New Recruits for the Toppers

There is some good news on the Hill! That is, we are getting three highly regarded recruits for the upcoming season; two big men, and a guard to add to our firepower. Hopefully, the new guys feel at home here at WKU, and are able to get right into the mix as true Hilltopper athletes. I myself am very excited for the 2010-1011 season and I am very confident that we will be a great ball club. We still have the amazing talent of Steffphon Peettigrew along with the young talent of freshman point guard Jamal Crook, so with these three athletes joining the team, WKU should hopefully be able to put some points on the scoreboard this upcoming season.

This is an article I wrote, discussing the top three recruits WKU will be getting for the 2010-2011 season. Brandon Peters, Kene Anyigbo, and Stephon Drane will soon be joining the Hilltopper community.

Slaughter Shows Out at an NBA Pre-Draft Event

Over the past weekend, the highly-regarded 58th Annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament was held in Portsmouth, VA. The tournament features the top 64 college seniors, where they compete in a four day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every single NBA franchise. WKU senior AJ Slaughter averaged 16.0 ppg and 3.0 apg.
Playing for the Norfolk Sports Club team, Slaughter finished in the top 10 in the league in scoring and three-point field goal percentage. After Slaughter averaged 25.3 minutes per game, the Shelbyville, KY product was named to the 12-member All-Tournament team.
In his opening round game, Slaughter came off the bench and scored 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting, along with 5 assists, all in 21 minutes of play. Of his performance, NBAdraft.net wrote, "Putting in what is likely the most impressive performance of the day, Slaughter was able to get anywhere that he wanted on the court, and get a good look every time he pulled the trigger. Playing more off the ball, he was able to spread the court with his outside shooting or attack for finishes in the paint. His jumper is extremely smooth and he is able to shoot with good rhythm and balance with a hand in his face and from beyond the arc."

E.A. Diddle

Within WKU's history, lies one of the greatest coaches of all time, E.A. Diddle. Diddle became the first coach in history to coach 1,000 games at one school. He was known for waving a red towel around along the sidelines during his games. Diddle was known to wave, toss, and chew on this towel, and even cover his face in times of disappointment. His red towel is now part of WKU's official athletic logo. Diddle experienced only five losing seasons in 42 years and overall, averaged 25 wins per year.

E.A. Diddle had won more games than any coach in history when he retired in 1964. He was loved by the WKU community and was the first person to put WKU on the map, athletically. He founded the fast break style of play which was one of the main contributing factors in his success.

This slideshow is composed of images of Diddle, as well as E.A. Diddle Arena, the basketball gymnasium that was constructed in honor of Coach Diddle.

2009-2010 Season

Things are coming to an end, as the Hilltoppers fell short of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Although we played tough and had some nice accomplishments this season, we were unable to win the SunBelt Conference Championship, which we would have had to do in order to be accepted into the NCAA tournament. Although we weren't a part of the big tournament, spirits remain high on the hill. Hey, there's always next year...

The following audio bit is some information about the past season, including some overall statistics of the Hilltopppers key players:

With March Madness approaching, it is imperative that the Hilltoppers win the Sun Belt Conference, in order to make it to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. If there is ever a part of the season, in which you should turn into a Hilltopper fanatic, this is it. Maybe this slideshow will pull a little Hilltopper pride out of you!

Hidden Talent

Something a lot of people, especially students at WKU don't know is that senior Jeremy Evans has another outstanding talent outside of basketball, art. Evan's artwork mostly consists of portraits of athletes and celebrities and his work has been showcased in numerous places in Bowling Green. Before a game in December, Evan's work was displayed in Diddle Arena, attracting a lot of attention from Hilltopper fans.

Evans has stated that before he graduates, he would like to compose portraits of all of the teammates he has played with over the years, as well as the coaches.

Here is a selection of Evan's artwork:

Jeremy Evans will be graduating in 2010, with a major in interdisciplinary studies and a concentration in art.

Senior Night

On February 18th, the seniors of the Hilltopper basketball team played the last game they will ever play at Diddle Arena. On an emotional senior night, Hilltopper star A.J. Slaughter played his best game of the season, putting up 31 points against the visiting South Alabama Jaguars. Also, senior Jeremy Evans made a lay up 1:47 into the game to earn 1,000 career points. Evans is the 44th member to join the WKU 1,000 point club.

The game was exciting, as the Toppers played phenomenal. It was the ideal way the seniors wanted to leave their home court, with a blasting victory of 99-69 over South Alabama. The season is far from over, although the chance to root for the Hilltoppers in their home arena is no longer possible.

With the conclusion of senior night, we must bid farewell to A.J. Slaughter, Anthony Salle, Jeremy Evans and Nemanja Melosevic.

White Out

WKU's white-out game against Houston on February 9th was nothing short of exciting. It was a hard fought battle between the Toppers and the Cougars, although the Toppers came up short in the end.

The score at halftime was 40-33, favoring WKU. The first half concluded with a few high intensity jams on both ends of the court. By the time the second half was nearing its beginning, the energy in Diddle Arena could be felt by everyone. Every single Topper fan in the building was ready to see what the second half would have in store.

Throughout the second half, both teams were basically trading baskets, keeping the game incredibly close. As I glanced around the student section at my fellow peers, I could see the looks of terror, as people realized that the game could end in the opposite teams favor. Students clenched their red towels as the game neared its end, with an incredibly close score.

The last thirty seconds of the game would prove to be quite questionable. With just a second left on the clock and a tied score of 72-72, the Cougars point guard drove in for a last second lay-up. With 2 tenths of a second left, the whistle blew as the Cougar's point guard was supposedly fouled. To add on to the hectic situation, WKU head coach Ken McDonald was issued a technical foul. After the Houston free throws were shot, a Topper player grabbed the rebound and the whistle blew yet again, this time against the Cougars.

Still with 2 tenths of a second left, the Toppers had the chance to try for a miracle play, which of course didn't happen. Despite the unwanted outcome, this was an extremely entertaining basketball game.