Rick Stansbury thought his Hilltoppers looked sluggish during an open scrimmage Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Fatigue is to be expected with just 10 active players running the court for 32 minutes, as long as it’s the result of strong effort the second-year coach wants to see.

Saturday’s scrimmage wasn’t necessarily the case. Specifically, the coach mentioned guys like transfers Dwight Coleby and Darius Thompson who weren’t their usual aggressive selves in front of several fans who came out to watch an all-new Hilltopper basketball team.

“We got up and down that floor a lot and we’ve been working on changing some defenses and when you do that, it causes everything to be a little bit sluggish,” Stansbury said. “I see some things that we’ve got to do and we’ve just got to get better in some areas. … I know there’s fatigue problems and there’s no subs, but you can’t save yourself between these lines.”

The plan is that by the time WKU’s first exhibition rolls around in less than two weeks against Campbellsville on Nov. 1, playing everyone non-stop will have the team in prime basketball shape.

With redshirt junior Lamonte Bearden still out with a sprained ankle, substituting during the scrimmage wasn’t an option with only 10 players.

Junior guard/forward Jared Savage, who will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, led the team with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the scrimmage divided into two 12-minute segments and a final 8-minute period pitting teams in red against white jerseys.

Stansbury shifted the lineups for each segment to analyze how players looked with different roster combinations.

Freshman Josh Anderson also had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three rebounds and four steals. Freshman Taveion Hollingsworth was effective across the board with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

Coleby had 14 points and nine boards while senior Justin Johnson and freshman Marek Nelson each had 13 points.

“Guys got a little tired and you could tell the fatigue is starting to set in,” Johnson said. “You’re going to have that when you’re playing five on five with no subs out there. It’s good to be able to run up and down and see some different looks.”

If any player knows the importance of conditioning, it’s Johnson. WKU’s only returning starter has dropped more than 25 pounds from his maximum weight over the summer at 265 when he was with the football team. Johnson rejoined the basketball squad two days before its preseason trip to Costa Rica in August.

The 6-foot-7 forward is currently in the 230s and said Saturday he’s almost back to basketball shape and also shared he wants to play lighter than he did last year.

Stansbury even acknowledged that Johnson is currently “a shell of what he was, just from his ability to move and his explosion.”

All of that preparation comes with conditioning. Thompson, a graduate senior who previously played at Tennessee and Virginia, said WKU’s program is one of the toughest he’s experienced.

“One of the hardest conditioning programs I’ve ever been a part of,” Thompson said. “But we need it for the season with the lack of numbers we have. Every day in practice, we try to get up scrimmages just like this and get out playing as long as we can. That’s how the season is going to be. We’re going to have to be in games for long segments and we’re going to have to get used to it.”

Stansbury said having limited numbers has even changed his approach to practice. Instead of three-hour sessions, he’s cut practices back to 2 hours and 15 minutes.

“We don’t get much rest at practice,” Stansbury said. “As you can see, those guys go every trip for every possession. I just think that we’re into three weeks of it going every possession, it gets difficult. I don’t want guys creating bad habits because they’re trying to save themselves and get through practice or a scrimmage. Once the game starts, we can sub some people. Right now, we can’t sub anybody so you’ve got to go.”

NOTES

WKU is still waiting to be informed by the NCAA on eligibility decisions regarding Anderson and redshirt sophomore Moustapha Diagne. The two are cleared to practice, but are currently unable to participate in games. … Stansbury said Bearden is “close” to returning from an ankle injury sustained on the first day of fall camp. “Probably another week away at least,” the coach said. Bearden sat out last year after transferring from Buffalo, where he averaged 13.7 points and 4.2 assists per game. … Stansbury said he hasn’t made a decision on what to do with the vacant assistant coaching position left by Ben Hansbrough, who resigned last week in the wake of an arrest on a charge of driving under the influence. “I haven’t made a decision if I’m going to bring someone in now or wait until March,” Stansbury said. “May just try to move somebody up and make it work until March.” Hansbrough’s resignation leaves Marc Hsu and Nikita Johnson as the two full-time assistants on staff.{&end}