Stansbury Sees Positive Momentum for WKU as Basketball Season Nears

10/7/2021 3:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

VIDEO: Stansbury Press Conference (10/6/21)

EVENT TICKETS: Asheville Championship | Holiday Hoopsgiving (Atlanta)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 season went directly against one of WKU Hilltopper Basketball head coach Rick Stansbury's core values: togetherness.

The Hilltoppers never had a team film session last season except for a short window directly before games tipped off. They never ate a team meal together in close proximity, and their ability to practice as a group in February was ravaged by COVID contact tracing.

But WKU is back together now, almost two weeks into practice, and looking to set the tone for an exciting year ahead.

"We can use a lot of reasons to make excuses to not be successful," Stansbury said Wednesday in a preseason press conference. "I think a lot of the world probably does every day. Or you can find ways to be blessed with the opportunities you have and fortunate to be between these lines. It's getting guys to understand that we have to take advantage of that every day.

"Everyone wants to be great, but what are you willing to do? How hard are you willing to work, over and over and over?"

The Hilltoppers return just 30% of their scoring, 26% of their rebounding and 44% of their assists after some key departures, including star guard Taveion Hollingsworth (No. 5 all-time leading scorer in WKU history), pro center Charles Bassey (2021 NBA Draft pick by Philadelphia 76ers) and all-conference forward Carson Williams.

But WKU does return some core pieces, including fifth-year senior Josh Anderson, who opted to return for an extra year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also returning are C-USA All-Freshman Team member Dayvion McKnight, as well as veteran guard Luke Frampton, who made 51 3-pointers last season.

Among the newcomers are three Division-I transfers in forwards Jairus Hamilton (Maryland) and Jaylen Butz (DePaul), as well as guard Keith Williams (Cincinnati). Those three have scored 2,388 combined points and played 6,514 minutes in their college careers.

Other newcomers into the fold include 7-foot-5 junior college transfer center Jamarion Sharp – the tallest player in the country – as well as four-star freshman guard Zion Harmon and JUCO transfer guard Sherman Brashear, among others.

After winning the Conference USA East Division title last season with the best winning percentage in the league, WKU will once again play a challenging schedule in 2021-22.

Highlights include two games in the Asheville Championship (opening with Minnesota), a road trip to likely top-10 Memphis, a neutral-site matchup with Ole Miss in Atlanta, and home games against Louisville, Buffalo and Eastern Kentucky.

"That bull's-eye is on us, but that's what we want," Stansbury said. "We want those expectations. We want when you roll in this gym, no matter who we play, that you expect us to win."

WKU has 18 home games on its schedule this year, which comes at a great time as Diddle Arena returns to full capacity.

After a year with limited crowds because of COVID, Stansbury said it's been encouraging to see campus buzzing this fall.

Between WKU Football's high-powered offense, Volleyball's top-25 ranking and Soccer's 9-1 start, there is a lot of positive momentum on The Hill that can carry over into basketball season, Stansbury said.

"It's a good time at Western," he said. "Western's doing a lot of positive things, and it's good when you can have Athletics create some excitement for everybody. Everybody's excited to get back out in these stands and these fields, and we want them to be excited to get back in Diddle."