WKU Basketball: Game Grades - Tops vs. Alabama A&M
It was a full cast performance for the Tops on Wednesday in their second win of the season.
Big picture, WKU basketball is in good shape in terms of competing for championships year in and year out, but there’s also doubt about whether this team has the ability to get it done. We’re still early in the season, and huge question marks hang over whether two of the major new pieces (Keith Williams and Zion Harmon) will even be eligible at some point this season.
So for now, how does this current version move forward? The first few games were hideous, barely beating Alabama State at home and heading to Asheville, only to lose two games against Power Five teams fairly convincingly that likely will not even make the NCAA Tournament.
But then, Cam Justice is somehow approved from being a Graduate Assistant to getting an extra year to play ball. At 47, he is now the oldest Hilltopper Basketball player ever. I kid. But the Tops took the court against Memphis, and they looked like a completely different team. That was step one towards seeing progress. It was certainly the first bright spot of the young season.
1-3 heading into Wednesday, a non-descript home game against Alabama A&M didn’t seem like something that would really be that significant, but this game turned out be something incredibly historic and deeply encouraging.
Topper fans must feel good after a wire-to-wire victory in which WKU shot 56% for the game and 69% in the first half. Also holding the Bulldogs to 33% doesn’t hurt, either. Rick Stansbury has to be feeling a little better about his team’s prospects, regardless of the insertion of two more big time talents.
So let’s get into some quick game grades on how some select players on the Tops fared Wednesday in their 88-62 win over Alabama A&M.
Game Grades
Dayvion McKnight: B-
McKnight was not his normal productive self in the points (four) department, but he was an efficient point guard distributing the ball (five assists) and pulled down several boards (seven rebounds). Three turnovers is decent, but it could be better. McKnight needs to be at least the third option for the Tops night in and night out.
Luke Frampton: B
It was nice to see Frampton do well. He shot 50% from three and from the floor and contributed. He also had some assists and other stats. The biggest issue, as it was with several of the Tops in this particular game, was turnovers.
Josh Anderson: B+
JA continues his solid career with the Tops. If there wasn’t a triple-double a little farther down the list (spoiler alert), Anderson would have been the one on triple-double watch. The all-around contributor had a solid line (11 points, 6 reb, 9 ast, 1 TO, 3 stl), although he was the only Topper to shoot less than 40% on the afternoon.
Jairus Hamilton: B+
Hamilton got the Tops going, scoring most of his points in the first half. Then again, he pretty much disappeared after his first half performance. But Jairus Hamilton continues to be consistent game-to-game and thus far is the Toppers’ best player.
Jamarion Sharp: A++ (Above and Beyond)
I mean, good Lord. First of all, the man gets his first start (finally). All the guy has done is thrown his 7’5” body around, diving on the floor and frankly playing harder than anyone else. You don’t see that out of too many big men. Sharp has done his damage with inexplicably limited playing time up to this point, but the past few games, he has seen a significant uptick in minutes. But Sharp truly had one of the greatest Hilltopper performances of all-time, first of all setting the single game record for blocks (10), surpassing legends Chris Marcus and Elgrace Wilborn, who both had nine blocks in the early to mid-2000s. In addition to that mind blowing number, Sharp also grabbed 12 boards and scored ten points. That amounts to WKU’s third all-time recorded triple-double (Orlando Mendez-Valdez & Darius Thompson) in only his fifth career regular season game, and it’s the first triple-double not involving points, rebounds, and assists. If Sharp can do this in his fifth game, what is his potential? Unbelievable.
Bench: A+
Western’s bench made a really nice appearance, especially considering Jaylen Butz was out with a knee injury. Cam Justice, Isaiah Cozart, and Sherman Brashear all contributed significantly. Brashear was the biggest standout, scoring 18 points in 18 minutes. Cozart also (hopefully) bought himself some more playing time, coming in for 13 minutes, going perfect from the field and scoring nine points. But without question, 36 points from the bench and only three turnovers is great. But add in 7-of-15 from three, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and this really was a great addition. Any team that can get anything close to 36 off of the bench is an absolute win.
Overall: A-
It must be nice for the Tops to have a really nice performance and get the “W”. That’s the first time this season, and it’s a good sign moving forward. That’s what should happen against an inferior opponent. They’re still not an elite team, but they’re also clearly not going to be like they seemed to be in their first few games. This was a really nice shooting performance, but WKU still does need to keep its identity and not fall in love with the long ball, except for the ones that should have license to crank at all times. The Tops need to curb the turnovers, and they need to develop a more consistent first, second, and third scorer.
Who is the guy? Is it Hamilton? McKnight? Who is the second best? Your top two need to be pretty darn consistent. Hamilton has been pretty consistent, but McKnight was fairly quiet against AAMU. Josh Anderson is a solid ten point per game scorer and always does something. But he’s also not generally the guy that’s going to produce 25 points every once in a while. He’s going to get his seven to 15 every night. Could the third scorer be Cam Justice? Is it somebody that will get added to the team later? It all remains to be seen, but the Tops now seem to be gathering a little bit of momentum and getting rid of some of the early season stagnation. Let’s see where they go from here. Tops take on UT-Martin Saturday at noon in Diddle Arena.