Hilltoppers All-American Bassey officially enters NBA Draft
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (BVM) — In a not so surprising move, Western Kentucky men鈥檚 basketball junior center Charles Bassey declared for the NBA Draft on April 1. The decision comes after a season in which Bassey was named to numerous All-American teams including , and . Bassey became the first Hilltoppers player to earn All-America team honors since Jim McDaniels in 1971.
Now, Bassey will take his exceptional talents to the NBA.
鉂わ笍馃檹馃徔馃
— Charles Bassey (@CB_ONES23)
During his time in Bowling Green, Bassey became one of the best Hilltoppers in program history. As a freshman, Bassey started all 34 games for WKU and finished the year averaging a double-double with 14.6 points and 10 rebounds while also totaling 81 blocks on the season. That season, the center was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the second player in league history to win both in the same season. He was also named to All-C-USA First Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team and was one of five national finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award, being the only freshman among finalists.
A tibial plateau fracture in his left leg ended Bassey鈥檚 sophomore year after just 10 games, but he returned to the Hilltoppers with a vengeance this past season. Bassey would start all 28 games for WKU averaging 17.6 points and 11.6 rebounds while also adding 87 blocks on the year. Once again, Bassey would bring home the hardware as he was named the C-USA Player of the Year and earned his second C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition to his conference recognition, Bassey would also be named among the five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award once again and be named to the 2021 Men’s National Ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the most outstanding player in men鈥檚 college basketball.
Given his success with the Hilltoppers, it comes as no surprise that Bassey鈥檚 name has been floating around draft circles for most of the year. With his name popping up in a number of first round mock drafts, the decision to enter the NBA Draft seemed to be an obvious one for the big man.
Now, WKU will look to adjust to potential life without its best player. With three players already announcing their decision to transfer out of the program, the Hilltoppers will have a lot of work ahead of them to compose as competitive a roster as they did this past season when they finished first in the C-USA East Division during the regular season.
Thank you for everything, 鉂わ笍
— WKU Hilltopper Basketball (@WKUBasketball)
