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• 2 Tops have ‘room for growTh’ • 3 Change sparked in harrison-doCks

• 4 ‘new Look, same goaL’ for Lady Tops • 5 veTeran pg Jones begins finaL run

• 8 C-usa men Led by experienCe aT Top • 9 mTsu, odu, Lady Tops piCked To Lead League

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DAILY NEWS NOV. 13, 2015

BasketballFriday, November 13, 20152 Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky

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OFFICIAL CORPORATE PARTNER OF WKU ATHLETICS

WKU basKetball 2015-16

Tops have ‘room for growth’

Five Hilltopper games to watch this season

The Hilltoppers don’t have to wait long to face a 2015 NCAA Tournament team on the road – something they’ll do four times this season. WKU plays at Belmont the next two seasons, and the Bruins return more than 80 percent of their production from a 22-win team that edged WKU last year in E.A. Diddle Arena.

After meeting just once at MTSU last year, the bitter rivals will play twice again this sea-son as conference foes. Middle Tennessee travels to Bowling Green for the first time since 2013 in late January, having won eight of the last nine meet-ings overall. The programs have played 130 times since the 1914-15 season.

The Tops get $95,000 for their single trip to Cincinnati. The Musketeers were picked to finish fourth in the Big East after mak-ing their fifth Sweet 16 appear-ance since 2008 last season, as well as their ninth tournament appearance in the last 10 years. The Hilltoppers haven’t played Xavier since a 93-60 home loss in 1997.

WKU hits the road to take on the Cardinals, who have had significant roster turnover and are embroiled in a scandal and NCAA investigation. That doesn’t make the task of winning at Louisville any easier. This contest ends a four-year contract. There was some bad blood last season following a first-half dust-up at Diddle Arena.

The Tops will be out for some revenge against the defend-ing league champion Blazers, who ended WKU’s season in the Conference USA quarterfi-nals during their impressive run to the title as the No. 5 seed. WKU also lost 71-66 at UAB in the regular season. The Toppers haven’t hosted the Blazers since a 15-point win in 2006.

Nov. 18, At Belmont

Dec. 5, At Xavier

Dec. 19, At Louisville

Jan. 28, vs. UAB

Jan. 30, vs. MTSU

Ray Harper is looking at the big picture.

The Western Kentucky coach – entering his fifth year at the helm – brought 10 newcomers onto the roster this season, including eight scholarship players. Just five players return from last year.

Those numbers haven’t stifled Harper’s excitement. If anything, they’ve boosted his optimism.

“It’s a work in progress, obvious-ly, but they’ve been a great group to work with, in terms of not having to coach effort and not having to coach attitude,” Harper said. “They’ve been good. Now, obviously we have to be patient with them. Anytime you have that many new guys, there’s a learning curve.

“But I do see a lot of potential. I think this team has a lot of room for growth as we go throughout the sea-son.”

That aspiration for growth comes with ambitions of returning to the NCAA Tournament.

The Hilltoppers reached the Big Dance in Harper’s first two sea-sons, including his first partial year, but they’ve fallen in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals and Conference USA quarterfinals in the last two campaigns. Both of those defeats came by one point.

To get over the hump, WKU will have to rely on a lot of new faces.

“The coaches are doing a great job

of putting people in their roles and getting everybody to buy into the system,” said redshirt junior guard Chris Harrison-Docks, the team’s returning leading scorer. “They’re putting us in that goal of taking every day one by one and taking the importance of practice and prepa-ration so that when we get into the season, even though we are a bunch of new guys, we all know how to handle it.”

Harrison-Docks is part of a deep backcourt that should pave the way for the Hilltoppers.

They added two major piec-es in Illinois graduate transfer

Aaron Cosby and junior college All-American Fredrick Edmond. WKU also brought in two freshmen from Tennessee, point guard Chris McNeal and shooting guard Marlon Hunter.

They must all help replace the pro-duction lost with the graduation of T.J. Price and Trency Jackson.

“Right now our strength is our backcourt,” Harper said. “... I think that’s going to be the strength of our team. I think we’re a little more ath-letic in the backcourt. We have the potential to break guys down off the dribble, which has been a little bit of a concern for us the last couple of

seasons.”Redshirt senior forward Nigel

Snipes is back on the wing and look-ing for an expanded role in his final go-around.

Redshirt senior Aleksej Rostov, junior center Ben Lawson and soph-omore forward Justin Johnson also return with hopes of filling the void left by four-year star forward George Fant.

Other who could pitch in with frontcourt help include junior col-lege transfer Anton Waters and 7-foot-2 English freshman center Nathan Smith.

“Everybody’s competing,” McNeal said. “They said last year people normally had their spots, like T.J., George and Trency. This year, everybody’s fighting for a spot, and working hard and having fun, too.”

Harper said this year’s team best embodies the style he’d like to play – fast-paced with the athleticism and length to defend well.

He also said he could imagine see-ing a different leading scorer just about every night because of a vari-ety of abilities.

“We didn’t have enough last year,” Harrison-Docks said. “We only had about six of us, seven of us. This year, we’ve got about nine to 10 that can contribute right away. I just think the style of play this year will be completely different. It’ll be so much more fast-paced and so many

By ZACH [email protected]

Harper excited by inexperienced team’s potential with overturned roster

Austin Anthony/[email protected] KENTUCKY coach Ray Harper talks at media day Oct. 28 at E.A. Diddle Arena. Harper is starting his fifth season at the helm.

See SCHEDULE, PAGE 3

Western Kentucky guard Chris Harrison-Docks sat in a corner of the locker room at media day, tucked up against a trophy case packed to the brim.

Maybe it’s looking at those trophies every day that’s stoked a fire in the redshirt junior.

“For the first time, there’s a sense of that – the pride that’s here,” Harrison-Docks said. “All these banners. I think people get caught up and forget all the history that’s here. ... I think the his-tory of all that kind of got forgot in that little window of players.”

Harrison-Docks is ready to make sure that sense of pride doesn’t fade this season.

He’s always produced on the court with noticeable swagger, but off the court, he’s been quiet, soft-spoken and content to be a good friend more than a leader who holds people account-able.

