UA12/2/1 Basketball Section
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Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® WKU Archives Records WKU Archives 10-31-2013 UA12/2/1 Basketball Section WKU Student Affairs Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records Part of the African American Studies Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation WKU Student Affairs, "UA12/2/1 Basketball Section" (2013). WKU Archives Records. Paper 6353. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records/6353 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in WKU Archives Records by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ALL S TB EC E T K I S O A N B C O D L L L A EG R E HE HEIGHTS October 31, 2013 WKUHerald.com Alexis Govan: WKU looks to Sun Belt Player replace Jamal of the Year Crook Page 6 Page 9 PAGE 2 OCTOBER 31, 2013 • BASKETBALL SECTION • WKUHERALD.COM ALL S TB EC COLUMN E T K I S O A N B C O D L L LE A G ER Expect big things from E H HEIGHTS Key Returners Page 3 both WKU teams this year Ben Lawson: a unique forward Page 4 BY LUCAS AULBACH MVPs, are juniors now and should be set Toppers want third SBC title Page 5 [email protected] to lead a team that lost just one major contributor, Jamal Crook, from a season Alexis Govan: Player of the Year The expectations surrounding the ago. Page 6 men’s and women’s basketball teams this The Sun Belt will be no cakewalk this season could hardly be further from what season, though. Georgia State is laden Lady Toppers have high expectations Page 8 they were a year ago. with impressive transfers, including for- At this point in 2012, the WKU men’s mer University of Kentucky point guard Replacing Jamal Crook Page 9 team was predicted to be the No. 4 team Ryan Harrow. Louisiana-Lafayette has two in the Sun Belt Conference and was with- All-Sun Belt candidates in point guard Elf- Fant and Price anchor Topper lineup out a preseason All-Sun Belt member. The rid Payton and forward Shawn Long, and Page 10 Lady Toppers, meanwhile, were prepar- Harper said Arkansas State and South Ala- ing to follow up a 9-21 season and bama will be a challenge as well. Ruta Savickaite a new post force Page 11 weren’t expected to get out of the Still, last season the Toppers Sun Belt basement. were able to sneak up on teams in One year can make a heck of a the tournament due to a lackluster difference — it’s a known fact that regular season — with WKU win- both teams have the ability to win ning the last two Sun Belt tourna- the Sun Belt Conference in WKU’s ments, the Toppers won’t be sneak- fi nal season in the league. ing up on anyone this year. The men’s team looked like a The Lady Toppers, meanwhile, surprise winner at last year’s Sun Aulbach will have to follow up on a year Belt Conference Tournament, but Sports editor where they snuck up on everyone. anyone following the team could Last year’s success has raised ex- see the Toppers were better than their reg- pectations around the team — WKU was ular season record, which was tainted by a picked to fi nish No. 2 in the Sun Belt this slew of injuries. year and received four of 10 possible fi rst Coach Ray Harper said if his guys stay place votes. healthy this year, this team could be even Coach Michelle Clark-Heard, in her better. second season with the program, said her “We got a glimpse of that a couple team, anchored by two All-American can- weeks ago,” Harper said. “(Junior forward) didates in junior guard Alexis Govan and George Fant missed four days of practice, junior forward Chastity Gooch, is more and we didn’t miss a beat. We were able to focused on improving than winning the move some people around. I don’t know if Sun Belt. that was the case in the last couple of sea- “We are just trying to get better each sons.” and every day,” she said. “We’re excited The Sun Belt might be missing a few fa- about the momentum headed into the miliar faces — I can’t be the only one dis- season and happy with the opportunity to appointed we won’t see a WKU vs. Middle do some great things.” Tennessee game this year — but the Top- Win, lose or draw, the two teams pers have the talent to play with anyone in should provide good competition and the conference. good entertainment for the entire 2013-14 Guard T.J. Price and forward George season. That’s a much better outlook than Fant, the last