2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by 13th-year head coach Larry Hunter, played their home games at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 8–10 in Southern Conference play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament to Furman.^[1]

2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	13–19 (8–10 SoCon)
Head coach	Larry Hunter (13th season)
Assistant coaches	Anquell McCollum Brigham Waginger Wilie Freeman
Home arena	Ramsey Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UNC Greensboro †	15	–	3		.833			27	–	8		.771
East Tennessee State	14	–	4		.778			25	–	9		.735
Furman	13	–	5		.722			23	–	10		.697
Mercer	11	–	7		.611			19	–	15		.559
Wofford	11	–	7		.611			21	–	13		.618
Western Carolina	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Samford	6	–	12		.333			10	–	22		.313
The Citadel	5	–	13		.278			11	–	21		.344
VMI	4	–	14		.222			9	–	21		.300
Chattanooga	3	–	15		.167			10	–	23		.303
† 2018 SoCon Tournament winner

Following the loss to Furman, Larry Hunter resigned as head coach.^[2] He finished his coaching career at Western Carolina with a record of 193–229 over 13 seasons. Winthrop associate head coach Mark Prosser, son of the late Skip Prosser, was named Hunter's successor.^[3]

Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2016–17 season 9–23, 4–14 in Southern Conference play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament to The Citadel.

Offseason

Player departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Kyle Rhoades	F	6'6"	Senior	Lumberton, NC	Graduated
Elijah Pughsley	G	6'1"	Sophomore	Lima, OH	Transferred to Saginaw Valley State
Jesse Deloach	G	6'7"	Sophomore	Grayson, GA	Transferred to Columbus State

Recruiting Class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Desmond Johnson G	Memphis, TN	Kirby High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Matt Halvorsen G	Kingsport, TN	Christ School (N.C.)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Marcus Thomas G	Mint Hill, NC	Moravian Prep	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Years Remaining	Notes
Mike Amius	F	6'7"	210	Junior	Lake Worth, FL	North Platte College	2	Eligible immediately

Roster

2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Maurice Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Lauderdale Lakes, Florida G 1 Desmond Johnson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee G 2 Matt Halvorsen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kingsport, Tennessee G 3 Jason McMillan 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Cherokee, North Carolina G 5 Devin Peterson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Milton, Georgia G 11 Haboubacar Mutombo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Pickering, Ontario, Canada F 12 Marc Gosselin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Lyon, France G 13 Deriece Parks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 155 lb (70 kg) RS Sr Charlotte, North Carolina G 21 Marcus Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Mint Hill, North Carolina F 23 Mike Amius 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lake Worth, Florida F 24 Ashley Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Morehead City, North Carolina G 32 Devonte Fuller 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Hickory, North Carolina F 33 Onno Steger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Upper Arlington, Ohio F 35 Yalim Olcay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So İzmir, Turkey F 41 Charlendez Brooks 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Duncan, South Carolina F 44 Adam Sledd 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Roanoke, Virginia	Head coach Larry Hunter (Ohio) Assistant coach(es) Anquell McCollum (Western Carolina) Brigham Waginger (Western Carolina) Willie Freeman (Western Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 28, 2017

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Clemson	L 57–85	0–1	Littlejohn Coliseum (8,188) Clemson, SC
Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at No. 12 Cincinnati	L 51–102	0–2	BB&T Arena (7,051) Highland Heights, KY
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm		Hiwassee	W 76–57	1–2	Ramsey Center (982) Cullowhee, NC
Nov 19, 2017* 4:30 pm, FS1		at No. 14 Minnesota Barclays Center Classic	L 64–92	1–3	Williams Arena (11,107) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Massachusetts Barclays Center Classic	L 76–85	1–4	William D. Mullins Memorial Center (2,042) Amherst, MA
Nov 24, 2017* 7:00 pm		vs. UT Arlington Barclays Center Classic	L 65–98	1–5	Gallagher Center (842) Lewiston, NY
Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm		vs. Alabama A&M Barclays Center Classic	W 82–72	2–5	Gallagher Center (809) Lewiston, NY
Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm		at College of Charleston	L 60–69	2–6	TD Arena (3,889) Charleston, SC
Dec 4, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Appalachian State	W 72–71	3–6	Ramsey Center (3,303) Cullowhee, NC
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 11 North Carolina	L 61–104	3–7	Dean Smith Center (12,720) Chapel Hill, NC
Dec 17, 2017* 7:00 pm		vs. UNC Asheville Mountain Invitational	W 76–72	4–7	U.S. Cellular Center (1,423) Asheville, NC
Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		High Point	L 61–72	4–8	Ramsey Center (1,011) Cullowhee, NC
Dec 30, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at The Citadel	W 81–79	5–8 (1–0)	McAlister Field House (546) Charleston, SC
Jan 4, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		at Chattanooga	W 75–63	6–8 (2–0)	McKenzie Arena (3,844) Chattanooga, TN
Jan 6, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Samford	L 71–85	6–9 (1–1)	Pete Hanna Center  Homewood, AL
Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Mercer	W 58–56	7–9 (3–1)	Ramsey Center (834) Cullowhee, NC
Jan 13, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		UNC Greensboro	L 55–66	7–10 (3–2)	Ramsey Center (1,237) Cullowhee, NC
Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		VMI	W 65–58	8–10 (4–2)	Ramsey Center (1,420) Cullowhee, NC
Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at East Tennessee State	L 50–66	8–11 (4–3)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,412) Johnson City, TN
Jan 25, 2018* 7:00 pm		Southern Wesleyan	W 108–48	9–11	Ramsey Center (956) Cullowhee, NC
Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at Furman	L 66–100	9–12 (4–4)	Timmons Arena (1,812) Greenville, SC
Jan 29, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		at Wofford	L 68–77	9–13 (4–5)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,785) Spartanburg, SC
Feb 1, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		Chattanooga	W 70–68	10–13 (5–5)	Ramsey Center (1,109) Cullowhee, NC
Feb 3, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		Samford	W 88–71	11–13 (6–5)	Ramsey Center (2,017) Cullowhee, NC
Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at VMI	W 72–60	12–13 (7–5)	Cameron Hall (1,043) Lexington, VA
Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at UNC Greensboro	L 48–65	12–14 (7–6)	Fleming Gymnasium (1,983) Greensboro, NC
Feb 15, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		Wofford	L 69–84	12–15 (7–7)	Ramsey Center (1,121) Cullowhee, NC
Feb 17, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3		East Tennessee State	L 61–72	12–16 (7–8)	Ramsey Center (1,836) Cullowhee, NC
Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Mercer	L 64–81	12–17 (7–9)	Hawkins Arena (3,572) Macon, GA
Feb 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Furman	L 55–78	12–18 (7–10)	Ramsey Center (1,386) Cullowhee, NC
Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		The Citadel	W 92–75	13–18 (8–10)	Ramsey Center (1,236) Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
Mar 3, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(6)	vs. (3) Furman Quarterfinals	L 73–97	13–19	U.S. Cellular Center (5,431) Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. "Western Carolina bounced out of Southern Conference tournament by Furman". Citizen Times. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
2. . Washington Post. Associated Press. March 4, 2018. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
3. McCormick, Bret (March 27, 2018). "Winthrop basketball assistant coach lands head job". Rock Hill Herald. Rock Hill, SC. Retrieved March 27, 2018.