It’s time for a change. Harrison-Docks wants to be that leader.

“It’s also knowing for two years we didn’t have that, and it left us in two upsets in semifinals and quarterfinals,” he said. “I see the importance of it. When I was younger, I didn’t see the importance of it. Coach would be get-ting on us about it, and I’d be like, ‘We’re 7-0 in the league. What’s going on?’ Now, I’ve been through the cycle, and I’ve seen it. I’ve seen what it did to us as a team when we didn’t have it.

“My whole objective this year is to make sure that voice is always there.”

Harrison-Docks is the team’s most experienced player among a small group of five returners.

He was third for the Hilltoppers in scoring last year with 11.1 points per game, and he averaged a team-high 33.6 minutes.

Several of those minutes were spent being something he’s really not.

The 6-foot Michigan native has been used pri-marily as a point guard dur-ing his college career, but WKU’s influx of new guards opens a world of possibili-ties. Freshman Chris McNeal and graduate transfer Aaron Cosby are both capable of running the point, which leaves Harrison-Docks to be a natural scorer.

“I think he’s going to have the freedom to score the basketball,” WKU coach Ray Harper said. “We’re not going to have to rely on him to run the team and score. He’s going to be freed up to be able to score a little more. We can play him and Chris McNeal together. Aaron Cosby has looked really good at the

point as well. We’ve exper-imented with that a little bit. I think the best part of CHD’s game is he’s a com-petitive little dude, and he knows how to get the ball in the basket. Hopefully we can free him up with this team to be able to do that a little more.”

Harrison-Docks started all but two games last season, but he came off the bench for WKU’s exhibition wins over Lindsey Wilson College and Kentucky Wesleyan.

Harper said he made that move with the intention of bringing a spark off the bench. The idea seemed to work, as the junior scored 15 points in 24 minutes with three rebounds and three assists.

“It frees me up to be off the ball, on the ball, what-ever I need to do in that

situation in the game for us to be successful,” he said. “That’s what I’ll do. Last year was more so that I had to run point, and this year, it doesn’t have to be like that.”

Harrison-Docks is see-ing the big picture now. He admits that wasn’t always the case.

He said it was difficult at times to talk to WKU’s seniors in recent years, and that they sometimes lacked a necessary “vocal factor.”

It wasn’t until WKU met with sports psychologist Dr. Joe Carr in the offseason that Harrison-Docks realized it was up to him to be that presence.

“That kind of put into light what I need to do for us to

be successful, being a lead-er and how I need to hold people accountable, how I need to push people to reach their full potential,” he said. “What I realized is when you stop worrying about yourself, and you’re wor-rying about, ‘Oh, I’m tired because we’ve got prac-tice,’ then you think about the little 18-year-old that it’s his first time doing it, and you remember how you felt. You’re like, ‘Let me go over and say a couple words to him.’ ”

McNeal said Harrison-Docks is among a number of older players who have been welcoming since he arrived.

The other older play-ers have taken notice of

Harrison-Docks’ change in perspective, too.

“He definitely needs to be a leader, and I’ve seen it,” junior center Ben Lawson said. “He’s brought along almost all of the new back-court, and he’s done a great job. I’ve seen him in prac-tice. We do game scenario situations, and he’s the one bringing his team together. They know exactly what they’re doing and when they have to do it, and he’s done that a lot better this year than I thought in previous years.”

An offseason focus on the history of the program – including talks from WKU greats like Clem Haskins and Bobby Rascoe – seems to have struck a chord with Harrison-Docks.

He talks frequently about “how fortunate we are to play here – that we get to fly to games, that we get to stay at nice hotels, that we eat really nice meals. A lot of schools don’t do that.”

It’s a blessing to play for a program with a rich tradi-tion, Harrison-Docks said. Now he feels he owes the team a leader and a cham-pionship.

“When you’re consciously looking at what’s going on with other people, it’s a lot easier to be a leader because they continuously see you help pick them up,” he said. “Then when it’s time for them to pick you up, it seems like it just falls in effect. It basically becomes conta-gious, and that’s what it is right now. I hope it stays that way throughout the season. Only time will tell, but right now I think we’re in a good place as a team.”

— Follow Assistant Sports Editor Zach Greenwell on Twitter at twitter.com/ zach_greenwell or visit bgdailynews.com.

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Change sparked in Harrison-DocksBy ZACH GREENWELL

[email protected]

‘Pride’ in program fuels redshirt junior guard’s newfound interest in being leader for WKU

more guys this year can put their head on the rim. It’s not going to be so methodical.”

WKU opens the regular season Saturday at home against Campbellsville.

The nonconference slate is highlighted by road trips to 2015 NCAA Tournament par-ticipants Belmont, Xavier and Louisville, as well as three games in the Gulf Coast Showcase this month.

The Tops were picked sixth in C-USA by the league’s coaches and will have work to do to unseat favorites UAB and Old Dominion. They play both of those programs twice, along with rival Middle Tennessee among others.

Plenty of things have to come together before WKU can contend, but Johnson said he thinks they’re on the right track.

“I like this team a lot,” he said. “There’s some high-energy guys, some tough guys in this locker room. They’re going to come out and bust you in the mouth every night. It’s a different level of team. Coach never has to coach effort. There were times last year in practice he had to coach effort, and that’s never a thing in here. You’ve got guys div-

ing for loose balls, guys coming out bloody every day because they’re competing.”


From Page 2

SCHEDULE

Austin Anthony/[email protected] KENTUCKY redshirt junior guard Chris Harrison-Docks sits in front of his locker at media day Oct. 28 in E.A. Diddle Arena. Harrison-Docks is WKU’s leading returning scorer at 11.1 points per game.

BAc totrong/[email protected] KENTUCKY’S Justin Johnson (right) and Kentucky Wesleyan’s Marcus Fillyaw battle for a rebound Nov. 6 at E.A. Diddle Arena.


