2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by 13th-year head coach Larry Hunter, played their home games at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 13–19, 8–10 in SoCon play, to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament to Furman.[1]

2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record13–19 (8–10 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRamsey Center
Seasons
2017–18 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UNC Greensboro 15 3   .833 27 8   .771
East Tennessee State 14 4   .778 25 9   .735
Furman 13 5   .722 23 10   .697
Mercer 11 7   .611 19 15   .559
Wofford 11 7   .611 21 13   .618
Western Carolina 8 10   .444 13 19   .406
Samford 6 12   .333 10 22   .313
The Citadel 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
VMI 4 14   .222 9 21   .300
Chattanooga 3 15   .167 10 23   .303
2018 SoCon Tournament winner

Following the loss to Furman, Larry Hunter resigned as head coach.[2] He finished his coaching career at Western Carolina with a record of 193–229 over 13 seasons. Winthrop associate head coach Mark Prosser, son of the late Skip Prosser, was named Hunter's successor.[3]

Previous season

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The Catamounts finished the 2016–17 season 9–23, 4–14 in SoCon play, to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament to The Citadel.

Offseason

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Player departures

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Name Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Kyle Rhoades F 6'6" Senior Lumberton, NC Graduated
Elijah Pughsley G 6'1" Sophomore Lima, OH Transferred to Saginaw Valley State
Jesse Deloach G 6'7" Sophomore Grayson, GA Transferred to Columbus State

Recruiting Class of 2017

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Desmond Johnson
G
Memphis, TN Kirby High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Matt Halvorsen
G
Kingsport, TN Christ School (N.C.) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Marcus Thomas
G
Mint Hill, NC Moravian Prep 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
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:

Incoming transfers

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous
School
Years
Remaining
Notes
Mike Amius F 6'7" 210 Junior Lake Worth, FL North Platte College 2 Eligible immediately

