WKU Basketball: Dissecting the Guard Situation
Western Kentucky is 7–2 through nine games and don’t have another game until the first of the year. What the heck are we supposed to do until then? Definitely not going to watch a rerun of the Lending Tree Bowl, I’ll tell you that much. Instead, I’ll choose peace of mind and break down how the Tops guards have looked on the court thus far in the season.
With 18 games left and a possible NCAA tourney bid at the end of the season, it is time to shed some light on the people standing in Bassey’s shadow (because every announcer at every game raves about Bassey, but that isn’t a bad thing, kid’s got major talent). Here are the men in the shadows doing the dirty work.
Taveion Hollingsworth
I’d say this guy shoulders a whole lot for WKU.
He is a senior, a guy that has been in the program and started as a freshman. I remember Headband Hollingsworth and his head full of hair. Honestly liked that look, wish he’d bring it back! I think
Hollingsworth is also playing a big time mentor role to Mcknight this season, who Hollingsworth might see a little bit of himself in. Both players overlooked by UK and UofL despite being home grown Kentucky athletes, both made an immediate impact as freshman as well. Hollingsworth battled through injury to play against West Virginia, and that shows the toughness you want from a veteran leader on your squad. He is averaging 14.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 45.5% shooting. Having a good year so far, hopefully the team’s senior leader can keep it up.
Kenny Cooper
I’m not sure what is going on here.
Cooper has moments where he reads the defense and makes an excellent pass for an assist or has a high IQ shot selection. But there are many more moments that just aren’t good basketball. Averaging 2.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 18.2% shooting, I believe that he is only starting because Stansbury feels obligated to reward him, a senior, for sticking with the program.
I will say, Kenny Cooper did have some clutch moments to help the Tops beat Gardner Webb but otherwise, over the course of the season, his minutes are slowly dwindling and being handed over to Rawls, which honestly, isn’t a bad thing. Hopefully Cooper can get out of his shooting slump and finish off his Hilltopper career in a blaze of glory, but until then, #StartRawls
Luke Frampton
Hot and cold. That is how Frampton has started the season for WKU.
The first game of the season was a good win over UNI who hit a record number of three pointers, and Frampton dropped a much needed 14 points in that game. But he sort of drops off, where his shooting performances were honestly dreadful. Until the game against Gardner Webb, where he went 5–5 from three. Then again, against Tennessee Tech, he scores 22! It seems to me like Frampton had to adjust to the team, their playstyle, and what his role is. He came out wanting to do too much and forced too many threes. Now though, he is letting the game come to him, and is stepping up and hitting shots as the game flows on. He may only be averaging 8.6 ppg right now, but his 3 point % is 41.7. Look for both of those numbers to rise over the next few games as Frampton gets more comfortable with the squad.
Dayvion McKnight
This kid never scored under 20 points in a varsity game in his High School career. First thing he does in college? Scores over 20 points.
An electrifying start for the Freshman from Collins High School in Kentucky, he has since cooled down a bit. But don’t let that statement fool you, he still makes an impact coming off the bench for WKU every game.
The kid is tough, averaging 6 points, 3.3 rebounds and assists per game, he does it all. He reminds me of a less polished Carlik Jones, the grad transfer from Radford that currently plays for Louisville. I think if he keeps up the hard work, effort and intensity, McKnight could easily have one of the better careers in WKU history. And he’ll benefit greatly from having Hollingsworth as a mentor, whose career at WKU has been a memorable one.
Jordan Rawls
After not getting much playing time off the bench early on, Stansbury has unleashed Rawls.
In 4 of our last 5 games, Rawls has scored double digit points, and 20 against SEC contender Alabama. Watching this guy play, giving him more of Cooper’s minutes is a no brainer. Already up from last year’s averages, he is bolstering 8.6 ppg (last year he scored 7.9 ppg) and is showing up in close games like the one against Alabama.
Even though he shows up in close games, I’d still like to see him hit more clutch shots when there is less than 2 minutes left on the clock. Against Rhode Island, he missed two jumpers on back to back possessions with less than a minute to go and a tie ballgame. He is only a sophomore, but the Tops will need him to hit big shots during those close endings down the stretch of the season.
Josh Anderson
Why does the ESPN app have Anderson as a guard? He always plays more like a forward to me. Well, I’ll still talk a little about him.
This is our hype man. Josh Anderslam as we have taken to calling him, the athleticism is on full display every time he is on the court. If he is on a fast break and you are under the basket, you best move out of the way unless you want to end up on a poster.
I used to cringe when I would see this man shoot a 3 pointer, but actually he has shown considerable growth this season as a 3 point shooter. This is the first time in his career he is shooting over 30% from downtown, hitting at a perfect 33.3 (repeating of course)%. Look for him to continue making big plays that get us hyped.
Kylen Milton & Jackson Harlan
So, uh, if these guys are in the game, it has been a very good Western Kentucky ball game.
Milton is a freshman and Harlan a sophomore, but they usually don’t play meaningful minutes, Milton’s 2 minutes versus Bama being an outlier. They could grow into promising players, but at the moment they are just sitting behind too much talent.
Expect these guards to do anything and everything they can to win games for WKU this season. Bassey may be the flashy one who everyone will talk about but make no mistake, without this excellent guard group, they would be nowhere near as good of a team as they are now.
I predict the Tops win 16 of their final 18 and Rawls/Frampton both elevated their PPG to around 10 per game. If they can do that, watch out college basketball world because it’ll be #TopsOnTop this season.
