1/12/2022 basketball Edit

Rick Stansbury and players preview matchup against Rice

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Drew Toennies • InsideHilltopperSports

Staff Writer

Rick Stansbury addresses the media on Thursday (Drew Toennies)

WKU head coach Rick Stansbury, graduate guard Camron Justice and sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight met with members of the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview Thursday's matchup against conference foe Rice.

"I think they have until, if i'm correct about this, they have until Monday if I'm correct on this. The amount of time they have on their hands. So, hopefully we can hear something this week, one way or the other."

— Rick Stansbury

Stansbury opened up his portion of the press conference with some big news regarding the eligibility status of Cincinnati transfer and fifth year guard Keith Williams.

The team went two to three whole months expecting news week-after-week, yet the NCAA was silent, Stansbury said.

Stansbury announced that as of right now, the team is expected to know about Williams' eligibility status by Monday, at the latest but the team could know any day now.

"All you need to know about them is this, they beat UAB and we all know how talented and how good UAB is. They just came off going to North Texas and winning."

— Rick Stansbury

Stansbury also acknowledged that Rice plays similarly to Florida International but with a better array of shooters. Stansbury talked about how talented Rice is considering they managed to defeat UAB who is one of the stronger teams in the conference.

"I like where we're at. Getting some more depth would definitely help us, help give some guys a little bit more rest."

— Rick Stansbury

Rick Stansbury closed out his portion of the press conference by talking about his team has grown over the course of the season from the first game against Alabama A&M to now.

Stansbury talked about how he's happy with where his team is now but said the team could use some more depth to give players a bit of a break, including some players who are coming off the bench.

Camron Justice and Dayvion McKnight address the media on Thursday (Drew Toennies)

Justice took the first question regarding what the team knows about Rice ahead of Thursday's contest. Justice said based on what the team has seen from the scouting report, defense will need to be a priority with the amount of solid shooters on the Owls' roster.

"From what it looks like right now from the scout we've went over is, they've got a bunch of shooters who can really shoot the ball well right now."

— Camron Justice

McKnight discussed how significant it was for the team to be back at Diddle Arena in front of the fans for the next two matchups.

"It feels good. Back playing with everybody consistently is a good feeling, especially like you said the three-game homestretch. So, just ready to play."

— Dayvion McKnight

Before Justice and McKnight's time ended, Justice discussed how the team has grown from the first matchup of the season against Alabama A&M to this point in conference play.

"And then to now, we've kind of molded ourselves and found our identity and I think we've stuck with it and we've done well with it."

— Camron Justice

The Hilltoppers face off against the Rice Owls tomorrow night. The opening tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will air on the CBS Sports Network.

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