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‘New Look, Same Goal’ for Lady Tops Defending conference champions mix eight newcomers with returning players

Five Lady Topper games to watch this season

Heard will square off against friend and former boss Jeff Walz and his Louisville team in the Lady Toppers’ home opener. The Cardinals are the preseason No. 8 team nationally in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. Sophomore guard Mariya Moore was selected to the Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team.

A rematch of last year’s C-USA Tournament championship game will take place March 3. WKU won 60-57 in the final minutes this spring in Birmingham, Ala., to win the league title in its first year. Southern Miss features senior guard Jerontay Clemons, a Preseason All-C-USA Team selection.

This is the second game in a series brought on by former ath-letic director Ross Bjork’s depar-ture to Mississippi in 2012. WKU whipped the Rebels 98-69 last year in E.A. Diddle Arena and will go to Oxford this year to face an Ole Miss team picked sixth in the competitive Southeastern Conference.

WKU and Old Dominion played a classic in last year’s C-USA Tournament semifinals before the Lady Toppers pre-vailed with a 61-59 victory. Both teams received four first-place votes in the preseason league poll, with the Lady Monarchs edging WKU for second place. The ODU at WKU game will tip at 11 a.m.

These longtime rivals met once last season in Western Kentucky’s first year in Conference USA but will tangle twice this year, which WKU coach Michelle Clark-Heard and MTSU counterpart Rick Insell have praised. The Blue Raiders are led by C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Olivia Jones and are picked to win the league.

Nov. 21, vs. Louisville

Dec. 2, At Mississippi

Jan. 21, vs. Old Dominion

Jan. 30, At MTSU

March 3, At Southern Miss

The 2015-16 Western Kentucky squad won’t look like Lady Topper teams of the past few years.

Just five players return from last season’s bunch that swept the Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships.

Joining those five are a group of eight newcomers – five freshmen and three transfers. Six are eligible to play this season.

More than half the roster experi-enced offseason turnover, but coach Michelle Clark-Heard has tried to prevent that from being an excuse for the program to slip.

She coined the slogan “New Look, Same Goal” as a challenge to the group to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.

“It’s a lot of new faces, a lot of teaching for myself and my staff,” Heard said. “But it’s awesome.

“ ... We’ve built a culture of know-ing what we want here, and we just have to continue to keep going and keep teaching the new ones what WKU basketball’s all about.”

The Lady Toppers have enjoyed three consecutive strong years since Heard took over her alma mater after the 2011-12 season.

WKU went 22-11 in 2012-13, going to the WNIT after a 9-21 fin-ish the previous season.

The Lady Toppers broke through in 2013-14, winning a Sun Belt

Conference tournament title to earn an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2008.

WKU went 30-5 last season, including a 16-2 mark in its first C-USA regular season. The Lady Toppers won the league tourney title and went back to the Big Dance for the first time in back-to-back years since going to the NCAAs in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

But the two main standouts on those teams, Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan, have graduated. Now it’ll be up to a new-look WKU squad to make a three straight NCAA

Tournament trip.“We have the same goals,” senior

forward Jalynn McClain said. “We want to win conference, and we’re working hard every day to get there. It’s really exciting, and I’m looking forward to everything.”

The Lady Toppers’ best return-ing player is redshirt junior guard Kendall Noble. The former Perry County Central High School stand-out was WKU’s lone pick to the pre-season All-C-USA Team.

Noble scored 10.9 points per game last season while also notching 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.1 steals

per contest. The rebound, assist and steals totals were tops on the team.

Noble “understands and knows how to win, and I think that’s what it’s all about,” Heard said. “I think that’s why she’s been so successful for us. She’s willing to do whatever it takes.”

The 5-foot-11 Hazard native led C-USA in steals last season and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

“I just try to be the best player I can be and help lead the younger ones,” Noble said, “just help the team be successful, whatever coach needs me to do.”

Noble is one of three WKU cap-tains this season alongside McClain and senior point guard Micah Jones.

Jones averaged 8.7 points per game last season. McClain tallied 2.4 points per contest.

Two sophomore forwards with the last name Brown – Ivy and Tashia – are the other two returning players.

Tashia Brown was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team after averaging 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last year.

Ivy Brown, a former Miss Kentucky award winner in high school, averaged 3.3 points last year but went for a game-high 19 on Nov. 3 in the Lady Toppers’ exhibition win against Ouachita Baptist.

Of the six newcomers, freshman

By BRAD [email protected]

See GOAL, Page 5

Bac ToTrong/[email protected] KentucKy freshmen sidnee Bopp (left) and Kayla smith compete in a scrimmage last month at Hilltopper Hysteria. Bopp and smith are two of eight newcomers to the Lady toppers’ roster.


Bball5


Veteran PG Jones begins final runGreensburg native has started 100 of 101 games in career that’s included two conference titles

Micah Jones has been a steady perform-er throughout her career, holding down the point guard position for three successful Western Kentucky teams.

Now in her last year with the Lady Toppers, Jones is expected to be a team leader.

Jones is one of three captains on this year’s WKU squad alongside senior forward Jalynn McClain and redshirt junior guard Kendall Noble.

The 5-foot-8 Greensburg native will start at point guard for the Lady Toppers for the fourth straight year, trying to help a young WKU squad get back to the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row.

“Micah’s biggest growth is understand-ing and knowing that she’s been in the fire the last three years and has done all these things,” coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “Now it’s her senior year and she’s looking forward to doing whatever it takes for us to be successful.”

Jones has been a key piece of the Lady Toppers’ resurgence in the last three years under Heard.

She enters her senior season ranked 10th in WKU history in career three-point field goals made (138) and eighth in career min-utes played per game (30.2).

Jones has started 100 out of 101 games in her Lady Topper career.

“Every game, every year, you get bet-ter and better at being a point guard in col-lege basketball,” Jones said. “I was kind of thrown into the fire at the beginning and I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable as the years go on.”

Jones came to WKU after scoring 22.2 points per game her senior year at Green County High School. She was also named to the Kentucky All-Star Team her senior sea-son and was named 2011-12 Fifth Region Player of the Year.

Jones earned a starting spot immediately in her first year with the Lady Toppers, which was also Heard’s first season as the team’s coach.

