2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Ray Harper in his fourth season. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were second year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 18–16, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in eighth place. They defeated North Texas and UAB to advance to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Old Dominion. Despite having 18 wins and a better they .500 record, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.[1]

2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record18–16 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • David Boyden
  • Shawn Forrest
  • Chris Shumate
Home arenaE. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons
2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UAB 16 2   .889 26 7   .788
Middle Tennessee 13 5   .722 25 10   .714
Marshall 12 6   .667 17 16   .515
Louisiana Tech 12 6   .667 23 10   .697
Old Dominion 12 6   .667 25 13   .658
UTEP 10 8   .556 19 14   .576
Charlotte 9 9   .500 14 19   .424
Western Kentucky 8 10   .444 18 16   .529
North Texas 7 11   .389 12 20   .375
Rice 7 11   .389 12 20   .375
FIU 7 11   .389 13 19   .406
Florida Atlantic 5 13   .278 8 25   .242
Southern Miss* 5 13   .278 8 21   .276
UTSA 3 15   .167 5 27   .156
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.
2016 C-USA Tournament winner

On March 17, 2016, head coach Ray Harper resigned after three players were suspended by a university disciplinary committee.[2][3][4] He finished at WKU with a record of 90–62. On March 28, the school hired Rick Stansbury as head coach.[5]

Previous season

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The Hilltoppers finished the season 20–12, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for the second place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to UAB. Despite having 20 wins they didn't play in a postseason tournament.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ayinde Sprewell 0 G 6'3" 188 Junior Orlando, FL Graduate transferred to St. Thomas
Kevin Kaspar 1 G 6'0" 173 Senior Istanbul, Turkey Graduated
Derrick Clayton 2 G 6'6" 184 Freshman Castro Valley, CA Transferred to Palm Beach State College
Trency Jackson 3 G 6'2" 188 RS Senior Jackson, MS Graduated
Brandon Price 5 G 5'9" 151 Sophomore Radcliff, KY Transferred to Georgia Southwestern
Jordan Green 10 F 6'7" 193 Freshman Lexington, KY Transferred to Coppin State
Avery Patterson 15 G 6'0" 190 Freshman Decatur, GA Transferred to Columbia State Community College
Rob Marberry 33 F 6'8" 230 Freshman Nashville, TN Walk-on; transferred to Lipscomb
George Fant 44 F 6'6" 250 Senior Bowling Green, KY Graduated
T. J. Price 52 G 6'4" 223 Senior Slidell, LA Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Aaron Cosby 2 G 6'3" 205 RS Senior Louisville, KY Transferred from Illinois. Cosby will be eligible to play immediately since Cosby graduated from Illinois.
Phabian Glasco 13 F 6'7" 225 Junior Tulsa, OK Junior college transferred from Connors State College
Willie Carmichael III 24 F 6'8" 210 Sophomore Apopka, FL Transferred from Tennessee. Under NCAA transfer rules, Carmichael III will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Frederick Edmond 25 G 6'4" 190 Junior Lansing, MI Junior college transferred from College of Southern Idaho
Anton Waters 42 F 6'6" 205 Junior Baltimore, MD Junior college transferred from Gulf Coast State College

Class of 2015 recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Chris McNeal
PG
Memphis, TN South Side High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jul 7, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Marlon Hunter Jr.
SG
Memphis, TN Houston High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 6, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Kristaps Gluditis
PG
Riga, Latvia Get Better Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Apr 28, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Nathan Smith
C
London, England Get Better Academy 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 220 lb (100 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.

