WKU Basketball: Bold Predictions Ahead of the 2018/19 Season
It’s the day some of you, and many of our writers, have been waiting for — bold prediction day!
It’s the day some of you, and many of our writers, have been waiting for — bold prediction day!
Usually this is up…well, not literally hours before tip off, but sometimes life happens and some stuff is better than no stuff, right?
Anyway, lets get to it — here are the official bold predictions from The Towel Rack ahead of the basketball season.
Fletcher Keel: Stansbury Will Land Another Five-Star Recruit
Rick Stansbury’s biggest successes while on the Hill have come on the recruiting trail, with splash signees like Mitchell Robinson, Charles Bassey and even Josh Anderson.
That’s not even to mention guys like Taveion Hollingsworth or any number of potential studs from this year’s class (Dalano Banton, Jeremiah Grambell, Tolu Smith, etc.).
And, with Stansbury continuing to be able to bring big-names to the Hill, I don’t see that trend ending anytime soon. I think Stansbury will land another five-star commit during this coming season.
The Toppers have garnered a visit from five-star forward Precious Achiuwa (though the list is long and competitive for him) and have started to make waves in future classes as well.
Whether he’s a five-star when he commits or he earns another star after the fact, the talent isn’t going to stop coming to Bowling Green while Rick Stansbury is at the helm.
Ross Shircliffe: No At-Large Bid For Tops
After last year’s fun ride, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this version of Hilltopper basketball. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for since Rick Stansbury arrived back in 2016. The team has the right mix of returning core players, high upside newcomers and a resume-building schedule to have WKU’s best team in a decade.
Unfortunately, early season issues with suspension of Desean Murray and Lemonte Bearden’s first-semester ineligibility will cost WKU potential resume-building wins against Washington, West Virginia & Arkansas will leave a hole in their resume that they won’t be able to fill with the rest of their schedule. My prediction is that WKU will need to, once again, win the Conference USA tournament to get into the tournament.
While I think that WKU will be deserving by the end of the season, the selection process won’t do WKU any favors as they’ll lack enough big-ticket wins to impress the committee despite a 16–2 regular season in Conference USA. Luckily for the Tops, I think they’ll be ready to avenge last season’s heartbreak in Frisco.
Jared Rosdeutscher: Josh Anderson Will Lead The Team In Scoring
I have seen several hot takes from my fellow writers here and also from others as well but sadly, the majority of them lack the pure, spicy boldness that a true hot take embodies.
A true hot take sounds outlandish when it’s spoken into existence but is still based on enough factual claim that it isn’t entirely out of the question. But it’s still far enough against the grain of common sense that it isn’t the most probable thing to happen.
I say all that to say that I predict that sophomore guard Josh Anderson will lead the team in scoring this year.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “Hollingsworth is a scoring beast” and “Bassey is a Top 10 draft pick, he’ll obviously rack up some big points” and I completely agree but I think Anderson has what it takes and has improved enough as a player to make that possible.
With this year’s team, you realistically have at least five players that could get a minimum of ten points every game. Obviously Charles Bassey and Taveion Hollingsworth have the potential to get over 20 any given night and I’d even throw Jared Savage in the mix of that as well.
But with Anderson cleared for a full season (as of now, hoping for no more off-court issues) I think he will take the next step as a player and become a scoring machine. He’s added a more efficient jump shot to his game and looks even more athletic on both ends of the court than last year.
And I’m not saying he’ll lead by a landslide, but enough to lead the team. If Hollingsworth, for example, averages around 18.2 points and also Bassey around 17.6 points, I’ll take Anderson with 18.3 points. He’s shown that he’s capable of leading the team in his sole exhibition game vs. Campbellsville with 22 points and six steals as well.
My brain may say to pick Hollingsworth or Bassey but my heart says Anderson has what it takes. Here’s hoping he dominates anyone that tries to guard him (and makes the SportsCenter Top 10 at least twice).
Matt McCay: WKU Will Earn an At-Large Bid
I’m sitting here trying to can my excitement for WKU basketball into one bold prediction, and I’ll be honest: As a lifetime WKU fan, this is the most excited I’ve ever been for the Tops. That being said, I think this season will be one for the ages.
