WKU Basketball: Jared Savage’s Ascent Is Fueling WKU Post-Bassey
Last Saturday against UTSA, Jared Savage had the best game of his Hilltopper career. The Austin Peay transfer and Bowling Green native tallied 24 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal, leading WKU to a 77–73 overtime victory. That performance was the crescendo of what has been an amazing stretch of basketball for Savage since Charles Bassey’s injury. Jared Savage has gone from a maligned lightning rod of a player to arguably the most consistent performer on the WKU Basketball team. The 5th year senior has elevated his game in almost every significant statistical category and has helped WKU win 11 of 14 games in the process. Here is how Savage went from inconsistent starter to senior leader over the course of the last 16 games.
Savage’s Journey pre-WKU
Jared Savage played his high school basketball at Warren Central High
School in Bowling Green. He averaged 17.8 points and 8.9 rebounds during his senior season as he led the Dragons to a 23–9 season before falling to arch-rival Bowling Green High in a 46–43 nailbiter for the 4th region Championship.
Despite those solid numbers, Savage was seen as a lower-tier prospect. He wasn’t ranked by 247 Sports, Rivals or ESPN and was a 2-star prospect according to Verbal Commits. WKU coach Ray Harper passed on the local prospect despite playing a mile from Diddle Arena. Savage decided to follow his father's footsteps and attend Austin Peay just 62 miles up the road.
During his freshman season, Savage played sparingly early as he tried to break into the Governor's rotation. As the calendar flipped to conference play, Savage played more minutes and started to produce. The Governors finished the regular season a disappointing 14–17 but did win their last two games as Savage averaged 9.5 points & 3 rebounds in late wins against SIU-Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State.
Austin Peay caught fire from there, winning four games in four days as Savage played his best ball of the season. He posted 21 points and 5 rebounds in a semifinal overtime thriller against Belmont and then backed that in the OVC finals against UT-Martin. Posting 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists to give the Govs their first NCAA appearance since 2008. Austin Peay got blown out in the 16–1 game against KU but Savage had shown his potential and he was about to move to full-time starter in Clarksville.
During his sophomore year, Savage moved seamlessly to starter averaging 12 points, 4.4 rebounds while shooting 35.8% from 3 point range. During a mid-season return to Bowling Green, Savage put on a show against WKU shooting 8–10 (24 points) from the field and almost carrying the underachieving Govs to victory before succumbing to a 97–92 defeat in Rick Stansbury’s debut season. Austin Peay struggled to a disappointing 11–19 finish in what turned out to be Head Coach Dave Loos’ 25th and final season.
With Loos retiring and being replaced by Matt Figger, Savage decided to look for a fresh start to his career and a new home to play his final two seasons. He appeared to be heading to Lipscomb but was convinced by Rick Stansbury to join his hometown program and the monster recruiting class that he built. Savage had to sit out the 2017–18 season but Stansbury regularly raved about his practice habits and potential. Fans couldn’t wait to see him next season. After the NIT Final Four run, hopes were high that Savage could return home and be an experienced piece on a young Hilltopper squad full of talent.
Savage’s Junior Season
Perhaps it was his performance against WKU in 2016 or the practice ravings by Stansbury but Savage entered the 2018–19 with a shooter’s reputation. On a team without any reliable shooters, fans expected Savage to be the team’s main three-point threat. Teams would clog the middle and double team Charles Bassey leaving ample opportunities for the perimeter players like Savage to drill threes and make opponents pay. Savage would struggle with inconsistency in that role.
2018–19 started off well for Savage, he posted double-digit scoring efforts in nine of the team’s first 10 games, eclipsing 20 points four times in the process. When the calendar flipped to January, the consistency that Savage regularly displayed began to dissipate. He was held to single-digit scoring in seven of 18 Conference USA games and often let his shooting affect his defensive effort on the other end of the floor. Fans regularly complained that when he wasn’t hitting shots he was a liability defensively. With a bench that lacked almost any consistent production, Stansbury decided to let Savage play through struggles instead of taking him out of games.
In memorable late-season losses to UAB & Old Dominion Savage struggled to average just 5 points and shot a disastrous 4–19 from the field (21%). He would bounce back during the Hilltoppers last few games but the inconsistent shooting stuck out to fans, negating his solid season total numbers. That was never more apparent than the Conference USA Tournament final against Old Dominion. In a tight defensive struggle, Savage encapsulated WKU’s offensive woes (34.6 % as a team) as he shot 3–9 for the game and just 2–7 from deep finishing with 10 points and 2 rebounds. A team with so much talent underachieved and the inconsistent offense was the most glaring issue. Savage rightly or wrongly felt a share of the blame.
