2017–18 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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 (SoCon). They finished the season 13–19, 8–10 in SoCon play, to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament to Furman .[ 1]
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 SoCon 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
Recruiting Class of 2017
College recruiting information
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)
Star ratings : 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)
Star ratings : 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)
Star ratings : 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, FL
G
1
Desmond Johnson
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Fr
Memphis, TN
G
2
Matt Halvorsen
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Fr
Kingsport, TN
G
3
Jason McMillan
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
So
Cherokee, NC
G
5
Devin Peterson
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Sr
Milton, GA
G
11
Haboubacar Mutombo
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
RS Sr
Pickering, ON
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, NC
G
21
Marcus Thomas
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Mint Hill, NC
F
23
Mike Amius
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
Lake Worth, FL
F
24
Ashley Williams
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Sr
Morehead City, NC
G
32
Devonte Fuller
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
RS Sr
Hickory, NC
F
33
Onno Steger
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
So
Upper Arlington, OH
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, SC
F
44
Adam Sledd
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
So
Roanoke, VA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: July 8, 2024
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 10, 2017 *7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra
at Clemson
L 57–85
0–1
Littlejohn Coliseum (8,188)Clemson, SC
November 13, 2017 *7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at No. 12 Cincinnati
L 51–102
0–2
BB&T Arena (7,051)Highland Heights, KY
November 15, 2017 *7:00 p.m.
Hiwassee
W 76–57
1–2
Ramsey Center (982)Cullowhee, NC
November 19, 2017 *4:30 p.m., FS1
at No. 14 Minnesota Barclays Center Classic
L 64–92
1–3
Williams Arena (11,107)Minneapolis, MN
November 21, 2017 *7:00 p.m.
at Massachusetts Barclays Center Classic
L 76–85
1–4
William D. Mullins Memorial Center (2,042)Amherst, MA
November 24, 2017 *7:00 p.m.
vs. UT Arlington Barclays Center Classic
L 65–98
1–5
Gallagher Center (842)Lewiston, NY
November 25, 2017 *4:00 p.m.
vs. Alabama A&M Barclays Center Classic
W 82–72
2–5
Gallagher Center (809)Lewiston, NY
November 30, 2017 *7:00 p.m.
at College of Charleston
L 60–69
2–6
TD Arena (3,889)Charleston, SC
December 4, 2017 *7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Appalachian State
W 72–71
3–6
Ramsey Center (3,303)Cullowhee, NC
December 6, 2017 *7:00 p.m., ESPN2
at No. 11 North Carolina
L 61–104
3–7
Dean Smith Center (12,720)Chapel Hill, NC
December 17, 2017 *7:00 p.m.
vs. UNC Asheville Mountain Invitational
W 76–72
4–7
U.S. Cellular Center (1,423)Asheville, NC
December 19, 2017 *7:00 p.m., ESPN3
High Point
L 61–72
4–8
Ramsey Center (1,011)Cullowhee, NC
December 30, 2017 1:00 p.m., ESPN3
at The Citadel
W 81–79
5–8 (1–0)
McAlister Field House (546)Charleston, SC
January 4, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
at Chattanooga
W 75–63
6–8 (2–0)
McKenzie Arena (3,844)Chattanooga, TN
January 6, 2018 8:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Samford
L 71–85
6–9 (1–1)
Pete Hanna Center Homewood, AL
January 10, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Mercer
W 58–56
7–9 (3–1)
Ramsey Center (834)Cullowhee, NC
January 13, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
UNC Greensboro
L 55–66
7–10 (3–2)
Ramsey Center (1,237)Cullowhee, NC
January 15, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3
VMI
W 65–58
8–10 (4–2)
Ramsey Center (1,420)Cullowhee, NC
January 20, 2018 4:00 p.m., ESPN3
at East Tennessee State
L 50–66
8–11 (4–3)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,412)Johnson City, TN
January 25, 2018 *7:00 p.m.
Southern Wesleyan
W 108–48
9–11
Ramsey Center (956)Cullowhee, NC
January 27, 2018 4:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Furman
L 66–100
9–12 (4–4)
Timmons Arena (1,812)Greenville, SC
January 29, 2018 7:00 p.m., Stadium
at Wofford
L 68–77
9–13 (4–5)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,785)Spartanburg, SC
February 1, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Chattanooga
W 70–68
10–13 (5–5)
Ramsey Center (1,109)Cullowhee, NC
February 3, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Samford
W 88–71
11–13 (6–5)
Ramsey Center (2,017)Cullowhee, NC
February 8, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at VMI
W 72–60
12–13 (7–5)
Cameron Hall (1,043)Lexington, VA
February 10, 2018 5:00 p.m., ESPN3
at UNC Greensboro
L 48–65
12–14 (7–6)
Fleming Gymnasium (1,983)Greensboro, NC
February 15, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
Wofford
L 69–84
12–15 (7–7)
Ramsey Center (1,121)Cullowhee, NC
February 17, 2018 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
East Tennessee State
L 61–72
12–16 (7–8)
Ramsey Center (1,836)Cullowhee, NC
February 20, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Mercer
L 64–81
12–17 (7–9)
Hawkins Arena (3,572)Macon, GA
February 23, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Furman
L 55–78
12–18 (7–10)
Ramsey Center (1,386)Cullowhee, NC
February 25, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3
The Citadel
W 92–75
13–18 (8–10)
Ramsey Center (1,236)Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
March 3, 2017 6:00 p.m., 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 .
Source:[ 4]
References
^ "Western Carolina bounced out of Southern Conference tournament by Furman" . Citizen Times . March 4, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2024 .
^ "Western Carolina basketball coach Larry Hunter steps down" . The Washington Post . Associated Press. March 4, 2018. ISSN 0190-8286 . Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018 .
^ McCormick, Bret (March 27, 2018). "Winthrop basketball assistant coach lands head job" . Rock Hill Herald . Rock Hill, SC . Retrieved July 8, 2024 .
^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Schedule" . Western Carolina University . Retrieved July 8, 2024 .