She scored 5.7 points in nearly 30 minutes a game for a WKU team that went 22-11 after going 9-21 the previous year. Jones and the Lady Toppers advanced to a postseason tournament (the WNIT) for the first time in three years.

Still Jones had room for improvement, her teammates said.

“I would see her get down on herself a lot more freshman year and not pick back

up from it,” McClain said. “Now she might get down but it just comes with growth and experience.”

In her sophomore year, Jones upped her scoring to 10.1 points per game while notch-ing 96 assists compared to 55 turnovers.

She was named to the 2014 All-Sun Belt Conference Tournament team for helping WKU to a championship in its last season in the league.

Jones battled through foot injuries last year to average 8.7 points and 3.8 assists per game for a Lady Topper team that went 30-5.

Her 50 3-pointers were most on the team.“I think she’s gotten a lot better,” said

Noble, who is Jones’ roommate. “She’s actu-ally shooting the ball.

“... She’s not flashy or anything but you cannot turn her over and she knows how to use her body to protect the ball and get it to anybody whenever they need it.”

WKU cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time last season since 1997-98 and swept the Conference USA regular season and tourna-ment titles.

C-USA Player of the Year Chastity Gooch, C-USA Tournament MVP Alexis Govan and Noble, the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, grabbed most of the accolades, but Jones was the one piloting the Lady Topper attack.

“That’s what we talk about every day and that’s what we shoot for is to get back to

where (the program) was many years ago – top 25, top 10,” Jones said. “... I’m glad we’re making that progress.”

Heard said she and her staff talk to team captains “about leaving the place better than you found it.”

One area where Jones is trying to do that is in her tutelage of Sidnee Bopp, a freshman point guard from Marmaduke, Ark.

WKU brought in eight new players this offseason – a group that includes five fresh-men and three transfers – but Bopp is the only one out of the bunch whose natural position is point guard.

Bopp will spend this season learning the demands of being a college point guard from Jones before likely taking over the role next season.

“She’s really helped me out a lot,” Bopp said. “Every practice she’s teaching me new things.”

Jones said she’s tried to use her past expe-riences to encourage Bopp as she adjusts to college basketball.

“I know some of the things she goes through are things I went through as a fresh-man,” Jones said. “I know how tough it can be. ... She knows she can always come up to me if she needs something.”

The next goal for the team in her senior year is to win an NCAA Tournament game, Jones said. That’s something the Lady Toppers haven’t done since beating Marquette in the first round of the NCAAs back in 2000.

WKU fell 87-74 at Baylor in 2014 in Waco, Texas, then lost a heartbreaker 66-64 against Texas in March in Berkeley, Calif.

Taking that next step and making an NCAA Tournament run would be the perfect capstone to Jones’ career, she said.

“The first time we got there we were happy we got there, but last year we really wanted that win,” Jones said. “The past two years we’ve been so close so it’s that much more heartbreaking. We really just want to get a win.”

— Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter at twitter.com/ stephens_brad or visit bgdailynews.com.


guard/forward Kayla Smith has earned the most praise from coaches and play-ers throughout fall camp.

The Fayetteville, Ga., native scored 17 points in WKU’s exhibition last week.

“With her playing the level that she played at AAU basketball and com-ing in after playing against a lot of tough competition in high school, I think she is probably the one that’s the most ready to contribute right off the bat,” Heard said. “But that doesn’t take away from the other players that have been working hard and contrib-uting in practice and doing a lot of things too.”

The other four freshman are guard Sidnee Bopp and forwards Taylor Brown, Dee Givens and Simone Goods.

Brown was a late addition to the team, enrolling at WKU at the begin-ning of the semester after not quali-fying academically at Clemson, where she originally signed.

Brown ranked by ESPN as a top 100 recruit coming out of Paterson, N.J.

Also eligible to play this season is junior guard Ima Akpan, a Calabar, Nigeria, native who came to WKU by way of Kilgore College.

“I think it’s mixing well,” Jones said. “We have a lot of good chemistry on and off the floor, so we’re just working on putting everything together and get-ting where we need to be.”

Junior forward Kayla Styles and sophomore guard Jaycee Coe must each sit out this season after transfer-ring from Spalding and Kentucky, respectively. They’ll be eligible to take the floor in 2016-17.

“It’s a different team, it’s a different look, but our goals are still the same,” Heard said. “The ultimate goal for us each and every year is to be able to put ourselves in position to win the confer-ence championship and to be able to get into the NCAA.”

— Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter at twitter.com/ stephens_brad or visit bgdailynews.com.

From Page 4

GOALWestern KentucKy senior point guard Micah Jones dribbles during the Lady toppers’ 108-43 win against Ouachita Baptist on nov. 3 at e.A. Diddle Arena. Jones is in her fourth year starting for WKu.Austin Anthony/[email protected]

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C-USA led by experience at topBreaking down Conference USA

n Capsules, predicted order of finish according to Zach Greenwell, Daily News

1. UAB20-16 overall, 12-6 C-USA last year

n Outlook: UAB brings back all five starters from last year’s squad that won the conference tour-nament as a No. 5 seed and upset Iowa State in the NCAA tourney. But with heavier expectations, the Blazers must be consistent all season instead of just a one-week wonder.

2. Old Dominion27-8 overall, 13-5 C-USA last year

n Outlook: ODU guard Trey Freeman took the league by storm last year as newcomer of the year, and he’s back after leading the Monarchs to the NIT semifinals. But to be great, Old Dominion will have to be more than just Freeman, and it’s on him to elevate the play of those around him.

3. Middle Tennessee19-17 overall, 9-9 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Something clicked for the Blue Raiders down the stretch last season to get them to the C-USA championship game. That run put a posi-tive finish on what was a mediocre year before-hand with 10 new players. Now those players are experienced and hungry after a taste of winning.

4. Louisiana Tech27-9 overall, 15-3 C-USA last year

n Outlook: The Bulldogs lost the winningest trio of seniors in school history and have a new coach in Eric Konkol, but they have a good place to start with standout guard Alex Hamilton and forward Erik McCree. Don’t expect Louisiana Tech to be as down as some are projecting.

