That’s why his first season as head coach had to feel like a headlong collision — without the air bags.
The Raiders went 15-18 and were eighth in the league, a few notches below their preseason poll rank of fifth.
Sargent isn’t someone who can just brush off losses easily. Few coaches are. And while his faith and family keep him grounded, the last four-plus months have ranked high on the anguish scale.
Asked after a late-season game if it’s harder to sleep after losses as an assistant or head coach, he said: “Both are hard, if you do this job correctly. This year has been something. But I’m just going to continue to say it: It’s an honor to go through it, as disappointed as I am.
“For so many — like coach Nagy and (those in) his program — to take it over, I wear all of it for so many great people that have served me well. That ripple effect of losing, it’s not lost on me.”
Circling back to the question, he added: “The sleep is a little touch and go. But I’ve got four young kids, so it’s touch and go anyway.”
The Raiders haven’t advanced past the Horizon League quarterfinals in the last three years, and what’s become clear during that the stretch is how far they’ve fallen behind their peers in fielding athletic teams.
Transfer forwards Jack Doumbia and Michael Imariagbe both helped in that department, and Brandon Noel is a mobile center. But the Raiders are short on players who can beat defenders on the perimeter or jump over them at the rim.
“Our league is very athletic. And to be great defensively, there certainly has to be an element of that for your team at every spot. And then the discipline has to come along with it,” Sargent said.
One area where athleticism shows up is in forcing turnovers, and the Raiders were next-to-last in the league in opponent turnovers at 10.2 per game.
They committed 12.2 themselves, and those two possessions could have had a major impact given their 2-9 record in close games.
“The athleticism piece allows you to catch up for mistakes. I felt like we made mistakes and we just couldn’t catch up — our margin was so thin defensively. If we had a bad start, we really had a hard time,” Sargent said.
“This was one of the least disruptive teams I’ve been around. We’ve always been pretty traditional (defensively), but you can still be disruptive on the ball. If you’re playing man-to-man 85% of the time, that athleticism piece can certainly help.”
The transfer portal and the flow of NIL money mean few teams are able to retain all of their eligible players from one year to the next.
The Raiders have four incoming freshmen, but first-year players in the program haven’t been counted on to make much of an impact.
Only sub Andrew Welage has exhausted his eligibility. As for the status of others on the roster, the coach said: “It’s all pretty fluid, and a lot of those conversations will start within the next couple weeks.”
Though the 36-year-old Sargent handled adversity this year with class, that doesn’t mean it was easy.
Asked to sum up his first year, he said: “I’m having a hard time finding the words because, on one hand, just from the coaching side, it was brutal in terms of how close I felt we were, how many good things we were doing (without much to show for it).
“I’d also say it was awesome in a lot of ways. I know there’ll be a lot of good fruit that comes from the pain of this year. I just love this program, I love our fans, and I love the tradition of Wright State, and this year was not OK.”
The team might be ready for a break, but he sounds as if he’s eager to get back at it.
Well, after he catches up on his sleep.
“I’m excited for the offseason. I’m excited for the path ahead because there’s so many great people that stuck by our side,” he said.
“When we win and we get back to where Wright State is supposed to be, I’m looking forward to that moment with those people.”
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