On the season, Savage averaged 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and a steal while shooting 36% from deep. Those numbers were rock solid but couldn’t overcome the poor shooting efforts that stuck out to fans. Savage was a solid but not spectacular starter that many thought would come off the bench with the additions of Cam Justice & Eli Wright (who never made it) and the core of capable wings across the roster.
Jared Savage’s Senior Season before Bassey
Savage’s start to the 2020 season was more of the same. He was penciled in as a starter and had solid performances (Austin Peay, Ilinois State) and a particularly dreadful performance (Louisville) and mainly settled into the background as a solid starter but secondary scoring option after Bassey, Taveion Hollingsworth, and Carson Williams. Here are Savage's statistics during the first ten games:
As you can see he was a decent performer but nothing really jumped out to you as WKU started an underwhelming 7–3 on the season.
To the chagrin of many fans, Savage appeared to be taking away minutes from the more athletic Josh Anderson. Stansbury was trying to find out the right lineup combinations as the team was 7+ players deep. If Savage wasn’t hitting shots consistently and wasn’t playing aggressive defense than why was he seeing court so much? I often argued in my post-game wrap-ups that Stansbury should play the hot hand between Savage, Justice and Taveion Hollingsworth and give Josh Anderson more minutes because he brought an athletic and defensive presence that Savage and Justice didn't’ show early in the season.
Savage posted a solid stat line (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) in the overtime victory over the Razorbacks with 5 of those points coming after Bassey’s injury late in the second half. He had now moved up a spot in the pecking order and WKU desperately needed someone to produce to replace Bassey’s 15.3 Points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Most fans assumed it would be Josh Anderson to pick up the slack but the player that took his game to the next level ended up being the senior Savage.
Savage’s performance since Bassey’s injury
With Bassey out the 6'5 Savage was now the third tallest player on the team that played regular minutes. Stansbury now played Savage at the 4 defensively and had him match up against taller opponents on a regular basis. That responsibility seemed to change Savage for the better. He no longer was the player that lived on the perimeter who played passive defense. He was now a key two way player for the Tops.
That started to show immediately in the first game without Bassey. Why he had a ho-hum day offensively (9 points on 37.5 % shooting) he posted his most impressive rebounding performance to date grabbing 11 boards as the Tops narrowly lost in overtime to the Rams. That double-digit rebounding performance was a sign of things to come as the 6'5 small forward established himself as WKU’s best rebounder in Bassey’s absence increasing his per game average from 5.1 rebounds per game to 8.43 rebounds per game. WKU desperately needed someone to help in that area and Savage stepped up. He would step up in other areas as well.
As Stansbury shortened his bench and played shorthanded Savage became the most consistent player on the team. As you can see below his statistics have improved across the board.
Savage successfully transformed himself for the better and the rest of his game improved as well. Offensively his shooting percentage ticked up 4.7% , his three-point shooting percentage improved from 35% to 43%, and he increased his scoring average from 10.1 to 13.25 points per game. He has gone from an inconsistent shooter to a well-rounded leader. The proof was no more apparent last week when he averaged 19 points and 12.5 rebounds to garner CUSA Player of the week helping WKU go 2–0 on the West Texas road swing for the first time.
What this all means moving forward
Seeing Savage reinvent himself during his last semester and develop into a senior leader should teach a lesson to all fans of the program (myself included). Players aren’t destined to be the same player forever, circumstances can bring out the best in competitors and experience can’t be taught. Savage gives the team an edge compared to most of several competitors in Conference USA.
WKU will now lean on his experience, shooting and rebounding to fight for their first regular-season conference title since 2008–09. He is now a leader of a core of upperclassman that includes Taveion Hollingsworth, Carson Williams, Josh Anderson, and Camron Justice that has proven they can win tight games. Without Bassey, WKU has its flaws with lack of size, depth, and inconsistent shooting but the toughness they’ve displayed thus far in conference play should bode well over the next 7 games of the season.
Savage has the experience of winning a conference tournament title from his freshman year at Austin Peay. Should he help WKU navigate the 3 wins in 3 days in Frisco, he and Cam Justice will be the only players on the roster with NCAA experience. That should bode well for the Tops who would probably be in the 13–14 seed range with amble opportunity for an upset.
Sometimes it takes time for a player to put it all together. It has been amazing to see the transformation of Savage and we can only hope the rest of his WKU story will be one we tell for years to come.
