The 1970–71 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team represented Wright State University in the 1970–71 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. This was the inaugural varsity season, led by head coach John Ross. They played their home games at Stebbins High School in Riverside, Ohio.
Background Wright State University was launched in the mid-1960s along with Cleveland State University to add additional public education opportunities in Ohio. Under the leadership of Dr. Brage Golding It became an independent school in 1967, and by 1968 the school decided to launch an athletic department. Dr. Golding asked Don Mohr to lead this effort. Don Mohr later served as athletic director and baseball coach.
After launching one of the first varsity soccer teams in the area, Don Mohr turned his attention to basketball with the belief that varsity basketball would do the most to increase awareness of the new university. He hired John Ross as head basketball coach, who was a successful local high school basketball coach as well as a college scout. In 1969-70 Wright State competed as a junior varsity team, then in the following year Coach Ross led the team on its inaugural campaign. For this 70-71 campaign Coach Ross brought on long-time Wright State coach Jim Brown as his assistant.
These early teams operated without an established history or tradition. Team members washed their own laundry, typically ate cold sandwiches after late-night practices, received limited scholarships, and traveled by van.
Roster
Sources
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=|Regular season
Sources
Statistics Number Name Average Points Rebounds 23 Magill 16.8 420 98 20 Donahue 13.3 334 140 23 Thacker 13.3 333 224 21 Fogt 11.8 296 209 25 Minch 8.8 222 187 12 Clark 6.3 153 60 23 Wilkerson 8.5 94 32 23 Tollinger 3.1 73 40 23 Walker 3.6 55 38 23 Woosley 3.0 48 41 23 Schrier 4.0 8 5 22 McCurdy 2.8 31 33 23 Cross 0.4 4 3 23 Cornett 0.1 1 2
Awards Mark Donahue MVP Bill Fogt Raider Award
References