WKU men’s basketball head coach Rick Stansbury announced Wednesday the signing of five-star center Charles Bassey (6-11) in the 2018 class.
“We’re happy to have Charles join our family,” Stansbury said. “We’re excited about the talent of basketball player he is, but most importantly, the type of person and student he is. He’s a 3.9 GPA student with great character, and we look forward to having him in our program.”
Bassey, who played prep ball for Aspire Academy in Louisville was originally a member of the 2019 class but has graduated and will reclassify into 2018.
“After discussing this opportunity with my parents, I feel that this is the best decision for me,” Bassey said. “Rick Stansbury was the first coach to offer me, and I’m comfortable here. I know Coach Stansbury will push me and I want to be a part of rebuilding this program. I’m looking forward to the challenges that college brings and hope to help us win the conference.”
The Nigeria native is a consensus five-star prospect across all recruiting sites. He was rated the No. 3 overall prospect in the country in the 2019 class by Rivals and ESPN, and the No. 5 overall prospect by 247Sports. Those sites list him as the No. 2 center in the nation.
Bassey averaged 19.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a junior for Aspire Academy this season. He shot 56.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from the 3-point line.
Before that, he spent two years at St. Anthony Catholic School in San Antonio, Texas. In 2015-16, he earned MaxPreps Freshman All-American honors after posting 20.2 points, 17.1 rebounds and 5.9 blocks per game. He led St. Anthony to a 32-6 record and TAPPS 5A state championship.
Earlier this month, Bassey became the first player ever to be named MVP two years in a row at the Pangos All-American Camp.
In April of this year, he broke the Nike Hoop Summit record for rebounds with 17 in the World team’s victory over Team USA. He was also named MVP of the 2018 Basketball Without Borders camp in Los Angeles.
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