But his wife? Probably most Wright State fans don’t know she had a better high school career than her husband, and, like him, starred at South Dakota State.
The former Jill Young scored 3,317 points at Mitchell High School and was named South Dakota’s Miss Basketball and Gatorade player of the year.
Most coaching husbands can expect their spouses to commiserate after a tough day on the job. But Clint not only gets understanding, but strategic feedback, too.
“She’s a competitive advantage,” he said.
“She played. She’s a sounding board for all the hard moments. She’s the best.”
The 14th-seeded Raiders (23-11) play third-seeded Virginia (29-5) at 1:50 p.m. Friday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, where the 76ers and NHL’s Flyers play.
The Cavaliers are 18.5-point favorites, which isn’t a surprise since they’re the second-best team from the ACC.
The Raiders also have a young team, starting three sophomores and a freshman (though they go 10 deep).
But Sargent doesn’t think youth is necessarily a disadvantage.
“Sometimes being young, you don’t know what you don’t know. That can allow you to be fearless, and these guys have proven they have that over the longevity of the season,” he said.
“These guys are going to show up and embrace the moment.”
Sargent was an assistant for three previous NCAA games at Wright State: a 87-70 loss to Arizona after a First Four win over fellow-16 seed Bryant in 2022 and a 73-47 defeat to Tennessee in 2018.
Asked what it takes to compete with top-echelon programs, he said: “It starts with doing the simple things. You’ve got to defensive rebound, you’ve got to get back in transition, you’ve got to be great defensively, you’ve got to have clean possessions, you’ve got to really take great shots. It’s a matter of discipline, really.”
But he added: “It’s disciplined aggression. You can not be passive. It’s a fine line between going out there and losing your mind with aggression because you have to have aggression, but with us, it’ll be disciplined — how we defend and how we get our defense set will be most important.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Sargent had perhaps his top professional highlight at the Selection Show. After feeling as if he let folks down in his first season, he relished wrapping up the night by addressing the crowd and being greeted by all those smiling faces.
“It’s what you dream about — to give back to the university that’s given me and my family so much and a fan base that’s given us so much,” he said.
“It’s the best part of the job.”
ABOUT VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers haven’t won an NCAA tourney games since winning the title seven years ago. They’ve made three trips in the last five years but have been knocked out in the First Four or first round each time.
They became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed when Maryland-Baltimore County pulled off the shocker in 2018.
They’ve won 13 of their last 15 games and fell by four to No. 1 Duke in the ACC title game.
Next game
Who: Wright State vs. Virginia
What: NCAA first round
When: 1:50 p.m. Friday
Streaming: TBS
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
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