WKU Basketball: Recent Transfer Troubles: How Concerning Are They?
Editors note: This is the second of two reaction pieces that we are publishing this weekend on the recent transfers of Marek Nelson and…
Editors note: This is the second of two reaction pieces that we are publishing this weekend on the recent transfers of Marek Nelson and Tolu Smith. Here is the first. Each piece is the opinion of the specific writer and doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of the entire Towel Rack staff
In the past week, the WKU men’s basketball roster has had to deal with some major shake-ups.
Preseason team practices have begun for the 2019–2020 season featuring many new faces but that hasn’t kept two returning players from deciding to opt-out of the program and announce they are transferring from the Hill long before the season begins.
The first one being junior small forward Marek Nelson:
Nelson’s departure on July 30th was kind of unexpected but not a total shock. He had some disciplinary issues happen last season as well as a back injury that kept him sidelined most of the 2018–2019 season.
Nelson only averaged 2.7 PPG and 1.8 rebounds to go with them last season but still showed signs of promise and progress (especially against Arkansas) and at the end of the season when his back healed up.
Nelson was likely going to be a role player off the bench if he stayed but could’ve been someone to provide a much-needed spark to a relatively young and new team but he will be transferring somewhere else, most likely in search of more minutes.
Nelson’s departure hurts in regards to depth and experience but point production, not so much. But his departure (arguably) wasn’t as shocking as the one in days to follow.
Jump to August 2nd and sophomore center Tolu Smith announced he will be leaving the Hill as well:
Smith’s transfer is still quite mesmerizing to me. He averaged 3.3 PPG and 2.6 rebounds last season as one of the staples off the bench and was likely going to play a decent amount of minutes as the #2 to Charles Bassey at the center spot next season. He was also someone who was expected to make a big jump in their production on the court.
His departure could jeopardize WKU’s frontcourt next season for many reasons.
Depth is definitely the biggest concern. With Smith now transferring, that leaves Stansbury with Charles Bassey and Isaiah Cozart as his only true frontcourt players. Sure Carson Williams or maybe even Jared Savage could play the four if need be but they’re definitely undersized compared to most players of that position. Stansbury will likely play with four guards on the floor at all times and keep one “big” on the court in the center.
Unless Stansbury pulls another rabbit out of his hat and somehow gets another big man before the season starts, he will most likely have a relatively small, guard-oriented roster.
If Bassey can’t play a full 40 minutes every game (or even worse, gets injured for any amount of time), someone is going to have to step up and play his spot and that spot would’ve likely belonged to Smith but with him now leaving, it will likely belong to promising freshman Isaiah Cozart. Cozart is going to be a force in the paint despite only being listed at 6’7” on WKU’s roster but by losing Smith you also lose a lot of depth and size in the paint.
But what is the cause of these two transfers so close to one another right before the season begins?
We can only speculate for now but we could get an answer once we see where Nelson and Smith transfer to.
I disagree with a lot of the comments I’ve seen online talking about how Stansbury is essentially kicking players to the curb (outside of the whole Damari Parris situation that happened a few years ago) but it’s likely that some returning players might not be a fan of how things are changing within the coaching staff.
If Nelson and/or Smith transfer to a smaller school, playing time could be at the stem of why but it’s possible one or both of them could end up at DePaul as well.
Former WKU assistant coach Marc Hsu is now an assistant at DePaul and former WKU commit Nick Ongenda was headed to WKU until Hsu was hired at DePaul and he followed him there. It’s possible that Nelson and/or Smith either miss having him around (several players on WKU’s roster were recruited by him and/or have a strong relationship with him) or that they don’t like the direction or coaching styles of the new assistants.
Obviously, it’s hard to tell what the exact root of these transfers is right now but if one of them goes to DePaul that could show that there was still a lot of loyalty to Hsu in the locker room.
Regardless of why, it’s still concerning to lose six players in total from last season all to transfers. Stansbury has been able to recruit and retain most of his key players but he hasn’t had as much stability with his role players. Sure, he still has Hollingsworth, Anderson, Bassey as his core but having players that work well with them and help contribute when they aren’t on the court is what will make or break this team next season.
Thankfully Stansbury has still been able to get some great transfers to the Hill with Camron Justice from IUPUI and Kenny Cooper (who still hasn’t been cleared by the NCAA yet) from Lipscomb. Time will only tell how things will turn out but this is most certainly a make-or-break year for Rick Stansbury at Western Kentucky.
WKU has been able to get to the C-USA title game the past two seasons but have been unable to win and get to the Big Dance. This frustrates me to no end. To be so close to getting back in the NCAA Tournament and not get in hurts but with a loaded roster and Bassey back for another season, we shouldn’t give up hope just yet.