# 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 (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.
Following the loss to Furman, Larry Hunter resigned as head coach. 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.

## 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

| 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 |
| Desmond Johnson G | Memphis, TN | Kirby High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Recruiting 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) |
| Recruiting 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) |
| Recruiting 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 |

## 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: