WKU Basketball: Ten Takeaways From A Perfect Costa Rica Swing
On Thursday, WKU basketball completed the competition portion of its Costa Rica trip by drubbing Laurentian University from Canada 118–63…
On Thursday, WKU basketball completed the competition portion of its Costa Rica trip by drubbing Laurentian University from Canada 118–63 in San Jose. With that win, WKU finished 3–0 on the week.
Based on the little information that could be gathered from Twitter notes and box scores, Here are ten takeaways from the trip as we gear up for the most anticipated season in recent memory.
1. Tops Got Better In Each Game
The trip started off Tuesday with a shaky effort against Laurentian. They trailed most of the game and were down 76–73 going to the fourth quarter. Luckily, they leaned on a 23-point effort from Lemonte Bearden and pulled out a 103–98 win. Part of the reason for that close result could be an adjustment period involved with Moustapha Diange not being cleared by the NCAA, Dwight Coleby suffering an injury and Justin Johnson’s assimilation into the team. Fortunately, everything else clicked moving forward.
Against an out-manned Costa Rican national team, they dominated throughout and cruised to a 99–69 victory and followed that up with the 55-point victory over a team they barely beat the first game.
This shows that the players have gelled and have grown somewhat used to playing with each other. Stansbury himself was pleased with WKU’s defensive effort, and after last season’s deficiencies in that area, that is a great sign.
2. Mediocre Competition
There’s no other way to put it — WKU’s competition left a lot to be desired. Laurentian was a .500 team in Canadian college basketball last season. My guess is that’s probably comparable to a Division 2 or 3 level, not on the same par that WKU plays. Laurentian did be a Montana team that went .500 last season in the Big Sky Conference, so they might be closer to their five-point defeat than their 50-point loss, but it’s still hard to know if WKU simply outclassed due to talent or played great team basketball, especially with only second hand accounts of the game.
The Costa Rican National Team game should be thrown out even more. Basketball isn’t a top sport in their soccer dominated country and Costa Rica is ranked 94th in the FIBA standings.
Regardless of the quality of competition, it was good to see the Tops come out and dominate the last two games against teams they should beat.
3. Return Of Justin Johnson
Johnson’s performance in Costa Rica showed just how important he is for the 2017–18 team. Despite only having practiced one time with an entirely new team, Johnson came out and dominated, averaging 18.3 points, 10 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the three games. His experience and leadership will be paramount if WKU wants to return to the NCAA tournament.
4. Thin Front Line
One reason Johnson’s performance was so important was the fact that he was the only front line player left after the first game. On Wednesday, we found out that Moustapha Diange still hasn’t been cleared by the NCAA yet (which hopefully doesn’t become a long-term issue), leaving Dwight Coleby and Johnson as the only two post players for WKU. Coleby then injured his foot and played only eight minutes in the 5-point victory on Tuesday.
This is one of the biggest reasons why losing Mitchell Robinson will hurt the team, at least until Robinson Idehan is eligible in the second semester. Not only did WKU lose a five-star center, but they also lost his scholarship spot that could have at least been used for a warm body to at least give WKU low post fouls. If Coleby, Johnson or Diagne get three quick fouls, WKU could be at a massive size disadvantage during a crucial part of the season. Luckily Johnson showed that he can carry the load down low if needed.
5. Great Guard Depth
With the front line reduced to only one player, WKU played small ball terrifically. Lemonte Bearden (20 points per game), Jordan Brangers (15.6 ppg), Taveion Hollingsworth (16.6 ppg), Darius Thompson (9.6 ppg) and Jake Ohmer (10.3 ppg) all picked up the slack. This bodes well for not only depth but will allow WKU to play more aggressive defensively while also letting Stansbury play the hot hand offensively.
For most of last season, he didn’t have much of a choice if a player didn’t follow an assignment or was just playing poorly. Now, he doesn’t have to live and die with only four guards. Guards dominate the mid-major level and WKU’s group performance they put on display bodes well for WKU’s Conference USA chances.
6. Impact Freshman
Hollingsworth, Ohmer and Marek Nelson all showed why WKU has a great core of young players to build upon. Hollingsworth especially showed that he can carry the scoring with the best players on the team, finishing third in scoring on the trip. Ohmer proved that he deserved the scholarship that Stansbury’s gave him after his dominant KHSAA Sweet Sixteen in March. Ohmer will probably be a three-point specialist off the bench initially, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him garner back-up point guard minutes if Bearden needs a break.
Nelson started off slow during the trip, scoring no points and added jsut two rebounds in the opening game win. Against the Costa Rican national team, Nelson pitched in 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. He followed that up with a solid 7-point performance in the closing route. With WKU’s limited front line, the 6'7" small forward from Kansas might get more minutes than initially thought.
These three players should be four-year building blocks for Stansbury’s program moving forward.
7. Glue Guy
Virginia transfer Darius Thompson might not have had the most impressive scoring performance but he did everything else that you look for in a senior leader. After playing the past few years in Virginia’s pack line defense, you know that he’ll be solid defensively. He showed that with five steals in Tuesday’s five-point victory. Thompson also averaged five rebounds and 6.6 assists over the three-game span. With so many mouths to feed offensively, its good to see an unselfish leader that can contribute without scoring. His three trips to the NCAA tournament will also be invaluable for a team not used to playing with each other.
8. Players That Can Score
WKU’s 2016–17 team often went into early scoring droughts that put them out of game before the second half started. With this team, that shouldn’t be a problem.
On this trip, WKU had four players average over 15 points per game (Bearden, Johnson, Brangers, Hollingsworth) to go along with double-digit performances from four other players. This gives the Tops multiple scoring options when someone gets locked down defensively. Brangers and Ohmer should also be zone busters with their three-point shooting. All those areas were missed during last season’s disappointing 15–17 campaign.
9. Missing Pieces
WKU performed well despite not having their full roster of players for this game. Moustapha Diange didn’t get to showcase the skills that earned him a Syracuse scholarship out of high school. Coleby only briefly played due to injury and two other players still aren’t with the team yet.
We’re still waiting for four-star signee Josh Anderson to qualify academically. He’ll add another high scoring athletic wing player to WKU’s stacked guard corps. Forward Robinson Idehan was good enough to make the Spanish U-20 national team. He’ll add to a thin front court and is thought high enough to be a top player in the future.
Once WKU gets to their 11 eligible scholarship players this season (Austin Peay transfer Jared Savage must sit out), this team could reach its NCAA tournament potential.
10. Room for Growth
The past few weeks were big for WKU, not only because of the game experience of playing together for the first time, but also the ten practices and bonding experience the Costa Rica trip has provided. WKU will have a jump start on ¾ of the rest of Division 1 heading into the season. When they return to practice in October, they’ll have a foundation to build upon. WKU needs to use this experience as a building block because their early season schedule (Battle 4 Atlantis, Wisconsin, Belmont) will give them ample opportunities to prove they are a legitimate NCAA tournament squad.
What do you think of WKU’s trip to Costa Rica? Who impressed you the most? Which missing piece is the most needed? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.