https://watchstadium.com/news/goody-bag-...1-17-2019/
"4) WESTERN KENTUCKY (8-8, 1-2 C-USA) – The Hilltoppers were supposed to be a candidate for an at-large bid. Instead, the dream died early with losses to Indiana State, Missouri State and Troy.
What’s Wrong? – “They are dysfunctional. Have had off-court issues, guys getting in trouble, suspended, kicked off the team. Just not enough discipline. The reason why they aren’t playing as well as they should be is because of the internal stuff.” – C-USA coach
Can it be Fixed? – There’s no doubt that Rick Stansbury has more talent than anyone else in Conference USA, so it wouldn’t be smart to count the Hilltoppers out just yet. They have blown a couple of huge leads on the road against Marshall and ODU, but it’ll likely be guard play that determines whether they get this turned around."
and a blurb about that "average freshman"--
"D’ANTONI FINALLY TAKES BROTHERLY ADVICE, TURNS SEASON AROUND
Mike D’Antoni suggested that his brother, Dan, go small ball before the start of the season and toss athletic 6-foot-5 freshman guard Taevion Kinsey into the starting lineup. Instead, the elder D’Antoni (he’s 71 years young) decided to start 6-foot-9, 350-pound Iran Bennett in the middle to help in the rebounding department and also to utilize in ball-screen action with guards Jon Elmore and CJ Burks.
The experiment wasn’t working with Bennett, who wound up breaking his right foot, and the Marshall Thundering Herd – who made the NCAA tourney a year ago and had high hopes for this season – was struggling.
D’Antoni finally took his brother’s advice and tossed Kinsey – a Columbus, Ohio native who has a 42-inch vertical – into the starting lineup a couple weeks ago at Old Dominion. The Thundering Herd are 3-0 since the move – with road wins at ODU and Charlotte and a home victory over C-USA favorite Western Kentucky.
When I spoke to D’Antoni before the start of the season, he was raving about Kinsey as the heir apparent to Elmore at the point. Kinsey played the point in high school, but he’s long and ultra-athletic and has a high basketball IQ so D’Antonio – after just two practices to learn the position – threw him at the four-spot for his first starting nod.
“I’m a little nervous,” Kinsey told me before the game.
He proceeded to finish with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He had 14 points and five boards against Charlotte and went for 23 points and seven rebounds against Western Kentucky."