If the NBA wants him, Jeremy Evans wants in.

With several Jazzmen pushing for the second-year forward to be included in the 2012 NBA All-Star dunk contest, Evans said Friday he’ll gladly head to Orlando in late February if he receives an invite.

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WKU shot 40.4 percent from the field but committed 25 turnovers in the game. The Hilltoppers outrebounded the Tigers 32-29 with Akumune and Zollo each pulling down six to lead the way.

Crook’s 13 points led the Toppers while freshman Derrick Gordon added 10 points and five rebounds and freshman point guard Kevin Kaspar chipped in with seven points.

WKU head coach Ken McDonald stated, “I thought it was beautiful because we were on the right side. The guys battled. They really battled, and it was an exciting finish and a lot of guys stepped up. We made our share of mistakes. We had a lot of turnovers that were kind of careless, but we will learn from that. I was very, very proud of the team and how we bounced backed from different situations during the game and actually finished the game. It was a see-saw all the way through. A bunch of guys made plays at the end, and Jamal [Crook] hit his first career three. He actually, right before we went out for the game, he wanted to talk to the team. He said ‘I want to step up and I want to play better’ and what better guy to make a couple of plays down the stretch. I am very, very excited for him.”

The Hilltoppers return to action Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. vs. Tulsa in the DirecTV Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Freshman guard Derrick Gordon led all scorers with 25 points but it wasn’t enough as the Hilltoppers fell 72-61 in their season opener vs. St. Joseph’s at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Poor shooting plagued WKU as they shot 9 of 34 in both halves to finish at 26.5% for the game while the Hawks hit 24 of 49 from the floor for 49%. The Toppers hit 21 of 27 from the free throw line with Gordon making 16 of 18 from the stripe.

WKU trailed 22-6 and 30-14 in the first half before managing to cut it to 31-24 at the break.  The Topperscut the lead to one point at 37-36 in the second half but that was as close as they would come. A 13-3 run by the Hawks gave the Hawks the cushion they needed to hold on defeat the Hilltoppers 71-62.

Hilltopper head coach Ken McDonald was impressed with Gordon’s debut. “He does draw a crowd, and he is such a good slasher getting into the lane. Now he has to learn to read the help defense and find the open man. I don’t know if I have had a freshman shoot 18 free throws before. Someone who is getting to the line that much is impressive. You want that physical play by him, but you want that extra play to make him a total guard. He is a student of the game, and you love his attitude. He is going to keep getting better.”

Other than Gordon no other Hilltopper player reached double figures in the game. Freshman Vinny Zollo and Sophomore O’Karo Akumune each added 7 points while Zollo led the team in rebounds with nine.

WKU returns to action Monday night at 7:00 pm in E.A. Diddle Arena vs. Tennessee State.

But during ‘Midnight Mania/Madness’ or ‘Hilltopper Hysteria’ or whatever it is called these days that ‘quote’ popped into my mind. My mind is a jumbled up jungle of things I’ve read, seen on television or movies, or witnessed first hand in my 52 years on this blue and green ball. I can no more control the next thought that pops up anymore than you can control traffic on Scottsville Road on payday Friday night.

I got a message from K-Top and she asked if I was going. I replied in the affirmative and we met up in Diddle Arena. The ‘quote’ popped up as we were watching the kids signing autographs for fans.

We were in front of the table where Derrick Gordon was sitting. I believe Snipes was on one side of him and George Fant was on the other side. There was pure joy on their faces. Not some phony smile where they had been told to be nice to the fans.

Derrick’s dream was finally realized. I don’t dare to know exactly what he was thinking. But I do know he has wanted to be a Hilltopper for nigh on three years. Here he was, in Hilltopper warmups, at one end of Diddle Arena signing autographs for adoring kids and their excited looking parents.

With me being ‘too cool for school’ I did not participate in the autograph line. But, I did see a sincerety in the faces of the new kids. Not one of these kids has missed a windmill dunk and loafed back down the floor….in a Hilltopper uniform. Not one of these kids has pulled an ‘ole’ defense and watched an opponent drive unimpeded to the basket without offering any help…in a Hilltopper uniform.

That is why I thought of the ‘Sins of the Father’ quote. We’ve all heard rumor after rumor about our coaching staff. I don’t believe everything I hear but I’ve heard enough to form an opinion. I’ll keep that to myself.

