WKU Basketball: How Will Dalano Banton Fit In?
At 6'8 and 190 pounds, WKU will gain an elusively quick point guard that can be a nightmare to defend. Let me introduce you to Redemption…
At 6'8 and 190 pounds, WKU will gain an elusively quick point guard that can be a nightmare to defend. Let me introduce you to Redemption Christian Academy’s Dalano Banton.
Rivals.com
Dalano Banton - 4 Star Shooting guard for W Kentucky on InsideHilltopperSports.comn.rivals.com
Banton is a consensus four-star recruit in the class of 2018 since he reclassified and was a participant in the 2018 BioSteel All-Canadian Game where he had 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals against Canada’s top high school players.
Before I completely delve into what his role could be as a Hilltopper, I just want to acknowledge the incredible difference a year can make for Rick Stansbury.
During the Battle 4 Atlantis last year, WKU only had seven scholarship players that were eligible to play as they went 2–1 against some of the nations top programs (including a very close loss to eventual national champion Villanova). As of now, Stansbury will double the amount of players on his roster from that tournament in November of 2017 next season with a full roster of over 14 players with most of them being guards.
While having depth is something that will help WKU win the type of close games they lost in 2017, having almost all that depth be in the backcourt, Stansbury will have a lot of options.
I think it’s definitely feasible for Banton to get a lot off minutes at point guard behind Anderson. With his height, it is possible for him to move to the two of three but having him at point guard can create a major height mismatch that can leave defenses in an uncomfortable position trying to defend him from getting to the basket.
With the loss of Trevelin Queen from the roster, Banton could be asked to move to the small forward position but with a highly improved Marek Nelson coming back I don’t think it would be necessary for him to switch.
Something I always like to do is find a pro player comparison to some of the players on WKU’s roster and the player that I see with Banton is Shaun Livingston.
Livingston is also a very tall point guard at 6'7 and can drive to the basket with ease and I see flashes of his style of play in Banton. Banton can go coast-to-coast extremely quick and if he can’t finish himself, he can find the open man in transition for an assist.
I feel like Banton will be contribute early for WKU next season with his freakish length and ability to create steals and finish at the other end. He will be a valuable asset on both ends of the court for Rick Stansbury’s squad in 2018–2019.