5. Western Kentucky20-12 overall, 12-6 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Much like UTEP and Louisiana Tech, the Tops lost a strong trio of seniors and have reloaded with a powerful, but unproven back-court. Experienced newcomers like Aaron Cosby and Fredrick Edmond will lead the way, but WKU still has to put all the pieces together.

6. UTEP22-11 overall, 13-5 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Coach Tim Floyd has said the Miners will only be as good as their rebuilt backcourt, and that requires a leap of faith. Star forward Vince Hunter is gone after a failed attempt at the NBA Draft, so newcomers like Oregon transfer guard Dominic Artis must pace UTEP.

7. Rice12-20 overall, 8-10 C-USA last year

n Outlook: The Owls built some momentum at the end of last season, including beating WKU at Diddle Arena, and they return their leading scorer in sharpshooting junior guard Marcus Jackson. Rice could be ready to make a leap in coach Mike Rhoades’ second season.

8. Marshall11-21 overall, 7-11 C-USA last year

n Outlook: A clear leader can go a long way, and the Thundering Herd have one in junior forward Ryan Taylor. He averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds last season as Marshall became one of the conference’s most dangerous teams at home down the stretch.

9. FIU16-17 overall, 8-10 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Speaking of game-changing players, the Panthers sport one of the only dominant big men in the league with 6-foot-10 senior center Adrian Diaz. He’s a shot-blocking expert and a difference-maker inside, but WKU showed last year FIU wilts when Diaz is made ineffective.

10. North Texas14-16 overall, 8-10 C-USA last year

n Outlook: The Mean Green had some of the best talent in the league last year and weren’t able to win with it. They’ve since lost some of those top athletes, but dangerous pieces like DeAndre Harris and Jeremy Combs will give UNT a chance on any given night.

11. Charlotte14-18 overall, 7-11 C-USA last year

n Outlook: The 49ers were hit hard in the off-season with a coaching change to new leader Mark Price and an exodus of some of the team’s best talent, like center Mike Thorne Jr. to Illinois and guard Torin Dorn to North Carolina State. Charlotte has a lot to figure out.

12. Florida Atlantic9-20 overall, 2-16 C-USA last year

n Outlook: The Owls were downright awful last year, but they bring back major contributors like Solomon Poole, Marquan Botley and Jackson Trapp. How good those pieces actually are remains to be seen, but they simply have to bet-ter this season based purely on experience.

13. UTSA14-16 overall, 8-10 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Forward Jeromie Hill made the Road-runners tick last season, and now he’s gradu-ated. It’s still unclear where the production will come from for UTSA this year in Hill’s stead, but they’ll have to solve that puzzle quickly to stay in the thick of things.

14. Southern Miss9-20 overall, 4-14 C-USA last year

n Outlook: You can count the Golden Eagles’ returning contributors on one hand, and the program has an NCAA investigation into alleged violations by the previous coaching staff hanging over its head. Southern Miss recently placed itself on another self-imposed postseason ban.

The known entities control Conference USA for now.

With several league teams scrambling to bring together new rosters, those with expe-rienced returners are project-ed to finish at the top.

“Every team wants to get to the tournament,” WKU coach Ray Harper said. “We have 10 new guys, and what we want to do is get better each and every day. I think this is a terrific league, and if you look at those teams who are picked at the top, they’re all teams who return a lot from last season.”

WKU is one of those teams with massive turnover, projected to finish middle of the pack in sixth.

The race begins with defending champion UAB, which also upset Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blazers bring back all five starters from a team that won the conference tourna-ment as the No. 5 seed, oust-ing the Hilltoppers along the way.

“We’ve talked a lot about last year, we had a great week,” UAB coach Jerod Haase said. “The entire sea-son was probably not up to the level we wanted it to be, but we did end strong and had a great week in the con-ference tournament and the NCAA Tournament. This year, we are really treating it like a whole new deal with a couple new faces on the team.

“But even the guys on the team that are coming back, we’re really trying to main-tain a high level of focus with an understanding that we don’t want to be talking about trying to have a great week. We want to talk about having a great year and hav-ing consistency with what we do.”

Old Dominion will be hot on UAB’s heels after a 27-win season and trip

to the NIT semifinals. The Monarchs were the only team to receive votes in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Senior guard Trey Freeman, last year’s C-USA newcomer of the year, will be ODU’s catalyst.

“With Trey, I think the big thing is can he have a similar year individually, but can he elevate the play of those around us?” Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones said. “We’ve got some high hopes, and I think Trey will be an integral part of what-ever success we’re able to achieve. He’s unquestion-ably our leader, and he’s the guy who leads by example.”

Middle Tennessee brings back four starters after an improbable run to the C-USA tournament cham-pionship game last season and was picked third by the coaches. Conversely, UTEP was projected fourth with a rebuilt roster.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that there has been some changeover with different teams, but I tell you what, those teams have recruited at a high level,” MTSU coach Kermit Davis said. “You just look at some of high school kids and transfers that are coming into our league, they’re going to be very tal-ented.”

Louisiana Tech will feel the weight of graduating stars Speedy Smith, Michale Kyser and Raheem Appleby.

The Bulldogs have a new coach in Eric Konkol after Michael White left for Florida, but they do return senior guard Alex Hamilton and formidable forward Erik McCree.

Louisiana Tech won at least a share of the C-USA regular-season title the last two seasons.

“We’ve got a lot of new players,” Konkol said. “We have a lot of young men in this program that didn’t play

a lot last year. This program had three outstanding play-ers that graduated as the school’s all-time wins lead-ers, so we have their shoes to fill.”

Starting with WKU, there’s plenty of unknown in the league.

A few teams, like Rice and North Texas, seem to be on the uptick. Others like Marshall and Florida International have game-changing individuals like forward Ryan Taylor and center Adrian Diaz, respec-tively.

Charlotte has a significant-ly altered roster and a new coach in Mark Price. UTSA and Florida Atlantic are try-ing to find their footing, and Southern Miss also seeks sta-bility amid an NCAA inves-tigation into alleged multiple violations by the previous coaching staff.

