WKU Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/19/14 – 1/25/14
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Oops. We dropped the ball.
My bad. MLK weekend is always busy, and for me it was no different. But, you aren’t here for excuses, so excuses I will not give you. What matters is that the Tri-W is BACK, and it’s one of the last ones before things get really hectic (men’s and women’s basketball, plus baseball and softball). So, without further adieu, let’s get going.
Men’s Basketball: WKU 69 – ULM 51, WKU 79 – ULL 70
Well Louisiana, it was a nice final visit. The Tops completely ran through the Pelican state, having no troubles Thursday against the Warhawks, and yesterday put on an absolute show in the Cajun Dome in front of a national TV audience. They were down big, then went on a 25-1 run, then let the Cajuns get to 2 points, and then finally put it together to steal the game. Now, the Tops are on a 3 game winning streak, and will return home to Diddle (just in time for classes to start!) this week. T.J. Price and George Fant stole each show this past week, as T.J. put up a double-double in Monroe (26 points and 10 rebounds), while George proved to be FANTastic while on the 4-letter (25 points, 6 boards) and put the team on his back for a huge win. Transfers Trency Jackson and Chris Harrison-Docks have also proved to be big since they’ve been eligible in December, making the back half of the season (as well as tournament time) something to look forward to if you’re a WKU fan.
Women’s Basketball: WKU 77 – ULM 73, WKU 68 – ULL 63
For those who don’t know, you now do – “Cardiac Tops” no longer represents just the men’s team. The last 3 Lady Toppers games have all been decided by 5 points or less (in which they have gone 2-1 in that time span), and luckily, Louisiana was kinder to Western than it had to be, as Michelle Clark-Heard’s squad escaped with the Pelican State sweep. What T.J. and George did in two separate games, Chastity Gooch did in both, as she, along with Kendall Noble, lead the way against the Warhawks, combining for 51 points (31 from Gooch, 20 from Noble), and Ms. Chastity became the 35th Lady Topper to reach the 1,000 point mark in her career (and 2nd Lady Top this season, after Alexis Govan did so in December). In Lafayette, Gooch did most of the dirty work, notching a double-double (22 points, 11 boards), and was helped out by 19 points from Noble and 12 from Micha Jones. The Lady Tops will also return to Diddle for a shot stint, as Texas State and Texas-Arlington will make their way to John Oldham Court.
Football: Senior Bowl – South 20 – North 10
Antonio Andrews had his chance to shine on the national stage (since he couldn’t with the WKU bowl snub), and was a member of the winning South team in this year’s Senior Bowl. A.A.’s numbers at first glance aren’t super great, he had 6 carries for 14 yards, he was tied for the most rushes on the South team, and tied for 3rd most rushes overall. Reports on twitter throughout the week have said that, while he might not have made a good stat impact, he proved his worth, as people were saying he has good instinct and was making good blocks and non-ball plays. Hopefully we will hear his name called this spring in the Draft.
#ProToppers:
Moving to Memphis has been one of the best things that has happened to Courtney Lee in quite some time. Lee, who was traded from Boston to Memphis a couple of weeks back, has moved his way into the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, and had himself a monster week. He averaged 17.6 points in 3 games played this week, scoring 19 twice in a loss to New Orleans and a win over Houston.
Unfortunately for Jeremy Evans, things are the same in Utah. Evans had a solid week though, scoring 14 points throughout 2 games (hitting double digits for the first time since Jan. 3), as the Jazz split their two games this week. Evans’ averages have come up since the last time we checked on them, as he’s now averaging 6.8 points per game and 5.1 boards.
Since this update was a bit short, let’s throw in a former Hilltopper basketball coach that we all…just…love…who is now coaching in the NBA D-League. Ken McDonald is now at the helm of the D-League’s Austin Toros, affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, and things are going…as you’d expect based on most of his Hilltopper tenure. The Toros currently sit at 10-12, and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Austin is second from the bottom in the Central Division, right above Tulsa, and is one of only two division teams (along with Tulsa) who isn’t in a playoff position.
Well, that’s the week that was. Only a couple more weeks until this will get even longer and more unbearable for you to read. Just think about how I’ll feel to type it.
Anyways, let’s see if the Tops can Diddle-sweep the Texas schools this week.
Until then, stand up and cheers.