Ben Lawson’s already one of the most prolific shot blockers in Western Kentucky men’s basketball history.

Now the senior wants to put his name at the top of the record book.

Lawson was asked Friday after Hilltopper Hysteria what goals he had for the upcoming 2016-17 season. The 7-foot-1, 230-pound forward said he wants to pass former WKU player and current NBA veteran Jeremy Evans as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots.

Lawson’s 128 career blocks currently rank No. 5 in Topper history. Ahead of him are No. 1 Evans (2007-10, 224 blocks), No. 2 Chris Marcus (2000-03, 214 blocks), No. 3 Clarence Martin (1983-87, 198 blocks) and No. 4 Elgrace Wilborn (2005-06, 161 blocks).

“In terms of blocking, I want to see myself on top of that WKU list,” the Hitchin, England native Lawson said. “I need to block three a game to pass Jeremy. That would be a pretty cool achievement for me.”

Lawson last year had the seventh most single-season blocks in program history, swatting 66 shots. Marcus holds the single-season record with 97 blocked shots in 2000-01.

Lawson led the Hilltoppers in blocked shots in 25 games last season and his block rate ranked No. 5 in Conference USA. He blocked five shots in a Dec. 22 win against Detroit and six more Dec. 28 against Brescia (Ky.)

Coach Rick Stansbury has been complimentary of Lawson ever since taking the job in late March and said he wants the forward to play a bigger role overall this season.

Lawson played 16.1 minutes per game last season, down from the 18.8 he played in 2014-15. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 76.7 percent from the foul stripe.

“Big Ben’s going to be around that hole as much as he can,” Stansbury said. “He’s going to have the freedom to pop some, make a shot. … I think the one difference is we’re going to put him in space where he can use his athleticism and quickness and maybe not his strength.

“You can see he can move well, he can catch. I think the biggest thing with Ben now is one of the most important things – he’s got a lot of confidence. He feels good about who he is. There’s no substitute for that.”

Carmichael ready to finally play

Willie Carmichael has had to wait his turn to appear in a game for the Hilltoppers. This year the redshirt sophomore forward will get his chance.

Carmichael sat out the 2015-16 season after transferring the previous offseason from Tennessee to WKU. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman in 2014-15 for the Volunteers.

Carmichael said he’s “very excited, very excited” to take the floor this year for the Tops. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

“I’m very excited for the end result, I’m very excited for the journey we’re going on,” the Apopka, Fla., native said. “I’m excited.”

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Carmichael spent last season as a practice player for former coach Ray Harper’s WKU team.

“Being here last year, it felt like I was part of the team just like anybody else,” Carmichael said. “I was doing my best cheering the guys on, being a leader. This year I’m going to be on the court. It feels like I’m part of the team, the same way.”

Carmichael is expected to be one of the Hilltoppers’ main post presences this season. He’ll be in the frontcourt with Lawson, Justin Johnson, Anton Waters and fellow Tennessee transfer Jabari McGhee, who won’t be eligible until after the fall semester ends.

Lawson said Carmichael was locked in and focused through the offseason, saying that attitude even carried over to Friday night’s Hilltopper Hysteria.

“We were all in the back saying, ‘Let’s have a bit of fun,’” Lawson said. “And you could see Willie, he was back in the corner, all locked in, telling us all the plays and stuff like that.

“That’s just the guy he is. He’s 100 percent or nothing. Every day he comes in and does the best he can and we all appreciate it.”

Stansbury encouraging offensive freedom

Stansbury has preached since taking the job that every one of his players is expected to rebound and play defense.

But when it comes to offense, the new coach said his players have some latitude.

“We’re going to establish this thing around how hard you play defensively and how you rebound that basketball,” Stansbury said. “I’ve said this many a time – I’m going to give them a lot of freedom offensively.

“Defending and rebounding, there’s not much freedom, not much room for error. Offensively, you’ve got some freedom. If you give guys freedom, they’ll go make good basketball plays.”

Lawson compared Stansbury’s philosophy of offensive freedom to that of WKU’s Conference USA foe Marshall. Coach Dan D’Antoni’s Thundering Herd led C-USA last year in scoring at 86.0 points per game.

An open offense is a good combination with the games of newcomers like graduate transfer guards Que Johnson and Pancake Thomas, Lawson said.

“His offense that he’s put in so far, it kind of almost images Marshall in that it’s really open spaced, gives everyone an opportunity,” Lawson said. “We’ve got some great shooters that have come in – amazing, like I’ve never seen before. So I’m really excited to see how they play and then it gives us big guys in the post a little more room to breathe.”

-Follow sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @BradBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.