WKU, Slaughter shoot for more success

By Mark Maloney — mmaloney@herald-leader.com

Posted: 12:00am on Nov 7, 2009; Modified: 7:33am on Nov 16, 2009

  • ROSTER

    No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown

    1 Sergio Kerusch F 6-5 Jr. Memphis

    3 William Green F 6-6 Fr. Orlando, Fla.

    4 A.J. Slaughter G 6-3 Sr. Shelbyville

    5 Cliff Dixon F-C 6-10 Jr. Suitland, Md.

    10 Caden Dickerson G 6-4 Fr. Argyle, Texas

    12 Jordan Swing F 6-6 Fr.Vestavia Hills, Ala.

    13 Jameson Tipping G 6-5 Fr. Ontario

    14 Jamal Crook G 6-3 Fr. Louisville

    30Steffphon PettigrewG-F 6-5 Jr. Elizabethtown

    40 Jeremy Evans F 6-9 Sr. Cossett, Ark.

    45Nemanja Milosevic C 6-8 Sr. Centinje, Montenegro

    55 Anthony Sally G 6-2 Sr. Richmond, Va.

    Schedule

    Nov. 16—a-Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 5:30; 17—a-TBA; 23-27—a-TBA

    Dec. 2—at South Carolina, 7; 6—Tulane, 2; 8—Evansville, 8; 11—at Vanderbilt, 9:30; 19—at Louisville, 4; 22—Murray St., 9; 31—La.-Lafayette, 6

    Jan. 4—Mississippi St., 9; 7—at South Alabama, 8; 10—at Denver, 3; 14—Fla. Atlantic, 8; 16—Fla. International, 8; 18—at Middle Tennessee, 8; 21—at Troy, 8; 23—Middle Tenn., 1; 25—at So. Illinois, 8:05; 28—North Texas, 8; 30—New Orleans, 4

    Feb. 4—at La.-Monroe, 8; 6—Troy, 8; 9—Houston, 8; 11—Arkansas St., 8; 13—Ark.-Little Rock, 8; 18—South Alabama, 8; 20—at Arkansas St., 8:05; 25—at Fla. Atlantic, 7; 27—at Fla. International, 8

    March 6-9—b-TBA

    x-exhibition; a-Pre-season NIT at Baton Rouge, La., and New York; b-Sun Belt Tournament at Hot Springs, Ark.

  • Scouting report

    Coach: Ken McDonald (25-9 in one season at WKU)

    Last season: 25-9 overall, 15-3 Sun Belt Conference (East Division champ). SBC Tournament champion. Beat Illinois in first round of NCAA Tournament, lost to Gonzaga.

    What to watch: WKU returns five of its top six scorers. That includes four starters: A.J. Slaughter, the leading scorer (16 ppg); Jeremy Evans, a four-year starter who could finish his career as the most accurate shooter in school history; Steffphon Pettigrew, the team's Defensive Player of the Year; and Sergio Kerusch, the leading rebounder (7.4 rpg). Add to that a remarkable recruiting class that includes juco transfer Cliff Dixon (6-10), New Jersey Tech transfer Nemanja Milosevic (6-8) and five freshmen — 6-4 Caden Dickerson, 6-6 Jordan Swing; 6-6 William Green; 6-3 Jamal Crook and 6-5 Jameson Tipping. With such depth, McDonald foresees a 10-man rotation. Western has won 14 consecutive home games, including all 13 last season.

    Question marks: Anthony Sally takes over at point guard, a spot occupied last season by the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Orlando Mendez-Valdez. With seven new players, there is much teaching to be done. Will the newcomers pick up on the intensity level, as well as the system, that carried Western to the 2008-09 post-season?

    What's at stake: "We're going to have a chance to win multiple championships this year," said McDonald, referring to the pre-season NIT, Sun Belt Conference, the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament.

    Mark Maloney

A.J. Slaughter can shoot.

Ask him what his Western Kentucky team needs to do to keep improving, though, and the leading scorer from last season's NCAA Tournament team may surprise you.

"I think it's going to start on defense," he said during the Hilltoppers' pre-season media day. "We've got a lot of scoring threats, so we're going to score. So the big part is just trying to hold the other team down ... and it's all going to start with defense. And I think that we're embracing that in practice."

Slaughter, a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder from Shelby County, enters his senior season needing 14 points to reach 1,000 for his career. He also comes in ranked ninth on WKU's career three-point percentage (.383).

Last season, he averaged 16 points a game, helping the Hilltoppers to a 25-9 season that included Sun Belt Conference divisional and tournament titles. Western is the pre-season favorite in the East Division this season, too.

Slaughter, the SBC pre-season Player of the Year, is a key reason why. Projected as point guard at the professional level, he'll play more shooting guard for Western, and without complaint.

"I think it helps when you can run the one and the two," he said. "On this team, you have a point, but the two can also be the point — get the rebound and we're off and running. I think it just helps to be a combo guard in the end."

How Slaughter is used will depend much on the maturation of Anthony Sally, the projected point guard. A junior-college transfer, he started three games for the Toppers as a junior.

"He's a huge difference maker," Coach Ken McDonald said. "If he has a good year, it allows A.J. to do things we need him to do. And it trickles down.

"Now, A.J. is in a scoring role and defenses have to key on him. Then you've got (Steffphon) Pettigrew and Sergio (Kerusch) that are able to do more things."

Slaughter says this team is hungry to expand on last season's success. He also thinks that this team is "light years ahead" of where it was a year ago.

"I think it has to do with chemistry and talent level and just experience," Slaughter said. "Guys that have been there last year and know what it takes."

For his part, Slaughter spent part of his summer in China and honing his skills at a camp run by NBA All-star Chris Paul.

"Just learned a lot of little tricks from the point guard standpoint and just tried to incorporate it into my game," Slaughter said.

Of all Slaughter's traits, though, the most important may be his will to win.

"A.J. hates to lose," Kerusch said. "And that type of mentality is just like a wildfire. It spreads. The whole team. It makes for competition and it makes us focused."

Western opens play Monday at Baton Rouge, La., where it will face Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the opening round of the pre-season NIT.

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