WKU Basketball: Position Preview — Frontcourt Starters

Basketball season is upon us once again and the hype around this year’s team is already pretty strong.

Basketball season is upon us once again and the hype around this year’s team is already pretty strong.

After going all the way to the Final Four of the NIT, the Tops finished with 27 wins thanks in part to some talented young players but also because of frontcourt seniors Justin Johnson and Dwight Coleby.

With them now gone, someone is going to have to step up to try to fill their shoes, which will be a tough task. Together they averaged a combined 26 points and 17 rebounds per game so coach Stansbury will be looking for some new players to come in and try to produce some big numbers from the get-go.

So let’s take a look at who will most likely be starting in the frontcourt this year.

Power Forward

To me, the clear favorite for the four is Desean Murray. A grad transfer from Auburn, he averaged 10 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on a team that finished nationally ranked and tied for first in SEC regular season play (13–5).

While he may be undersized for his position, (he’s listed at 6’4" and 215 lbs on WKU’s official roster), so was Justin Johnson who was still able to go against some much bigger guys than him and dominate in the paint. Murray is described by many as a rebounding machine and is also a very slippery guy on offense who isn’t scared to post up or drive into anyone.

Murray also seems to be adjusted to life at WKU as well and has stated on Instagram that he was “in the best shape of his life” since he’s gotten on the Hill which I think is an important thing to acknowledge.

Having someone like Murray come in was one of the best things that could’ve happened for this year’s team.

I say that because the roster overall is very talented, but young. The only other senior on the team besides Murray is Lamonte Bearden.

The talent of Justin Johnson and Dwight Coleby is possible to replace for WKU but the senior leadership is not as easy to get. But by picking up someone who is a fifth-year senior with NCAA Tournament and SEC playing experience, that will make him one of the most valuable and reliable players on WKU’s roster this year.

Center

Chances are by now you’ve heard of some guy on WKU’s roster named Charles Bassey. He’s pretty good.

Bassey will be the highest ranked recruit to ever take the court for WKU in the modern era of college basketball. He was a consensus five-star recruit both before and after he reclassified and is one of the top five centers in his class across all sites.

We should all be extremely happy that he’s here but that joy is slightly overshadowed by fear after that Mitchell Robinson guy from last season peaced out before ever playing a game as a Hilltopper. Most people I know are still somewhat scared and say they won’t relax until Bassey actually plays his first game. I definitely understand the reservations but one thing none of us should do at all this year is compare Bassey to Robinson. One of my favorite quotes says,

“The fastest way to kill something special is to compare it to something else.” -Craig Groeschel

They are two different kinds of players with different personalities and guidance.

Just don’t do it.

So with that out of the way, let’s look at what Bassey could bring for the five.

At 6’11" and 245 pounds, Bassey is a big guy with a 7’3" wingspan perfect for swatting shots into the bleachers. He’s a very versatile player who can dunk, shoot the ball, and can even extend to three point line and shoot from there. Perhaps one of his most overlooked attributes is his passing ability. If he gets going and defenses start double-teaming him in the paint, he can pass it out to the open guy.

Bassey will undoubtably take Coleby’s starting center spot but as to how fast he will learn and produce is still to be determined.

Obviously Bassey is one of the best recruits WKU has ever landed in their one hundred year history but at the end of the day, he’s still a freshman. Even the blue team up north’s freshmen that are of the same caliber as Bassey still have growing pains so that doesn’t make WKU exempt from that because he’s a high caliber player in the C-USA. He still has to learn the ropes just like everyone else.

Thankfully Bassey will have plenty of playing time at his disposal to get himself adjusted to college play. A player of his caliber is definitely still capable of grabbing a double-double early on but a lot of people I’ve talked to think he’ll come in and grab 25 points and 15 rebounds right off the bat which I personally think is far-fetched. He’s talented enough to get to that level but I feel like it will take some time.

Bassey will most certainly fit WKU’s system and style of play but one of my favorite things about him is how much he seems to enjoy being here and being with his teammates.

I’ve seen several videos of him dancing his heart out just about everywhere in Diddle Arena by various teammates which I think shows his character a lot. He’s a fun-loving guy that loves life and basketball and the chemistry with his teammates even now seems to be a great sign so hopefully that translates to the court.

The expectations for the big guys on this year’s team are high but for good reason. WKU has some highly talented young men that will look to take WKU to heights it hasn’t reached in a while. Even with some growing pains, look for these two new players to make the biggest initial difference on the team next season.