Davis said Seth Greenberg, an ESPN analyst and for-mer Virginia Tech coach, told him recently at MTSU that he views Conference USA as a two- or three-bid conference to the NCAA Tournament this year.

Harper said he can see that as well, but everyone must do their part.

“It’s a very good league,” Harper said. “Anytime you change leagues, that first year and that transition, you really don’t know what to expect. It was a very, very good league. Lot better ath-letes, little bit more size than the Sun Belt. You look at this year.

“You’ve got three or four teams that are hope-fully capable of playing in the NCAA Tournament, but we need to win nonconfer-ence games, and not just us or UAB or whoever, but the league as a whole.”


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Breaking down Conference USA

n Capsules, predicted order of finish according to Brad Stephens, Daily News

1. Middle Tennessee24-10 overall, 14-4 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Middle Tennessee missed the NCAA Tournament last season after going every year from 2009-14. They’ll look to get back this sea-son behind preseason Conference USA Player of the Year Olivia Jones. Jones averaged 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year.

2. Old Dominion21-13 overall, 11-7 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Old Dominion will try to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time overall but first time since 2008. Redshirt junior guard Jennie Simms was named to the preseason All-C-USA Team after averaging 19.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last year.

3. Western Kentucky30-5 overall, 16-2 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Western Kentucky lost stars Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan to graduation but still figures to contend for a second straight C-USA title. Redshirt junior guard Kendall Noble was the 2014-15 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year after grabbing a program-record 105 steals.

4. Southern Miss25-11 overall, 13-5 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Southern Mississippi lost four start-ers from its team that took WKU down to the final minutes in last year’s C-USA Tournament title game. The top returner is sophomore guard Jerontay Clemons, a Preseason All-C-USA Team selection.

5. UTEP12-16 overall, 7-11 C-USA last year

n Outlook: UTEP returns 10 letterwinners from last season’s team and seeks just its third all-time berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Miners feature seven seniors this season. Senior guard Cameasha Turner is a preseason All-C-USA Team pick after missing all but one game last season.

6. Charlotte15-17 overall, 10-8 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Charlotte came close to knocking off eventual champion WKU last season in the C-USA Tournament quarterfinals. The 49ers return their leading scorer from a year ago, junior guard Lefty Webster. The preseason All-C-USA pick averaged 14 points per contest in 2014-15.

7. UTSA16-15 overall, 11-7 C-USA last year

n Outlook: UTSA was one of just two C-USA teams to beat WKU last year and finished fourth in the league. This year’s Roadrunners squad features graduate center Dempsey Thornton, a former volleyball standout. Thompson led the vol-leyball team to two regular season C-USA titles.

8. UAB18-13 overall, 11-7 C-USA last year

n Outlook: UAB, the C-USA Tournament host, returns 10 letterwinners from last year’s team. The Blazers lost All-C-USA Team selection Jenae Smith but bring back senior guard Chelsee Black, who averaged 12.7 points per game and tallied a team-best 72 assists one year ago.

9. Louisiana Tech16-15 overall, 10-8 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Louisiana Tech, the second-win-ningest program in NCAA women’s hoops, seeks its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The Lady Techsters didn’t return any starters. Louisiana Tech brings back reigning C-USA Sixth Man of the Year Brandi Wingate.

10. Marshall17-15 overall, 8-15 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Marshall begins its fourth year under coach Matt Daniel and returns two starters from last season – redshirt senior guard Leah Scott and senior guard Norrisha Victrum. Scott, a Detroit native, was a preseason All-C-USA Team selection after scoring 15.4 ppg last year.

11. Florida Atlantic13-17 overall, 7-11 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Florida Atlantic returns four starters from last season including senior guard Ali Gor-rell, who averaged 13.9 points a team-best 6.5 rebounds last season. The Owls were the young-est team in Division I last season but finished the year second in the league in 3-pointers made.

12. Rice9-21 overall, 4-14 C-USA last year

n Outlook: Rice begins its first year under coach Tina Langley after she served the last seven seasons as associate head coach at Maryland. She replaces Greg Williams, who finished his 10-year tenure in Houston with three straight losing seasons.

13. FIU3-26 overall, 0-18 C-USA last year

n Outlook: FIU will take the court this season for new coach Marlin Chinn after failing to win a C-USA game last year. Cindy Russo, the Panthers’ coach since 1980, retired last season after a 3-13 start and interim coach Inge Nissen finished the year 0-13.

14. North Texas5-24 overall, 4-14 C-USA last year

n Outlook: North Texas was picked by C-USA coaches to finish last in the league in its first season under new coach Jalie Mitchell. She’s a North Texas Hall of Famer and the Mean Green’s all-time leading scorer. Mitchell replaces Mike Petersen, who went 28-61 from 2012-15.


MTSU, ODU, WKU picked at topConference USA coaches

seem to think the league will turn into a three-team race this season.

Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky were picked first, second and third in the pre-season C-USA poll, which was voted on by the league’s coaches.

But the margin between that trio was thin. The Blue Raiders got five first-place votes in the poll, and the Lady Monarchs and Lady Toppers got four each.

Texas-San Antonio, which was picked seventh in the poll, got the league’s other first-place vote.

“This is an unbeliev-able league,” WKU coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “We have great coaches and every single day you have to come out and be prepared and your team has to be men-tally prepared to get ready to face the different changeups and strategies that all the dif-ferent coaches and teams put together.”

The Lady Toppers swept the Conference USA regu-lar-season and tournament championships last season in their first year in the league.

But they brought back just five players from that squad and lost C-USA Player of the Year Chastity Gooch and C-USA Tournament MVP Alexis Govan.

Now a new WKU group led by preseason All-C-USA Team selection Kendall Noble will look to get back to the top.

“Going into the second year (as a C-USA member), I think it’s definitely going to be a challenge because this is a whole new look for our team,” Heard said. “At the end of the day, I think our team is ready for the chal-lenge and I think we’ll con-

tinue to keep working to get to that point.”

The Lady Toppers’ archri-val, MTSU, won the C-USA title in 2014 but missed the NCAA Tournament last year after being upset by Southern Mississippi in the C-USA semifinals.

