An early exit to 5th-seeded Detroit Mercy seemed a fitting end to a good season, yet one with missed opportunities.

When Wright State moved up to Division I, men’s basketball was competitive on the floor from the start, and remained so in 1995-96.

[1] [2] Even before the previous season had ended following their upset of Xavier in the MCC tournament,[3] the local media had begun calling for head coach Ralph Underhill to be awarded an extended contract.

[7] But on the down side Rob Welsh broke his ankle, Jason Smith was lost due to academic issues and Blake hadn’t joined the team at the start of the season.

[12] Just four days later, Underhill found himself at cross-town rival University of Dayton with his star center Vitaly Poptapenko running a fever and playing like it.

[14] He then demanded that Coach Underhill be put on notice that further technical fouls would lead to suspension and any additional ejections to termination.

[17] Athletic Director Mike Cusack prevailed upon the president to rescind the probationary status after just six games, pointing out that Underhill and only been ejected once before in 17 years.

[19] After pressure came from the university board of directors Flack eventually permitted Cusack and Underhill to resume contract negotiations.