DALLAS – WKU was deemed the 2020-21 Conference USA men’s basketball preseason favorite for the third-straight year, the league announced Thursday. The Hilltoppers received 11 first-place votes coming off of their third 20-win season in a row. The annual preseason poll and team are voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.

2020-21 C-USA Preseason Team
Jordan Shepherd, Charlotte, R-Sr., G
Jahmir Young, Charlotte, So., G
Taevion Kinsey, Marshall, Jr., G
Jarrod West, Marshall, Sr., G
Javion Hamlet, North Texas, R-Sr., G
Bryson Williams, UTEP, R-Sr., F
Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA, Sr., G
Keaton Wallace, UTSA, Sr., G
Taveion Hollingsworth, WKU, Sr., G
Charles Bassey, WKU, Jr., C
 
2020-21 C-USA Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
1. WKU (11)
2. North Texas (3)
3. Marshall
4. UAB
5. Old Dominion
6. Charlotte
7. Louisiana Tech
8. UTEP
9. UTSA
10. Florida Atlantic
11. FIU
12. Middle Tennessee
13. Southern Miss
14. Rice
 
WKU earned the No. 2 seed for the second-straight year, but never saw the 2020 C-USA Championship court due to the cancelation of sports in March. The 2019-20 Hilltoppers went 13-5 in league play and return two of three all-conference selections from that squad in senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth and redshirt senior forward Carson Williams.
 
Hollingsworth was tabbed to C-USA’s preseason unit after an average of 16.6 points, 4.2 boards, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 35 minutes a game landed him NABC All-District honors. Joining him is junior center Charles Bassey, the conference’s most anticipated return following a season-ending injury back in December. In his 10 games, Bassey registered 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest. The Nigeria native was recently named a Preseason Second-Team All-American by Lindy's Sports Magazine.
 
Reigning C-USA Regular Season Champion North Texas collected three first-place votes and is the predicted runner-up after clinching its first regular season title in 31 years. The Mean Green’s 14 C-USA wins were a program record powered by preseason pick and redshirt senior guard Javion Hamlet. The 2019-20 Michael L. Slive C-USA Male Athlete of the Year led the league in conference assists (95), assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and free throw percentage (88.7), while also posting a fourth-best 17.9 scoring average.
 
Marshall rounds out the top three and also boasts a pair of preseason nods in senior guard Jarrod West and junior guard Taevion Kinsey. West, a 2019-20 defensive team member, led C-USA with 65 steals and was top five in assists (126). All-Conference second-team honoree Kinsey paced the Thundering Herd with 16.1 points per game and reached double figures in 30 of 32 starts. Marshall’s 10-8 C-USA record last season made it the only C-USA program to win 10 league games in each of the last five years.
 
C-USA’s 26^th season of men’s hoops tips off Wednesday, Nov. 25 and culminates in the 2021 Conference USA Basketball Championships March 10-13 in Frisco, Texas. C-USA will host 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams inside Ford Center at The Star for the fourth-straight year. The men’s final is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.