Bassey Among Four Hilltoppers to Receive Conference USA Postseason Awards
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Four Hilltoppers received all-conference men’s basketball honors Monday, as announced by the Conference USA office.
Charles Bassey was named to the 2020-21 All-Conference USA First Team, while Taveion Hollingsworth was selected to the Second Team.
Bassey and Josh Anderson each earned a spot on C-USA’s All-Defensive Team, and Dayvion McKnight made the All-Freshman Team.
This is the fourth straight year that WKU has had multiple all-conference picks, as well as the fourth year in a row with a First Team selection.
The junior center Bassey was also named to the C-USA First Team in 2019 as a freshman, the same year he won Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Bassey is averaging 17.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks while shooting 61.1% from the field with 15 double-doubles. As of Sunday, he led the nation in dunks and ranked second in double-doubles, third in blocks per game, fourth in rebounds per game and total rebounds, fifth in total blocks and eighth in field-goal percentage.
The 6-foot-11 big man was also chosen to the All-Defensive Team, an honor that comes as no surprise as he’s a semifinalist for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year. Bassey ranks in the top four in the country in both blocks and rebounds per game, and is the only player in the nation to even rank in the top 20 in both categories.
He’s also the only player in the nation since at least 2010 with four games in a season of at least 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
The senior guard Hollingsworth has been an all-conference selection each of the last three years – Second Team this year, First Team in 2020 and Third Team in 2019.
He’s averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and has made 96 of 113 free throws (85%). Hollingsworth has shattered the WKU record for most minutes played in a career and is closing in on the top five for all-time scoring on The Hill with 1,837 career points. He also ranks in the top 10 in several other categories.
The senior guard Anderson was honored for the first time as an All-Defensive Team pick.
Anderson is averaging 9.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest. He’s tied for fifth in Conference USA in steals per game, and he ranks fifth in Hilltopper history with 159 career steals.
Anderson is one of 16 players in the country this season with at least 90 rebounds, 40 steals and nine blocks.
WKU has had four selections to the All-Defensive Team in the last three seasons.
McKnight marks four straight seasons that the Hilltoppers have had an All-Freshman pick, following Jordan Rawls in 2020, Bassey in 2019 and Hollingsworth in 2018.
McKnight is averaging 5.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds with 12 starts in his debut season. He’s tied for fourth in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8-to-1) and ranks seventh in the league in assists per game.
McKnight is one of six freshmen in the country with at least 130 points, 90 assists, 85 rebounds and 20 steals. He has eight games this season with at least five assists.
After winning the East Division title, WKU (18-6) begins play this week in the Conference USA Basketball Championship in Frisco, Texas, where it’ll face either UTSA or Charlotte in the quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. CT Thursday.