two Sun Belt tournament the teams had a year ago. OCTOBER 31, 2013 • BASKETBALL SECTION • WKUHERALD.COM PAGE 3 PLAYERS TO WATCH Lady Toppers Toppers Chastity Gooch T.J. Price Junior forward Junior guard • Ranked No. 3 among NCAA • Led WKU in points-per-game sophomores last season with (15.2), minutes per game (33) 350 rebounds in 31 games. and three-point percentage • Averaged a double-double last (35.8) last season as a sopho- season at 15.7 points and 11.3 more. rebounds per game and record- • Was named the Most Out- ed 26 total double-doubles, a standing Player at the Sun Belt school record and second-most Conference Tournament after in the NCAA. averaging 18 points per game • Named the 2013 Sun Belt Con- while shooting 43.9 percent. ference Defensive Player of the • A preseason All-Sun Belt Year and a member of the pre- Conference fi rst team selec- season Sun Belt Conference fi rst tion. team. PHOTO BY MIKE CLARK/HERALD PHOTO BY IAN MAULE/HERALD Chaney Means Bianca McGee Alexis Govan George Fant Brandon Harris Aleksej Rostov Senior guard Senior guard Junior guard Junior forward Senior guard Sophomore center • A full-time starter in • Averaged 12.5 points • No. 3 scoring sopho- • Led WKU in rebounds • One of two players to • Improved from a raw the 2012-13 season for in 24 games for WKU more in the NCAA last per game with a 6.6 av- appear in all 36 games freshman to WKU’s start- the Lady Toppers, av- last season after joining season, averaging 20.3 erage and fi nished sec- for WKU last year, aver- ing center by the end of eraging 4.2 points and the team in December points per game while ond with 12.8 points aging 29.6 minutes per the year last year. 3.3 rebounds per game. as a transfer. posting an additional per game last season. game. • Started in 17 games last • The only senior on the • Led WKU with 32 5.9 rebounds per game. • Averaged 13 points • Averaged 8.2 points, season, averaging 4.9 Lady Topper roster that three-point shots in • Only player to start in and 7.5 rebounds per 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 points and 2.7 rebounds has been at WKU for all 2012 and shot .409 all 31 of WKU’s games game in the Sun Belt assists per game last per game. four years. from the fi eld. last season. Conference Tourna- season. • Harper called Rostov • Voted as a 2013-14 • Voted to the pre- • Voted preseason Sun ment last year. • Harper said he expects the most improved play- Lady Topper captain. season Sun Belt Con- Belt Conference Player • A preseason Sun Belt Harris to be WKU’s er on the WKU roster at ference third team by of the Year by Sun Belt Conference second starting point guard at Media Day. conference coaches. coaches and a member team selection and Most the season-opener on of the preseason Sun Outstanding Player of Nov. 9. Belt Conference fi rst the 2011 Sun Belt Con- team. ference Tournament. PAGE 4 OCTOBER 31, 2013 • BASKETBALL SECTION • WKUHERALD.COM English forward Lawson brings unique skill set to WKU BY TYLER LASHBROOK [email protected] Coach Ray Harper was asked at Media Day which newcomer to the basketball team could have the biggest impact right away. “The biggest surprise has been Ben Lawson,” Harper said as he cracked a slight smile. “Bright, bright future.” Lawson, the Toppers’ freshman for- ward from London, England, is a uniquely versatile player that Harper said can be “special.” The 7-foot Englishman would be de- scribed on paper as a “big man,” but his skill set is that of a wing. “I’m not big enough to be a post-up guy at the moment,” said Lawson, who’s generously listed at 210 pounds. “I’ve been working at it. I’ve put on almost 20 pounds since I’ve been here.” Lawson said that junior forward George Fant helped smooth the transition from London to Bowling Green by show- ing him all of the fast food restaurants around town. Those restaurants provide Lawson a place to eat, and in turn gain weight, something that Harper wants to see his freshman forward do. But his thin frame hasn’t held back the deadliest part of his offensive repertoire — his jump shot. That jump shot, combined with his size and his ability to run the fl oor is what Harper thinks can make him “special.” “I’m just excited he’s in a WKU uniform because there’s going to come a day where people are going to look back when he ar- rived and not realize he’s the same play- er,” Harper said.