Following Wright State’s 81-55 win over Indiana-Wesleyan during an exhibition game on Oct. 30, head coach Mike Bradbury was not completely convinced his team was as dominant on the glass as the box score suggested.
To get a better idea how his team matched-up physically, WSU took part in a closed-door scrimmage Sunday against a Division I team that Bradbury said would challenge the Raiders, especially in the rebounding department. On Monday, Bradbury was not long on specifics, but said the scrimmage was beneficial. 
“We competed and it was good for us,” Bradbury said. “We got a lot out of it, for what we needed and most of all it gave us some good game tape to watch. Hopefully we’ll grow from that.”
Where WSU will not be able to improve is in its height. Bradbury’s three-guard starting five of Kim Demmings, Ivory James and Tay’ler Mingo stand 5-8, 5-7 and 5-7. In 2012, the undersized and oft-injured Raiders finished near the middle of the conference in most statistical rebounding categories, despite their physical shortcomings. The team was forced to substituted athleticism for verticality- a philosophy that Demmings said will serve WSU well in 2013.
“We already know that there’s going to be teams that have way more size than us, but at the end of the day, we feel like we work our hardest and we’re not going to let anyone out-work us,” Demmings said. “With the competition we play, we go out there and compete our ass off. That’s how we get our rebounds.”
The Raiders’ hands-off Approach to defense
Bradbury has made one thing perfectly clear to his team during practice when defending an opposing ball handler: don’t touch them.
In actuality, the Raiders have no choice about it. 
Among several rule changes for the 2013-14 season the NCAA has implemented, hand-checking, or lack thereof, has taken center stage. Defenders are no longer permitted to keep a hand or forearm on an opponent, put two hands on an opponent, use a forearm to impede the progress of an opponent or continually jab by extending an arm or a hand or forearm on the opponent.
According to the NCAA’s website, the modification of the hand check rule will allow for more offensive freedom, provide clarity for officials in making this difficult call and enhance the balance between offense and defense.
WSU forward Tayler Stanton said the rule changes took getting used to.
“I did have to re-adjust. You used to be able to put your forearm on them to defend. Now you can’t do that, so I have to remember to stay low and keep my feet moving because I used to be able to control the player with my hands,” Stanton said.
Another rule change coming this season to women’s basketball only is the implementation of the 10-second rule. Teams now must cross half court in under 10 seconds to avoid a turnover. The Women’s Basketball Rules Committee said “adding the 10-second rule will increase the speed of the game and create more offensive scoring opportunities,” according to NCAA.org.
Up Next: Raiders travel to Carbondale
Wright State opens the season Friday night in Carbondale, Ill. against Southern Illinois.
The Salukis finished 5-26 last season and lost 17 of their last 18 games.
Never one to take a team lightly, Bradbury said his team must be aware of the Salukis’ athleticism to avoid an upset loss.
“They are super-athletic. It will be one of the teams that will be as athletic, or more athletic, than we are,” Bradbury said. “We have got to play very disciplined, good defense without fouling. If we can [avoid fouling], we’ll be fine.”
Women's Basketball: Short on size, Raiders ready to out-work opponents for rebounds
Demmings and Co. will be in a battle for every rebound against most teams.
Abby Jump (right) and the rest of the Raiders will need to practice a less physical form of defense this season to avoid nightly foul trouble.
