THE GOOD NEWS The Hilltoppers return some talented young players, including sophomore forward Jeremy Evans, freshman forward D.J. Magley, sophomore guard A.J. Slaughter and freshman wing Steffphon Pettigew.
THE BAD NEWS The Hilltoppers lose five seniors, including three backcourt starters in Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton and Ty Rogers. And they lost their coach, Darrin Horn, who left for South Carolina.
KEY RETURNEES Guards Orlando Mendez-Valdez and sophomore A.J. Slaughter, wing Steffphon Pettigew and forwards Jeremy Evans and D.J. Magley.
ROSTER REPORT
--The Hilltoppers aren't just losing three starting senior guards. Lee was the 2008 Sun Belt player of the year, Brazelton was a tough point guard who played outstanding basketball in the NCAA Tournament and Rogers was a solid defender who hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in the first-round NCAA Tournament win over Drake.
--The Hilltoppers saw plenty of positive signs from Slaughter, Evans and Magley over the final month of the season, giving rise to hopes that all three are ready to take on bigger roles in 2008-09. Slaughter will get more shots now that Lee and Brazelton are gone, while Evans and Magley simply need to become more consistent and productive. Magley, in particular, needs to learn how to be aggressive without getting into foul trouble.
--The Hilltoppers still have high hopes for 6-10, 230-pound sophomore A'Darius Pegues. Still, Pegues hasn't played since his junior year in high school because he suffered a knee injury as a senior, missed the 2006-07 season as an academic non-qualifier and suffered another knee injury before the 2007-08 season.
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This would be great for us. One of the games is in Nashville and one in Diddle. That would be great and something I'd never think the "Godfather" Pitino would agree to doing. Kudos to all involved if it happens.
Hey guys, I'm trying to set up a sim league starting next season, where a simulator plays out the game and gives you realistic scores and stuff, and your Hilltoppers are still available! If you are interested or have any questions feel free to e-mail me at d
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Anyone read the artilce in today's Daily News (Sunday)? Obviously South Carolina is interested in Horn.
In the article, Selig basically lays out Horn's contract. Is Horn's contract public knowledge? If not, I would be HIGHLY pissed at Selig for telling people what I make and even mentioning my wife's first name.
YES, you guys got the autobid by taking the Sunbelt correct? What a birthday present! Now just remember to shake stuff up in the tournament! Let's make the state proud.
As an alumni of the University of North Texas, and therefore a big supporter of the SBC, congratulations on such a great year. You have the full support of everyone in our conference, and I'll be tuning in here in Dallas going nuts for the WKU!
As an alumni of Texas A&M, I have even more invested in you guys upsetting UCLA, so best of luck!
