/Stansbury still ‘cruiting, coaching at WKU

Stansbury still ‘cruiting, coaching at WKU

Another reason is that his teams still have high highs as well as lows. This year’s Hilltoppers beat such teams as Arkansas, West Virginia and St. Mary’s. Western, however, lost three of their conference games, losing to Marshall, Old Dominion and FIU by at least 15 points each. They looked like they were on their way to another loss at Southern Miss. At halftime, the Hilltoppers led 13 to 21, 34 to 21. They held onto that lead for the remainder of the game. The Golden Eagles then took control in the second half. Western and Stansbury would have been disappointed if the Eagles had missed their free throws, which they did 5 of 12. Stansbury’s one thing that hasn’t changed is his ability to recruit. His freshman prize this season is just-turned-18-year-old, 6 feet, 11-inch Charles Bassey, who turned down schools such as Kansas, UCLA, LSU, Cal, Baylor and many others to attend Western. Bassey is a well-muscled, agile man-child who scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against USM. Bassey could be a one and done player. More details to follow. Stansbury has had one change: His radio show was interrupted by his audience to listen to any box scores. He looked at the turnovers and frowned. He said, “We had 11 turnovers during the second half.” “That’s bad. The good news is that we wouldn’t have won this game two weeks ago. We have grown a lot. It was evident tonight.” The Hilltoppers, pre-season favorites to win Conference USA, have won three consecutive games to improve their record to 4-3 in league play and 9-9 overall. They will play at Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Southern Miss, which hosts Marshall Saturday, is now at 11-9 and 3-5. For those who are not familiar with Stansbury, a Kentucky-native, Stansbury was an assistant coach for Richard Williams’ 1996 Mississippi State team, which reached the Final Four. Williams succeeded Stansbury as head coach in 1998. Stansbury was a State coach for 14 years, which is a long time for college basketball coaches. Stansbury had just three losing seasons in the SEC and was first in the SEC Western Division 4 times. He was clearly doing everything right. He was a part of five NCAA Tournament teams, but his teams never advanced beyond the second round. With a record of 293-165, a winning percentage 64 percent, he resigned from State. State fans called him “Stans” because he was, and probably still is, a master at recruiting. He said that Bassey was a five-star recruiter and that he should be a senior at high school. But he reclassified and graduated one year earlier. He is able to run on the floor. Bassey has great hands. Stansbury said, “We’ll be seeing.” Stansbury said, “He’s young, but he’s such an physical presence. He should be drafted if he is good enough. We’ll see. USM’s Doc Sadler described Bassey as “the first sure-fire pro” in his five years of playing in the league. “The thing that I love about him, Sadler stated, is that he works hard when he doesn’t have the ball.” “That’s something that you don’t often see with young, talented men with his size, ability, and talent.” One wonders, while watching the Hilltoppers play, why Bassey doesn’t get more of the ball. He took only 10 shots. He took seven shots. Stansbury doesn’t have a point guard who can direct the show and make sure that Bassey is happy. Stansbury has had five point guards this season. Stansbury is still searching for the right guy. Stansbury said that coaching Western was like going home. Bowling Green is less than two hours away from Battletown, his hometown. He then took two years off to coach, and served two years at Texas A&M as an assistant. The Aggies quickly rose in the national recruiting rankings. He is in his third season with Western. His first team was 15-17. His second was 27-11. “Our fans love good basketball,” Stansbury said. Stansbury said, “We sold our arena (7.326 seats) before even the season started.” State fans will always remember the three Stansbury boys who were often accompanied Stansbury to postgame press conferences. They’re not so little anymore. Isaac, the oldest, is an 18-year old senior who plays basketball. He scored 33 on the ACT and is being recruited to MIT. Noah (16 years old) is a sophomore and has already started on his high school’s team. Luke, the baby, is now in eighth grade at 14 years old and nearly as tall than his father. Stansbury said that the two years Stansbury spent away from basketball were the most memorable of his entire life. He was able to spend more time with his boys, travel with Meo, and recharge his basketball batteries. He replied, “Yes,” and said that he continues to follow Mississippi State. He often uses Twitter to commend State teams in all sports. He said that he had spent 22 years in the area. He said, “I have so many friends there. Our boys were born there.” “Ben Howland does a fantastic job there. Stansbury has a great team. He can add another guard to the team and keep Bassey around for a year. Stansbury hopes to stay in the game for longer. Stansbury said, “I still love the sport and I love coming home.” “I still have a few good years.”_x000D