That being said, WKU will not make the NCAA Tournament in the conventional mid-major type of way. With the new format of Conference USA’s final four games of the regular season, in addition to WKU’s incredible non-conference schedule, I think Western has the schedule in combination with the talent to get an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Tops will have multiple opportunities against ranked opponents this year. Washington, West Virginia, Arkansas, St. Mary’s and Wisconsin could all realistically be ranked when WKU plays them, or at least be ranked at some point in the season. With a Conference USA that could possibly be its strongest in two decades featuring WKU, Marshall, Old Dominion, La Tech and North Texas as true potential winners in March, why can’t WKU lock up its spot before the Conference USA Tournament? WKU will again have a top 100 schedule — especially if they find themselves in the top four of the conference heading into the last couple of weeks of the season — so it’s up to the Tops to prove their worth.
With several home games of significant opportunity for statements, in addition to some real tests to end the non-conference and a strong C-USA, I fully expect WKU to be good enough to earn an at-large bid. Book it.
Sam Gormley: WKU will make the Sweet 16
March Madness is the best event in all sports and I’m not sure there is much of an argument for any other one. Since Ray Harper somehow took the teams in 2012 and 2013 to the tournament, WKU fans have been craving the feeling of going dancing again. Many, myself included, thought it could happen last season and it came about as close as you can possibly get to actually coming to fruition.
This year, the team is different. While it might have less experience, it probably has more talent and as a basketball coach from another school in the state says, “I’ll take talent over experience any day.”
WKU is the favorite to win C-USA and it would be a disappointment if they don’t actually do it. There is only one team that can keep up with the Tops this year and that is Marshall. The key advantage WKU has in that matchup is five-star Charles Bassey.
My prediction is simple. WKU will not only just make the tournament, but will also make a run to the Sweet 16, which possibly could be in Louisville.
One of my favorite parts of March Madness is the unpredictability and the Cinderella stories you get each year. I mean how can you beat the UMBC upset or Sister Jean’s Loyola team making the Final Four? This year, WKU will be one of those Cinderella stories. They have the fire power to keep up with a lot of Power 5 teams from across the nation and as we have learned, in March, anything can happen.
Devin Stewart: Charles Bassey Will Not One-and-Done
WKU basketball has shined in the two opening exhibition games and is projected to win Conference USA. But one of the biggest surprises will be coming this next spring, when Sir Charles Bassey doesn’t declare for the NBA Draft.
Yes folks, you read that correctly.
My bold prediction isn’t how far WKU is going in the tournament, or that Stansbury is leaving WKU. It’s that Charles Bassey will stay another year on the Hill. It has nothing to do with his talent level, or how much he loves Bowling Green. Rather, he will stay to build up his potential for the NBA draft.
As you know the draft position determines how much money these young men will earn, and Sir Charles wants to get the most for his buck.
After two games, Bassey is averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Those are great numbers, but considering Jared “the” Savage has the same number of points, it makes you wonder how Sir Charles will do against Washington, when he is facing Power 5 talent instead of basically high school athletes from Campbellsville/Kentucky Wesleyan. Not to knock the talent level of those teams but if you watched the games, you saw how the Tops played with them “like a cat with a mouse”.
Part of my bold prediction is selfish, but who wouldn’t want this beast beneath the basket for another season.
Jacob Keith: The Tops Will Upset a Power in the NCAA Tourney
All off-season all my non-topper friends have asked me, “You excited for the season?” and each time I’ve tempered my responses. I was too fragile in my belief. I hadn’t seen Bassey take the floor, I hadn’t seen Banton handle the ball, I didn’t know. I was hopeful, but afraid.
TO HELL WITH THAT!!!
I’m all in. My bold prediction is the Tops will not only make the NCAA tournament, but that in whatever run they make, they will upset a traditional power. The Tops currently track as an 11 or 12 seed. That means that even if they get a middle of the road 5 or 6 seed in the first round, (but who knows, UK, Duke and other blue bloods often come in at middle seeds) they have a good shot at facing a very good team in the second round. Regardless, Tops upset a major team in the Tourney and shock the world.
Book it.