Now this year’s Blue Raiders team will look to get back to the postseason behind junior guard/forward Olivia Jones, the preseason C-USA Player of the Year.

The Murfreesboro native led MTSU with 19.8 points per game last year while also grabbing 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 steals per contest.

Also returning for Blue Raiders coach Rick Insell is junior guard Ty Petty, who tallied 11.6 points and 4.4 assists per game.

“We had to get stronger from our point guard to our five position,” Insell said. “I think we have done that.

“I look at our young ladies, and they don’t even look like the same players we had last year. ... We have been having some outstanding practices.”

Unlike last season, WKU and MTSU will meet twice this year. The teams played just once last season, a 63-60 Lady Topper win Feb. 21 in E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Blue Raiders and WKU have met 66 times and Insell said it was impor-tant for the college game as a whole that the two long-time rivals play a home-and-home each year.

“Western, you’re looking at one of the best fan bases in the country,” Insell said. “Middle Tennessee, we’ve been in the top 20 the last five or six years with our fan base.

“Then you don’t play but once? I don’t think we put a lot of thought behind that.

“ ... They went back and corrected that and we’re playing each other now

twice. ... There’ll be a lot of people around the country looking at those two games.”

Old Dominion pushed the Lady Toppers to the limit in the C-USA semifinals in March before WKU pulled out a 61-59 win.

Coach Karen Barefoot’s Lady Monarchs feature red-shirt junior guard Jennie Simms, a preseason All-C-USA Team selection.

Simms scored 19.3 points per game last year for ODU. By comparison, the team’s next highest scorer was Tiffany Minor, who aver-aged 7.7 ppg.

Simms also led the Lady Monarchs with 8.1 rebounds per game.

“She just can do so many things and that’s what makes her elite and, to me, one of the best guards in the coun-try,” Barefoot said.

Rounding out the top 10 in the preseason C-USA poll were Southern Miss, UTEP, Charlotte, UTSA, UAB, Louisiana Tech and Marshall.

The three teams at the bot-tom of the poll (Rice, Florida International and North Texas) are all breaking in new coaches – Tina Langley at Rice, Marlin Chinn at FIU and Jalie Mitchell at North Texas.

Other players to watch in the league are Jerontay Clemons (Southern Miss), Leah Scott (Marshall), Cameasha Turner (UTEP), Lefty Webster (Charlotte) and Brandi Wingate (Louisiana Tech).

“This conference is so talented top to bottom,” Barefoot said. “... We’re looking forward to seeing what this conference will be doing.”

— Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter at twitter.com/stephens_brad or visit bgdailynews.com.


LOUISVILLE(AP) — Louisville is facing challenges on the court, and off of it heading into the season.

The Cardinals have such a young roster that coach Rick Pitino signed a couple of graduate transfers to provide leadership.

Then came the escort alle-gations this month.

Katina Powell has alleged that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee hired her and other dancers to strip and have sex with players and recruits from 2010-14. Four investigations have been launched, and the scrutiny has raised questions about the Hall of Fame coach’s future with the program.

Pitino has denied knowl-edge of the activities alleged in Powell’s book and vows not to resign.

Players have been told not to discuss the sex scandal, but the Cardinals (27-9 over-all, 12-6 ACC) will prob-ably be reminded of it often by opposing fans and asked about it during their second season of Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Pitino skipped ACC media day to allow the event to remain focused on basket-ball instead of the allega-tions. He’s taking the same approach with his team, which includes seven new-comers.

“They’re all very talent-ed,” Pitino said of the group. “We can shoot; we can shoot free throws, which is a wel-come sight. We’ve got a lot of potential because our young guys will grow and get better and better.”

Louisville lost four regu-lars from last season’s squad that reached the NCAA East Region final. Pitino landed five freshmen that he has declared as his best class ever

at the school: forwards Deng Adel and Ray Spalding, and guards Jay Henderson, Donovan Mitchell and Ryan McMahon.

Pitino even added his ver-sion of “one-and-dones” with fifth-year players Damion Lee (Drexel) and Trey Lewis (Cleveland State), whose experience and leadership is critical to developing this young group.

For the 6-foot-6 Lee, the role is nothing new.

“Here, it’s great because it’s not just me being a leader,” he said, referring to junior forward Mangok Mathiang. “But overall it’s not much different, because leadership is leadership.”

Here are other things to watch in Louisville’s season:

q factorThough 6-3 Lewis was

brought in to provide some backcourt experience, sopho-more Quentin Snider appears to be the point man for the Cardinals. Taking over after the late-season dismissal of Chris Jones, Snider showed promise as a floor leader and shooter in averaging 4.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

maturing big menHow much sophomore

7-footers Anas Mahmoud and Mats Stockman play this season remains to be seen, but they have a bet-ter grasp of American bas-ketball. Mahmoud, from Egypt, has gained more weight necessary to bang inside to go along with solid defensive and shooting skills. Stockman, a native of Norway, is running the floor better and has shown signs of becoming a rim protector as well.

ready and adelDeng Adel was impressive

on both ends of the floor in

both scrimmages and could be the versatile small for-ward Pitino has sought. More important than being a strong shooter and ball handler is the 6-7 Sudan native’s defensive ability that could make him a part of his coach’s defensive trademark defensive strategy.

LEXINGTON— Kentucky coach John Calipari is pre-pared for his latest talent-ed freshman class to come together later than sooner.

He still expects some ini-tial results from a Wildcats roster expected again to con-tend for a national champi-onship.

“Believe me, these guys know where we are,” Calipari said. “They know the hype of this program sometimes. They know. They all know we have to fight.”

While the Hall of Fame coach acknowledges that they aren’t ready for a title fight at the moment, his Kentucky roster appears to have filled the voids left by seven players who began their NBA careers this week. The Wildcats return senior Alex Poythress and junior Marcus Lee in the frontcourt, along with sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis from last year’s record-setting squad that began 38-0 before los-ing in the Final Four.

