Dalano Banton

Redemption Christian Academy is used to scoring 80 to 90 points per game and Dalano Banton usually averages 30 of those points.

RCA and Banton couldn’t get that kind of offense flowing with several Hilltopper fans and coach Rick Stansbury in attendance Saturday to watch the Western Kentucky signee.

Banton, who signed with WKU in November, scored 17 points in RCA’s loss to defending state runners-up Cooper 75-60 to open the Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic on Saturday morning at Warren Central High School.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound point guard added nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in his first action in Bowling Green. Stansbury, assistant coach Marc Hsu and a handful of red-clad WKU fans showed up to watch one of the five members in WKU’s 2018 signing class.

“It was a good crowd and a lot of people came to support me, a lot of people I didn’t know,” Banton said. “It’s too bad we didn’t come up with the win, but it’s very good for us.”

Banton and his RCA team from Northfield, Mass., drove 14 hours Thursday to spend the weekend in Bowling Green. The team watched WKU’s practice Friday night and attended the Hilltoppers’ game against Florida International on Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.

RCA will play Monroe County at 2:30 p.m. Sunday to wrap up the weekend showcase.

“It’s been well meeting a majority of the coaches and training staff and showing me what I’m going to be doing and what I have to prepare for, going through the facilities and getting a feel for the school,” Banton said.

Banton’s 17 points came on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor against Cooper. He also had four turnovers against a stout Cooper defense that took RCA out of rhythm.

Belmont signee Adam Kunkel led the way with 22 points in a game that Cooper controlled from the start. Banton’s big highlight came in the third quarter on a half-court steal for a breakaway dunk. He picked up the pace in the second half with 5-of-8 shooting for 11 points.

“Dalano, his biggest asset is being (a) facilitator,” RCA coach Tristan Wilchcombe said. “He is naturally a true point guard. Today we couldn’t score the basketball. (Banton) rises to the occasion. He’s never shy of any moment and even his shot was off, too. He would try to play the 2-guard, but his shot was off and he couldn’t strike that balance today.”

Banton, originally from Rexdale, Toronto, Canada, is rated a four-star prospect by both Rivals and 247sports, which also ranks him as the third-best player in Massachusetts in the 2019 class and the 17th-best player overall at his position.

Before signing with WKU in November, Banton reportedly held offers from Kansas State, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Banton was originally a member of the 2019 class but reclassified into 2018 at RCA.

“I feel like not being a junior and being a senior, I have to step up right away knowing this is my last year and make the best of it and being a leader going into college,” Banton said. “There’s already guys leading the team now, so I have to lead by example and follow the guys.”

Banton joins junior college forward Mathew Horton, JUCO guard Trevelin Queen, Class of 2018 guard Jeremiah Gambrell and forward Galen Smith III as the fall signees. Banton said after the loss Saturday the advice he’s gotten from WKU coaches is to stick to his own game, no matter how his play is dictated by the flow of the game.

“Going into college, I want to play the point guard position, so (I want to work on) my lateral quickness to get guys open in the lane and guys in college are fast and everybody is high level,” Banton said. “(Coaches said) just stay true to myself and not try to do too much or do too little. Just keep doing what I’m doing.”{&end}