Roster

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2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 1 Chris McNeal 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Jackson, Tennessee
G 2 Aaron Cosby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Louisville, Kentucky
G 3 Marlon Hunter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee
F 13 Phabian Glasco 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Tulsa, Oklahoma
F 14 Benjamin Lawson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Hitchin, England
G 15 Dylan Sanford (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Owensboro, Kentucky
C 20 Aleksej Rostov 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Riga, Latvia
F 21 Nigel Snipes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Marietta, Georgia
C 22 Nathan Smith 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr London, England
F 23 Justin Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Hazard, Kentucky
F 24 Willie Carmichael (I)   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Apopka, Florida
G 25 Fredrick Edmond 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Lansing, Michigan
G 32 Keifer Dalton (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Albany, Kentucky
F 42 Anton Waters 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Baltimore, Maryland
G 51 Chris Harrison-Docks 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Okemos, Michigan
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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[6]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/02/2015*
7:00 pm
Lindsey Wilson W 84–71 
E. A. Diddle Arena (2,881)
Bowling Green, KY
11/06/2015*
7:00 pm
Kentucky Wesleyan W 75–68 
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,207)
Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
11/14/2015*
7:00 pm
Campbellsville
Gulf Coast Showcase Opening Round
W 97–77  1–0
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,424)
Bowling Green, KY
11/18/2015*
6:00 pm, ASN
at Belmont L 85–90  1–1
Curb Event Center (3,253)
Nashville, TN
11/21/2015*
12:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Stony Brook W 67–66  2–1
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,684)
Bowling Green, KY
11/23/2015*
5:00 pm
vs. Drake
Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals
L 79–81 OT 2–2
Germain Arena (523)
Estero, FL
11/24/2015*
1:30 pm
vs. Central Michigan
Gulf Coast Showcase consolation round
W 88–60  3–2
Germain Arena (823)
Estero, FL
11/25/2015*
2:30 pm
vs. Duquesne
Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place game
L 73–81  3–3
Germain Arena (1,077)
Estero, FL
12/01/2015*
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Eastern Kentucky W 86–84  4–3
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,026)
Bowling Green, KY
12/05/2015*
7:30 pm, FS1
at No. 12 Xavier L 64–95  4–4
Cintas Center (10,250)
Cincinnati, OH
12/13/2015*
2:00 pm, ASN
Indiana State W 75–62  5–4
E. A. Diddle Arena (2,810)
Bowling Green, KY
12/16/2015*
8:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Alabama A&M W 79–70  6–4
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,109)
Bowling Green, KY
12/19/2015*
11:00 am, ESPNU
at No. 19 Louisville L 56–78  6–5
KFC Yum! Center (21,606)
Louisville, KY
12/22/2015*
8:00 pm, ASN
Detroit W 79–74  7–5
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,031)
Bowling Green, KY
12/28/2015*
7:00 pm
Brescia W 93–66  8–5
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,388)
Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA regular season
01/03/2016
12:00 pm, ASN
at Marshall L 76–94  8–6
(0–1)
Cam Henderson Center (4,623)
Huntington, WV
01/07/2016
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
FIU L 72–75  8–7
(0–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,394)
Bowling Green, KY
01/09/2016
2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Florida Atlantic W 86–82 OT 9–7
(1–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,607)
Bowling Green, KY
01/14/2016
7:00 pm, ASN
at Rice L 73–83  9–8
(1–3)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,664)
Houston, TX
01/16/2016
7:00 pm
at North Texas W 81–76  10–8
(2–3)
The Super Pit (1,903)
Denton, TX
01/21/2016
6:00 pm, ASN
at Old Dominion L 62–68  10–9
(2–4)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,535)
Norfolk, VA
01/23/2016
6:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
at Charlotte L 71–88  10–10
(2–5)
Dale F. Halton Arena (4,197)
Charlotte, NC
01/28/2016
6:30 pm, FS1
UAB W 69–62  11–10
(3–5)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,892)
Bowling Green, KY
01/30/2016
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Middle Tennessee L 64–66  11–11
(3–6)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,259)
Bowling Green, KY
02/04/2016
7:00 pm
at UTSA W 83–71  12–11
(4–6)
Convocation Center (1,003)
San Antonio, TX
02/06/2016
4:00 pm, FS1
at UTEP L 89–93 OT 12–12
(4–7)
Don Haskins Center (12,000)
El Paso, TX
02/13/2016
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Marshall L 93–96 OT 12–13
(4–8)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,373)
Bowling Green, KY
02/18/2016
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Old Dominion L 56–59  12–14
(4–9)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,182)
Bowling Green, KY
02/20/2016
2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Charlotte W 59–54  13–14
(5–9)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,570)
Bowling Green, KY
02/25/2016
6:00 pm, ASN
at Middle Tennessee W 78–72  14–14
(6–9)
Murphy Center (4,333)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/27/2016
11:00 am, FSN
at UAB L 67–71  14–15
(6–10)
Bartow Arena (7,510)
Birmingham, AL
03/03/2016
8:00 pm, ASN
Southern Miss W 75–60  15–15
(7–10)
E. A. Diddle Arena (3,405)
Bowling Green, KY
03/05/2016
7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU
Louisiana Tech W 96–90 OT 16–15
(8–10)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,591)
Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA Tournament
03/09/2016
12:00 pm, ASN
(8) vs. (9) North Texas
Second round
W 84–76  17–15
Legacy Arena (3,888)
Birmingham, AL
03/10/2016
12:00 pm, ASN
(8) vs. (1) UAB
Quarterfinals
W 88–77  18–15
Legacy Arena (9,797)
Birmingham, AL
03/11/2016
3:00 pm, CBSSN
(8) vs. (5) Old Dominion
Semifinals
L 77–89  18–16
Legacy Arena (6,176)
Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

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References

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