Roster

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2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Maurice Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Lauderdale Lakes, FL
G 1 Desmond Johnson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Memphis, TN
G 2 Matt Halvorsen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kingsport, TN
G 3 Jason McMillan 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Cherokee, NC
G 5 Devin Peterson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Milton, GA
G 11 Haboubacar Mutombo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Pickering, ON
F 12 Marc Gosselin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Lyon, France
G 13 Deriece Parks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 155 lb (70 kg) RS Sr Charlotte, NC
G 21 Marcus Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Mint Hill, NC
F 23 Mike Amius 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lake Worth, FL
F 24 Ashley Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Morehead City, NC
G 32 Devonte Fuller 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Hickory, NC
F 33 Onno Steger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Upper Arlington, OH
F 35 Yalim Olcay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So İzmir, Turkey
F 41 Charlendez Brooks 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Duncan, SC
F 44 Adam Sledd 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Roanoke, VA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: July 8, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 10, 2017*
7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra
at Clemson L 57–85  0–1
Littlejohn Coliseum (8,188)
Clemson, SC
November 13, 2017*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at No. 12 Cincinnati L 51–102  0–2
BB&T Arena (7,051)
Highland Heights, KY
November 15, 2017*
7:00 p.m.
Hiwassee W 76–57  1–2
Ramsey Center (982)
Cullowhee, NC
November 19, 2017*
4:30 p.m., FS1
at No. 14 Minnesota
Barclays Center Classic
L 64–92  1–3
Williams Arena (11,107)
Minneapolis, MN
November 21, 2017*
7:00 p.m.
at Massachusetts
Barclays Center Classic
L 76–85  1–4
William D. Mullins Memorial Center (2,042)
Amherst, MA
November 24, 2017*
7:00 p.m.
vs. UT Arlington
Barclays Center Classic
L 65–98  1–5
Gallagher Center (842)
Lewiston, NY
November 25, 2017*
4:00 p.m.
vs. Alabama A&M
Barclays Center Classic
W 82–72  2–5
Gallagher Center (809)
Lewiston, NY
November 30, 2017*
7:00 p.m.
at College of Charleston L 60–69  2–6
TD Arena (3,889)
Charleston, SC
December 4, 2017*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Appalachian State W 72–71  3–6
Ramsey Center (3,303)
Cullowhee, NC
December 6, 2017*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
at No. 11 North Carolina L 61–104  3–7
Dean Smith Center (12,720)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 17, 2017*
7:00 p.m.
vs. UNC Asheville
Mountain Invitational
W 76–72  4–7
U.S. Cellular Center (1,423)
Asheville, NC
December 19, 2017*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
High Point L 61–72  4–8
Ramsey Center (1,011)
Cullowhee, NC
December 30, 2017
1:00 p.m., ESPN3
at The Citadel W 81–79  5–8
(1–0)
McAlister Field House (546)
Charleston, SC
January 4, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
at Chattanooga W 75–63  6–8
(2–0)
McKenzie Arena (3,844)
Chattanooga, TN
January 6, 2018
8:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Samford L 71–85  6–9
(1–1)
Pete Hanna Center 
Homewood, AL
January 10, 2018
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Mercer W 58–56  7–9
(3–1)
Ramsey Center (834)
Cullowhee, NC
January 13, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
UNC Greensboro L 55–66  7–10
(3–2)
Ramsey Center (1,237)
Cullowhee, NC
January 15, 2018
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
VMI W 65–58  8–10
(4–2)
Ramsey Center (1,420)
Cullowhee, NC
January 20, 2018
4:00 p.m., ESPN3
at East Tennessee State L 50–66  8–11
(4–3)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,412)
Johnson City, TN
January 25, 2018*
7:00 p.m.
Southern Wesleyan W 108–48  9–11
Ramsey Center (956)
Cullowhee, NC
January 27, 2018
4:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Furman L 66–100  9–12
(4–4)
Timmons Arena (1,812)
Greenville, SC
January 29, 2018
7:00 p.m., Stadium
at Wofford L 68–77  9–13
(4–5)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,785)
Spartanburg, SC
February 1, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Chattanooga W 70–68  10–13
(5–5)
Ramsey Center (1,109)
Cullowhee, NC
February 3, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Samford W 88–71  11–13
(6–5)
Ramsey Center (2,017)
Cullowhee, NC
February 8, 2018
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at VMI W 72–60  12–13
(7–5)
Cameron Hall (1,043)
Lexington, VA
February 10, 2018
5:00 p.m., ESPN3
at UNC Greensboro L 48–65  12–14
(7–6)
Fleming Gymnasium (1,983)
Greensboro, NC
February 15, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Wofford L 69–84  12–15
(7–7)
Ramsey Center (1,121)
Cullowhee, NC
February 17, 2018
7:30 p.m., ESPN3
East Tennessee State L 61–72  12–16
(7–8)
Ramsey Center (1,836)
Cullowhee, NC
February 20, 2018
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Mercer L 64–81  12–17
(7–9)
Hawkins Arena (3,572)
Macon, GA
February 23, 2018
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Furman L 55–78  12–18
(7–10)
Ramsey Center (1,386)
Cullowhee, NC
February 25, 2018
2:00 p.m., ESPN3
The Citadel W 92–75  13–18
(8–10)
Ramsey Center (1,236)
Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
March 3, 2017
6:00 p.m., ESPN3
(6) vs. (3) Furman
Quarterfinals
L 73–97  13–19
U.S. Cellular Center (5,431)
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source:[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Western Carolina bounced out of Southern Conference tournament by Furman". Citizen Times. March 4, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "Western Carolina basketball coach Larry Hunter steps down". The Washington Post. Associated Press. March 4, 2018. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. ^ McCormick, Bret (March 27, 2018). "Winthrop basketball assistant coach lands head job". Rock Hill Herald. Rock Hill, SC. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Carolina University. Retrieved July 8, 2024.