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.