That trio must blend with another talented freshman class including 6-foot-11 Skal Labissiere, 7-footer Isaac Humphries and trio of tall guards: 6-3 Isaiah Briscoe, 6-6 Charles Matthews and 6-4 Jamal Murray. Kentucky also signed junior trans-fer Mychal Mulder (6-4) from Vincennes (Indiana) University.

Calipari believes there’s enough returning experi-ence and height to carry the Wildcats deep into postsea-son – once they get through transitional growing pains.

Helping that process is the 5-9 Ulis, who takes over the point and is already being mentioned as one of the nation’s top floor leaders. Unafraid to drive the lane against bigger defenders,

he also has perimeter range along with a keen awareness of his teammates’ presence.

His new backcourt mates possess similar skills, pro-viding Calipari the option of using a three-guard align-ment to utilize their skills.

“I have never been on a team where we can play three point guards,” Lee said. “They all see things that we don’t and their minds are all going at the same time. It’s very different playing with three guards, but it’s also very fun.”

Here are some other things to watch as Kentucky opens the season:

international flavorNearly a third of

Kentucky’s roster is from outside of the U.S.: Murray and Mulder are from Ontario, Canada; Labissiere is a native of Haiti who left after the devastating earthquake in 2010. And Humphries is from Australia.

young isaacTo see Humphries’ aggres-

sive blocks and perimeter jumpers, it’s easy to for-get he’s just 17. And that’s why Calipari isn’t expect-ing too much of Humphries – yet. There’s lot of room for growth, but the coach has compared Humphries’ inside physicality to prede-cessor Karl-Anthony Towns. Humphries got that from playing rugby. “I’m not one of those people that tackle people in the post,” he said. “I just like to make it tough for them.”

meet the press?Teaching defense has often

been Calipari’s toughest task with his string of offense-minded short-timers, and he hasn’t often talked about using a full-court press – until now. “I’ve been mess-ing around with my press

that I used in my past years,” he said. “With some players it looks good. There are a couple players I said, ‘Guys, if we press you’re not play-ing.’ So if we’re pressing half the game, uh oh, that’s 20 minutes you’re not play-ing unless you figure out how to do this.”


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By GARY B. GRAVESAP Sports Writer

By GARY B. GRAVESAP Sports Writer

Friday, November 13, 2015 11Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bball11

Follow the Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers in the Daily News and on www.BGDailyNews.com!

Follow the Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers in the Daily News and on www.BGDailyNews.com!

GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK DON’T MISS A GAME THIS SEASON

AT E.A. DIDDLE ARENA DON’T MISS A GAME THIS SEASON

AT E.A. DIDDLE ARENA These Businesses Proudly Support WKU Basketball!

HILLTOPPERS HILLTOPPERS HILLTOPPERS and and

LADY TOPPERS LADY TOPPERS LADY TOPPERS

GO TOPS! GO TOPS!

Help is Here. Because No One Should Have To Face A Crisis Alone.

Bowling Green, KY 1043 Pedigo Way, Suite 40

270-282-4111

www.miracle-ear-bowlinggreen.com

Call For Appointment

Don’t miss a minute of holiday sounds this season!

Mon-Thurs 9-7, Fri & Sat 9-8, Sun 1-5:30

Bowling Green, KY • 270-843-0506 280 Three Springs Rd (Across from Bob Evans)

Good Luck

WKU

www.LuxuryImportsofBowlingGreen.com

LUXURY IMPORTS • 325 THREE SPRINGS RD BOWLING GREEN • 270.745.0001

“Quick, Quality Service”

R X R

X

HINES PHARMACY

2 Locations To Serve You… 1340 KY. Hwy. 185 • Ph: 842-4341 M-F 9-6 • Sat. 9-1 • Drive-Thru Service

165 Natchez Trace, Suite 101 • Ph: 796-1818 M-F 8:30-5:30 • Drive-Thru Service

GO O D L U C K W K U ! Pr oud to Suppo r t W K U Athle tics!

For appliance rebates up to $400 Visit www.atmosenergy.com/home/efficiency

GOOD LUCK HILLTOPPERS & LADY TOPPERS!

839 US 31W ByPass • 270-781-0232

1260 Campbell Lane�•� Bowling Green, KY

270-842-8981 www.AquaLand-Pools.com

270-781-6770 www.JimJohnsonAuto.com

GO TOPS!

829 State St. • Bowling Green, KY • 270-843-3192

BetterHearingCenters.org

M EYER M ORTGAGE CORPORATION 1280 Fairway St. • Bowling Green, KY 782-8824 meyermortgagecorp.com

Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers! Good Luck Good Luck

Open: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 7am-1pm, Sun 7-10am 1755 Scottsville Rd • Bowling Green

270-842-1700 • 800-331-1212 www.AVIS.com

AVIS RENT A CAR

GO HILLTOPPERS!

2012 Scottsville Rd. • Bowling Green, KY Sales 270-842-4881

Service 270-495-0691

2325 Scottsville Road • Bowling Green, KY 270-781-8230 www.garyforcehonda.com

GO HILLTOPPERS! Good Luck Toppers! GARY FORCE

HONDA GARY FORCE

HONDA

HALL HEATING & AIR

270-393-9908 Owners: Frank & Donna Hall

K K K U U U W W W K K K U U U

W W W

GO TOPS! Joan

Pendley 270-991-6351

www.joanpendley.com

Friday, November 13, 201512 Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bball12

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CAMRY CAMRY

All prices plus tax, title, license fees plus $249 doc fee. All APR with approved credit. With appr oved credit. 60 monthly payments of $17.48 for each $1,000 borrowed. Offer expires 11/30/15


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RAV 4 NEW 2015 TOYOTA

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COROLLA NEW 2016 TOYOTA

COROLLA COROLLA


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tax, tile, lic, fees. Plus $249 doc.

fee with approved credit.

Offer Expires 11/30/15

All prices plus tax, tile, lic, fees. Plus $249 doc.
















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2012 CHEVROLET COLORADO REG CAB 4X2

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NEW 2016 TOYOTA

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CAMRY CAMRY GAS or HYBRID GAS or HYBRID GAS or HYBRID

6 to chose from

6 to chose from

DAILY NEWS NOV. 13, 2015...

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