With Wright State sending three of its members of the 2014 senior class to Europe to play professional basketball, the trio of former Raiders have represented WSU well overseas.
Last week, AJ Pacher was named Eurobasket.com’s Player of the Week after scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds in a win for Starwings in the Swiss leagues. Last Sunday, he followed that award-winning performance with another double-double scoring 25 points.
Along with Pacher, Matt Vest and Cole Darling have played significant roles on their European squads. Vest has played in all seven games for BIG Oettinger in Germany averaging five points a game. Darling has started three games for ZTE in Hungary averaging over 10 points a game.
WSU head coach Billy Donlon said he has stayed in touch with his former players.
“They are going to go through tough times because the pro season is long,” Donlon said. “It is different than over here. You only play once a week. When you’re a basketball player and that hasn’t been your lifestyle as a basketball player, and you have a bad game, it lingers. When guys have a bad game over there, I’ll send them a message and say, ‘Hey, I know you have had a bad game, don’t worry about it.’”
Donlon said last week that Jerran Young will potentially be a fourth 2014 grad to join the professional ranks. He is recovering from a shoulder injury and could join a professional league in Australia in January.
For current and incoming players to WSU, Donlon said the program’s history of developing professional talent is a nice motivator for players.
“Players remember their recruiting rankings (out of high school),” Donlon said. “AJ and Matt, I don’t say this to belittle them, but people got it wrong. They weren’t rated high. Matt Vest was considered a Division II player by every talent scout in Ohio. AJ wasn’t rated high.”
