NCAA Basketball: 5 breakout teams to watch in 2018-19
By Brian Rauf
4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
If you’re looking for the five-star freshman that went away from the blueblood programs to play his college basketball, you found him in big man Charles Bassey, who will be the dominant force the Hilltoppers have been counting on after the whole Mitchell Robinson fiasco.
Bassey, a projected first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is going to bring a lot of eyeballs to Western Kentucky, but head coach Rick Stansbury’s squad has much more to offer than just their stud freshman.
The Hilltoppers return their starting backcourt of Lamonte Bearden (ruled ineligible for the first semester) and Taveion Hollingsworth, both of whom averaged double-figures a year ago and are a guard tandem that can go up against anything a major conference team will throw at them. Auburn transfer Desean Murray, who averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Tigers, is in to provide toughness down low next to Bassey.
Throw in a deep bench highlighted by Austin Peay transfer Jared Savage and WKU has a team worth taking note of, as Stansbury said last month.
"“We can be as good as anybody in country. What is Gonzaga? What is Butler? What is Xavier? One thing Western has over all three of them is more tradition. Western just hasn’t done it consistently lately. What is Wichita State now? My challenge is to make sure that everybody looks at Western Kentucky that way. We don’t have to take a backseat to anybody. Our program can be as good as anybody’s program.”"
I think the Hilltoppers are still behind those programs – but I also think this season is going to go a long way in getting them to where Stansbury thinks they can go.
Led by Bassey (who is a matchup problem for everyone in the country) and their talented backcourt, I expect Western Kentucky to win the Conference USA title and make the NCAA Tournament after missing out last year – and I think a Sweet 16 run could be in the cards.