TRANSFORMED: New-look Tops getting acquainted during summer practices

Published 4:25 pm Friday, July 18, 2025

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Western Kentucky junior guard LJ Hackman (2) shoots a layup as senior guard Cade Stinnett (10) reaches to block during open practice at E. A. Diddle Arena on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS

The grind of summer practice is nearing an end for Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team.

The Tops have just one week left to get acquainted and acclimated before a break from the routine. WKU second-year head coach Hank Plona likes what he has seen from a new-look roster that features a ton of fresh faces prepping for the 2025-26 season.

“It’s been a good summer for this team,” Plona said. “It feels very new, it feels very fresh. I think there’s fresh energy in everything we do. We’re deeper, we’re bigger, we’ve got a lot more size. I think the defense is a little bit ahead of the offense right now, but as far as the effort and the attitude and the energy – which are the things that these guys can control every day – I think there’s an excitement out here on the court and I think that they’ve had a very workman-like approach in everything that we’ve done.”

WKU brought in nine newcomers to the program – seven transfers and two incoming freshmen – but that’s only part of the transformation. Four current Hilltoppers from last season’s squad who all missed the entire season – three due to injury, one sitting out as a transfer – have been on the court this summer and ramping up to play this upcoming season.

Combined with a small group of returning players with game experience for the Tops last year – graduate senior forward/centers Blaise Keita and Leeroy Odiahi, plus junior guard Jack Edelen – this roster is one Plona thinks can avoid some of the pitfalls that derailed last season.

Coming off the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade under first-year head coach Steve Lutz – who then left to take the same job at Oklahoma State – Plona, who was Lutz’s top assistant, inherited a roster loaded with returning players.

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The Tops had experience, but not good health – WKU struggled with injuries from the outset that left the roster thin at the start and it got worse from there as season-ending injuries to top frontcourt player Babacar Faye and talented freshman guard Julius Thedford further sapped the team’s potential.

Plona admitted the Tops went “all in” on a roster that went just 8-8 in Conference USA play before getting hot at just the right time to win the tournament title and earn an NCAA automatic bid.

“In today’s day and age I think you want to build the best roster that you can and I don’t know that we were fully able to do that a year ago,” Plona said. “Obviously when I went from assistant coach to head coach, it’s cool in theory to keep that whole team together. And don’t get me wrong, we had a great three-game run in Huntsville, Alabama, two years ago and it led to a lot of positive things. But when you bring that many guys back, it can be hard to add the pieces that are needed to what ultimately was an 8-8 team.”

Getting bigger was a focus in the offseason, with the Tops adding a promising post in 7-footer Noah Boyde plus 6-9 forward Grant Newell and 6-8 forwards Bryant Selebangue and Louis Semona to the frontcourt mix.

“I think our team this year is structurally a lot bigger,” Plona said. “We tried to address that. By late in the year, we were starting basically three point guards, three combo guards and it’s really hard to win in January, February and March when you start three guys that are 6-2 no matter how you look at it.”

Plona has been happy with the progress his bigs have made during the summer.

“Selebangue and Noah Boyde have both had great summers,” Plona said. “Noah didn’t play a whole lot last year coming off an injury and Bryant has obvously been on some very, very good teams. They’re a little bit different as players, but they can play some four, play some five. Noah, obviously at 7 feet is an imposing presence. I think they’ve both gotten better week by week as the summer goes on.

“I think Grant, Noah and Bryant … their age and experience has certainly been a positive for our team.”

WKU also picked up proven scoring in transfer guards Cam Haffner, Ryan Myers and LJ Hackman as the Tops look to replace leading scorer Don McHenry (transferred to Utah). Redshirt sophomore Teagan Moore and graduate Terrion Murdix, who both missed all last season due to injury, should also help with the scoring burden along with redshirt freshman guard Kade Unseld – who also missed all last season – and incoming freshmen guards Armelo Boone and Lawson Rice.

“Cam Haffner has averaged 13, 14 (points) in Division I,” Plona said. “Ryan Myers has averaged 13, 14 in Division I. Bryant Selebangue has averaged 12 in Division I. Terrion Murdix has averaged 12 or 13 in Division I. LJ Hackman was obviously an All-American at Jones. So we have four guards in LJ, Terrion, Ryan and Cam that have the ball and can score. Because of that I don’t know if any of them will be quite the bulk scorer that Don was but it’s good to have four guards that have scored double-digit points in the college level and hopefully as we continue to find our way and find how our roles develop, I think there’s a lot of guys that are able to hopefully be that guy on any given night.”

Haffner, who played against WKU last year while at Evansville, is looking forward to playing for Plona and his staff.

“Just the way that they play the game and the speed they play at, my previous stop was a little bit more slower-paced,” Haffner said. “I feel like it’s kind of how I wanted to play and I liked what they were about during the recruiting process.”

Newell, who played two seasons at California before spending last season as a starter at North Texas, thinks WKU is the place he can fully showcase his abilities.

“I think this is a great fit, probably the best fit that I’ve had since I’ve been in college,” Newell said. “Coach Hank made it a case in point that I’d be able to do pretty much everything that I haven’t been able to show going into my fourth year. That’s a big reason for why I chose to come here.”

Plona is looking for improved efficiency on offense this coming season.

“We need to be an efficient offensive team,” Plona said. “I think when the ball moves and players move, there’s positive energy. I think it’s a lot more beneficial to have many guys that can score 17 on any given night. And when you put three, four, five of those on the floor at once then it becomes OK, how can we be effective? How can we shoot 52% from the floor and 40% from 3 and how do we get ball movement.”

About Jeff Nations

Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News

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