But what I’ve witnessed on the floor disturbed me as a basketball fan. When we played lackluster ball down in LSU two years ago and when I witnessed every single Indiana State player drive at will on our defense I was concerned. Our coaching staff doing nothing to rectify those deficiencies for two years led me to loath our efforts.

I pretty much have a ‘show me’ attitude towards our coaching staff. I personally have ZERO FAITH in them. But I don’t matter…no matter how much that bruises my ego. Western chose to keep this staff intact.

I had pretty much made up my mind to keep my season tickets just to see the new kids. Kyle Chapman’s personal call convinced me. He could sell ice water to an eskimo. I actually enjoyed my conversation with him. He was forthright and honest about everything. He’s a fine addition to the Western team.

I personally know several long time supporters that are not renewing their season tickets. I completely understand why. I did not write this to convince anyone to buy tickets this year. I am not an arm of the university. Far from it. I’m sure I’m not their favorite person with some of the idiocy I have written on Hilltopper Haven. I am just sharing my personal reasons why I did.

You have to remember…I admitted to the fact that there were times during Killprogram’s last year that I didn’t openly root against my team but I was happy with a loss because I knew it meant it was one more nail in his coffin. I’m stupid enough to admit that in a public setting.

In summation: I have ZERO FAITH in this coaching staff. I do love the game of college basketball. I have season tickets this year next to my son and his lovely new wife. If I just get to spend a couple hours per week sitting next to my son it was worth my purchase as we both have busy lives. If I see some hustle by some kids wearing a Hilltopper uniform it will be even better.

In the sports universe, places like the Hilltopper Haven message board have largely replaced (or at least greatly supplemented) local diners, bars, and barber shops as meeting places for fans to deify, demonize, and otherwise generally cuss and discuss local sports. Of course, physical sacred meeting places still exist (Diddle Arena, anyone?), but message boards provide an immediate and widely accessible vehicle for fan perspectives in real time (for good and/or bad). The relative anonymity of message boards adds a layer of freedom that usually does not exist around the water cooler at work or at halftime of a game, and can result in special kinds of joy, despair, hype, and vitriol.

All that to say that I will attempt to write here as I attempt to write on the board: calmly and relatively bias-free. While I will try to avoid totally “nerding it up” with too many statistics, the numbers often bring a perspective that our biased, Big Red-loving eyes may miss. And, frankly, I would not stay true to my identity if I did not do a little of that. I likely am as irrational and biased watching a WKU game as most fans are, but I do love to see if the numbers support or challenge what I thought I just watched on the court after the high post-game emotions recede a bit.

That said, here are a few important numbers to remember as the 2011-12 season approaches.

1. 29.6%. That is what the Toppers shot from three-point range in Sun Belt games last season, and it was dead last in the conference. Nearly all fans would agree that last season was a disappointment and most would likely cite “team chemistry,” “lack of identity” (my personal fave) or other intangibles as the root cause. Those may be important factors, but again, I am interested in how that manifests on the court in measurable ways. The biggest culprit from a numbers standpoint was poor perimeter shooting. Somewhat related, the Tops also made just 64% of their free throws last year (#308 nationally). Shooting was a problem.

2. 26.4%. Returning players account for this percentage of total points scored last season. The Tops were not good on offense or defense (see #1), so this may or may not be such a terrible stat, but this much is sure: a lot of new faces are going to be putting up a lot of shots.

3. 8. This is number of new faces on the roster, seven freshmen and one sophomore. Another number: one. As in, the number of seniors are on the roster, and there are no fourth-year Toppers suiting up this year. The football team has adopted “Red Means Go” as their theme this fall. This winter, the Topper hoopsters should adopt “Red Means Green,” and I am not talking about environmentalism here.

Now, let me follow with what I see as the two primary causes of the current aura of disappointment surrounding WKU hoops.

1. Lack of identity. Who are we as a team? What defines our program? What can one expect from a WKU club? Those questions have become increasingly difficult to answer over the last couple of years.

2. Poor shot selection. Unfortunately, the consistent trait of our past two teams has been terrible shot selection. Surely, that can be improved even with our extreme youth.

So, on the heels of back-to-back seasons of dissatisfaction, WKU is attempting to get back to good basketball through what has become known as #TeamReset. The administration and players have taken ownership of that term to some degree, and fans will no doubt invoke it in both positive and negative ways in the coming year. But, WKU finds itself not only in need and want of a reset, but in a position to actually do it. The roster is filled with new faces. Gone are the hopes for big minutes and big impact from a Big Six conference or junior college transfer. Gone are the expectations placed on an experienced group of players. Gone are the warm feelings of that magical, OMVp-led run in 2009. Gone is the afterglow of that run after two subpar seasons. Like it or not, this was a rebuilding or “reset” year whether or not the players, administration, or anyone else claimed that term.

