Hilltoppers to host second straight pro day for NBA scouts

Freshman center Charles Bassey receives a pass while practicing his shooting during the Hilltoppers’ first-ever basketball pro day in Diddle Arena Thursday. Bassey came to WKU as a consensus five-star recruit.  

Elliott Wells

The WKU men’s basketball team is set to host its second straight pro day in Diddle Arena on Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m., head coach Rick Stansbury announced Friday.

Scouts from all NBA teams and media are invited to attend the pro day, which will be a credentialed event closed to the general public. 

WKU hosted the first official pro day in program history in 2018, drawing more than 20 NBA scouts from nearly as many teams.

NBA scouts are already pretty familiar with the Hilltoppers. The 2018-19 team garnered more than 350 scout visits at home and on the road, including as many as 40 at once.

WKU routinely had double-digit scouts in attendance for the team’s home games in Diddle Arena last year, according to a release.

Stansbury — coming into his fourth season at the helm — designed pro day as a chance to showcase his players for NBA scouts. This year, scouts will get an early look at a WKU roster filled with NBA hopefuls, including sophomore center Charles Bassey.

Bassey, the reigning Conference USA Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, entered the 2019 NBA Draft without an agent in April and participated in the 2019 NBA Draft Combine in May.

The star freshman later announced he would be withdrawing from the NBA Draft pool and officially returned to WKU on May 29.

Bassey was named a top-five finalist for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award last season.

The 6-foot-11-inch big man was also named a Preseason First Team All-American by Lindy’s Sports and Street & Smith’s Basketball Yearbook earlier this month.

The WKU men’s basketball program has produced 35 NBA Draft picks and 20-plus former Hilltoppers currently playing pro ball in the United States and overseas.

All nine outgoing seniors have earned the opportunity to play professional basketball in Stansbury’s first three seasons at WKU, according to a release.

Reporter Elliott Wells can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow Elliott on Twitter at @ewells5.