Anthony Davis, Kevin Love, Taveion Hollingsworth? WKU star made an elite debut.

Taveion Hollingsworth, the former Paul Laurence Dunbar high school basketball star, stood out all season as a freshman at Western Kentucky University.

Hollingsworth set WKU freshman records for points scored (506), games played (38), games started (38) and minutes played (1,312). Per a news release from the WKU athletics department, he and fellow Hilltoppers freshman Marek Nelson were among 11 first-year players who played in at least 38 games this season.

Only 10 freshmen since 1992 made as many starts and scored more points than Hollingsworth did this season: Anthony Davis (UK), Aaron Harrison (UK), Brandon Knight (UK), Kevin Love (UCLA), Doug McDermott (Creighton), Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Julius Randle (UK), Derrick Rose (Memphis), Darius Washington (Memphis) and James Young (UK). All of those players eventually played games in the NBA, eight were top-20 selections in the draft and all but one (Washington) are still affiliated with teams in the league.

The only other freshman that started 38 games this season was Omari Spellman of Villanova, this season’s national champion.

Hollingsworth broke the freshman scoring record set by Courtney Lee, who scored 461 points in 31 games during the 2004-05 season. Lee, who currently plays for the New York Knicks, was the last WKU men’s basketball player selected in the first round of the NBA draft (he was picked 22nd overall in the 2008 draft). Jeremy Evans, who was picked 55th overall in the 2010 draft, was the last WKU player picked in the NBA draft.

Hollingsworth broke the Lexington boys’ basketball scoring record as a senior and was named Mr. Basketball later that season. As a junior he led Paul Laurence Dunbar to its first state championship.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Anthony Davis, Kevin Love, Taveion Hollingsworth? WKU star made an elite debut.."