fourth-place finishes, the 2002-03 Raiders won only four Horizon League
games, stumbling through a 1-6 stretch near the end of the year that was largely uncompetitive. Reportedly Coach Schilling
himself was questioning whether his team had quit on the season.[1]
It was the sort of season that gets a coach fired. The team could shoot, but it was small and overwhelmed many nights.
Attendance had dropped off about 2,000 fans a night from the highs during the 90's, and was trending down.[2] All three freshman recruits were unavailable because two quit before the season began and a third was injured. The junior college transfers made only modest contributions to the cause. While Schilling had incentives in his contract to stay among the top 150 programs in the country[3] (roughly
the top half), the Raiders were reported to be 230th in the nation.[2]
Aftermath
Ed Schilling was fired at the end of the season with three years remaining on his contract.[4] "Private funds"[4] were to pay the remainder he was owed. He had been brought in to follow the legendary Ralph Underhill, and he
embraced the herculean task of producing a top 50 program with top 40 attendance.[5][6] This perhaps
unrealistic goal was
again mentioned after his dismissal.[2]
The swarm of players quitting the team, or in some cases dismissed from it, was not unexpected during the transition to a new coach, but instead of abating it became a yearly theme. Not every player who left was
a big contributor, but it became a troubling pattern. Whether it was bad luck or poor recruiting, it
looked bad. In the end, 25 players had left the Raiders program with eligibility remaining in just
six seasons.[7]
Roster Changes
Joining
Trent Vaughn (F) a junior college 3-point shooter from Itawamba.[8]
Lloyd Walls (C) a junior college post player from Ivine Valley College.[9]
Drew Burleson (F) recruited from Wheelersburg unfortunately began his college career with ankle surgery.[10][11]
Leaving
Mark Surgalski was recruited out of Ashland, Kentucky; but did not start school in September.[12][13]
Donta Patterson was recruited out of Columbus Brookahaven; but left the team citing burnout before the season began.[14][15]
Malcolm Andrews was dismissed from the team in February. The family and the school shared differing versions of the events with the local media.[16][17]
Roster
2002–03 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team
