NCAA: For Western Kentucky’s T.J. Price, George Fant, It’s Now Or Never
By Wally Hughes
T.J. Price and George Fant arrived at Western Kentucky University four years ago with a group heralded as one of the best recruiting classes in school history — and for the most part, they haven’t disappointed.
As freshmen, the duo was part of a remarkable midseason turnaround that saw the Hilltoppers rally from a 5-11 start to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the team orchestrated the largest comeback ever in the final five minutes of a tournament game to knock off Mississippi Valley State, before losing to eventual national champion Kentucky in the second round.
The following year, they won the conference tournament again, and gave top-seeded Kansas all it could handle in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Price and Fant have several accolades — conference championships, NCAA tournament appearances, all-conference selections — to show for their first three years at WKU. But it still feels like something is missing. That’s because fans placed an enormous amount of pressure on Price and Fant before they ever stepped on campus.
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Why?
A few seasons prior to their arrival, the Hilltoppers enjoyed success in back-to-back postseasons, spoiling the fan base in the process.
In 2007, a senior-laden team led by Courtney Lee advanced to the program’s first Sweet 16 since the 1990s, and finished the season ranked 22nd in the coaches’ poll. The following season, it look Gonzaga a last-second shot to prevent the Hilltoppers from making it two Sweet 16’s in a row.
For a moment, WKU was a media darling. The team made national newspaper headlines and website front pages. Some were even calling the Hilltoppers the “Gonzaga of the East.”
But the hype didn’t last long. After a couple mediocre seasons marred by team turmoil and questionable coaching decisions, the Hilltoppers once again faded into mid-major purgatory.
Then Price and Fant arrived, counted on to fill the shoes of players like Courtney Lee and Jeremy Evans, and return WKU to the national spotlight. No pressure.
While the team has experienced some success, it’s inconsistency has caused it not to live up to overwhelming expectations — fair or not. Hilltopper fans expect to win each year, and are starving for another postseason run.
For Price and Fant, this is the last chance to deliver to the fans what they want: multiple wins in the NCAA tournament.
The dream of a deep tournament run began four years ago, but the combination of Price and Fant as teammates almost never happened. The two took different routes to WKU.
Fant, whom Rivals rated as a top 150 recruit, was a hometown boy and cousin to Hilltopper legend Jim McDaniels. McDaniels was a member of the 1971 Final Four team and three-time All American at WKU, and Fant wears his retired number 44 in honor of him.
Even as Fant blossomed into a top recruit, it was a foregone conclusion that he would be the next family member to wear Hilltopper red.
On the other hand, Price was a late signee of the Hilltopper basketball team. Prior to landing Price, WKU received a commitment from four-star point guard Cezar Guerrero. However, Guerrero had a change of heart and uncommitted, deciding to instead go to Oklahoma State.
The Hilltoppers’ backup plan, Anthony Hickey, committed to LSU around the same time, leaving a spot open for Price. Price was a late bloomer in high school in part due to his standout football career, giving WKU a chance to sweep in and steal him from bigger schools.
Despite their different backgrounds, the two meshed well during their first three years together at WKU, forming a talented inside-outside presence. How talented? Both were selected to the all-conference teams their sophomore and junior seasons, and both have been named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — Fant as a freshman, and Price as a sophomore.
To see Price and Fant’s significance, just look at the Hilltopper record book. Price enters the season ranked 25th on the school’s all-time scoring list, and Fant is right behind him at 30th on the list. Both are well on their way of being in the top 10 in games played, games started, and minutes played.
By the end of the season, Fant will likely be in the top 10 in rebounds, and Price currently sits in fourth place in three-pointers made.
But Price and Fant want to take the next step and be remembered by Hilltopper fans as all-time greats instead of good players on so-so teams. If they want to achieve that goal, they must advance past the second round of the NCAA tournament, which means being more consistent in the season in order to earn a higher seed and avoid top seeds in the earlier rounds.
Luckily, the duo will have the support of a veteran team this season.
WKU returns four starters from last year’s team, as well as three other players who have started at least one game. The team also returns 72.5 percent of its scoring from a season ago, and 54.3 percent of its rebounding. This is the most experienced Hilltopper team since the 2008-09 season, when the team led by Jeremy Evans lost to Gonzaga in the round of 32.
This year’s WKU squad, led by Price and Fant, has the experience and talent to make a postseason run, and can no longer hide behind excuses. For three seasons, it’s been “Wait until next year,” or, “There’s always next season.” That cannot be said anymore. For much of the talent on this year’s squad, there is no next year.
It’s now or never.