There will be familiar faces in Diddle this season. Coach Ken McDonald and most of his staff are part of the reset and not victims of it, for now. But, one gets the sense that a successful reset must occur to avoid a total “Restart” in the near future. The vibe around the incoming players is positive, but most Topper fans are loath to allow any feelings of optimism encroach into their damaged psyches after the struggles of last two seasons.

Mostly, Topper Nation just wants to love its team again. If that is achieved, #TeamReset can call itself a success (for this season, at least), regardless of how many wins these youngsters can manage.

Utah’s human pogo stick effortlessly bounced off the hardwood, gliding through the air and driving home putback dunks. He played dead at the top of the key, serving as a temporary decoy before breaking free and sprinting toward the rim for one of his trademark alley-oop slams. There were even touch passes that saw Evans briefly catch the ball with his fingertips, then swing it outward as he set up an open teammate on the perimeter.

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Jazz forward Jeremy Evans, who is competing in the Impact Basketball League in Las Vegas, answers questions submitted by fans via Twitter.

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Among those whose words of wisdom you’ll be able to read are Dahbeed, Ezekiel, TxTop, Juice, Shunpiker and occasionally mine.  The subjects will be varied and they would appreciate your input on what you’d like to see them write about.

The first column, “Beed’s Casa” is up online now. So check it out and leave Beed some feedback and stay tuned as HH undergoes many changes and updates as the new design evolves.

September 20, 2011

by: dahbeed

i was invited by oz to write something for h.h.

he left it up to my discretion. i told him i would be honored to do it. this could be a recurring gig or i could be at a loss for words (not likely) and never type another thing.

still gonna be lower case. i’ll hit enter often enough that it should be easy to read.

since he didn’t tell me what i had to write about and left it up to my discretion i might end up writing about anything from a zone defense to a banjo.

this first attempt will be where i believe ‘topper nation stands. right now we’re fighting more than ronnie and sammie. who can blame us???

even tho’ the resident numbers guru wkuyounggunz can show you that most programs would kill to have our numbers over the last 10 years there is no way to erase last season out of my head.

that team reminded me of a 90’s marty fletcher led ulala squad. great athletic ability. windmill dunks….highly entertaining….but we usually found a way to beat them. it reminded me of a ronnie murphy and otis smith led, matt killprogram, jacksonville team that told him to shut up on the sideline and came back and beat us in diddle. that win helped propel killprogram into the western gig the following year.

now THAT was a bad hire. as much as many of us doubt mcdonald i still don’t believe he’s reached matt killprogram levels.

on to our football team. we’re worse than the louisiana mud dogs before bobby boucher came to play for them in ‘the waterboy’. we’re in strong need of some enlarged medulla oblongatas on this squad. i doubt that willie has roy orbison tattoed on his ass like coach klein (henry winkler) did, but at this stage i’d be open to try anything.

that said….i still believe the move up was the right thing to do. with the possible formation of superconferences i honestly don’t know what’s gonna happen. unless the superconferences make up rules where they are only going to play other s.c. teams they should always need some whipping boys like the leftovers (us) after everything shakes out.

on to the lady toppers basketball team.

does anyone still care??? i know that there will always be some folks that will follow them simply because they are purists and think the ladies play the game the right way.

there’s a reason the wnba is zenith of epic failure. nobody cares. it’s bad hoops. i’d rather watch txtop and psychored spit game at a mennonite bake sale/barn raising….

i will close this first edition and let you know you can send me any querstion (that’s the way i say and spell question) that you want answered to db33@email.com.

that’s db as in dahbeed or douchebag….whichever you prefer. that’s 33 as in larry bird. the baddest white boy that ever played baloncesto.

think of it as the dear abby of hilltopper haven. only my abby is a smart ass. any subject is wide open. but i won’t be responsible for any consequences if you act on my reply.

The Toppers trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but fought back and led by as many as 11 in the second half before holding on to win by the final score of 81-76.

WKU will face North Texas on Monday night at 6:00 in one semifinal matchup. The Hilltoppers defeated North Texas on February 12 in Bowling Green, 87-76. The game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network and will air locally in Bowling Green on WKYU-PBS.