CUSA Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

By Joey Loose | Jul 19, 2023

Mar 19, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; North Texas Mean Green guard James Reese (0) celebrates with guard Mardrez McBride (1) and guard Javion Hamlet (3) during overtime against the Purdue Boilermakers in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

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CUSA Basketball Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Taveion Hollingsworth Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

21. Taveion Hollingsworth

One of Rick Stansbury’s big recruits early, Hollingsworth is a 6’2 guard from Lexington, Kentucky who came to Western Kentucky back in 2017. He was part of Stansbury’s first recruiting class and would play a major role for the Hilltoppers across the next four seasons, starting nearly all of the 131 games he played.

As a freshman, he helped lead Western Kentucky to the NIT semifinals, including a 30-point performance at Oklahoma State. He averaged at least 13 points per game in each of his four seasons, with that mark summiting at 16.6 a game as a junior. Just before the pandemic, he had a 43-point outburst against Louisiana Tech and bounced back nicely as a senior. Unfortunately, Western Kentucky settled for the NIT again during Hollingsworth’s final collegiate campaign.

Hollingsworth earned All-CAA honors three times in his career, including the nod at First Team as a junior. His 1896 career points put him in decent position in the conference’s history and his all-around contributions in Western Kentucky’s backcourt were vital to the team’s success. It’s just a shame that he and the Hilltoppers never got a chance in the NCAA Tournament.