All five members of the outgoing Western Kentucky men’s basketball class of 2017 have had opportunities to play basketball professionally overseas from practice squads to signed contracts.

Que Johnson was the most recent Hilltopper to sign with a professional team as he will play for Joinville Basketball in Brazil this year. The Pontiac, Mich., native started in all 32 WKU games last year as a graduate senior guard. He averaged 13.2 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Hilltoppers, and he reached 1,000 career points against Ohio just before the midpoint of the season. Johnson was consistent at the free-throw line with a 73.8 percent clip.

Longtime Hilltopper Ben Lawson is currently playing for Lefke Avrupa Üniversitesi in Cyprus this season. The 7-foot-1 forward was the only graduate of the class who completed all four years of NCAA eligibility at WKU. In his final season for the Hilltoppers, Lawson averaged 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. With 57 blocks on the season, Lawson ended his career with 185 blocks, finishing fourth on WKU’s all-time list.

Also on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus this year will be Junior Lomomba and Anton Waters, who will both play for APOP Paphou Basketball Club. Lomomba – a Quebec, Canada, native – was a graduate senior for the Hilltoppers in 2016-17 after transferring from Providence. The guard started in all 32 of WKU’s games last year, and he became the first Hilltopper to record at least four games of seven assists or more since Jamal Crook in 2010-11. 

Hailing from Baltimore, Waters played for Gulf Coast State College before finishing the last two years of his collegiate career as a Hilltopper. In 2016-17, Waters averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in only 17.9 minutes per game. As a senior, he played in 32 games for WKU, starting in 14 of the last 15 match-ups.

Pancake Thomas earned opportunities to play overseas as he started the summer of 2017 with the Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club in Germany before joining the practice squad of Pallacanestro Cantù in Italy. Thomas played for WKU as a graduate senior after playing at New Mexico and Hartford. His seven 3s against UTEP in January were one shy of the record for most by a WKU player in Diddle Arena. The Baton Rouge, La., native averaged 13.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while starting in all 32 games for the Hilltoppers.

Including these five Hilltoppers, there are nearly 20 former WKU players playing professionally as the 2017-18 season begins.