# 2018–19 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by first-year head coach Mark Prosser, played their home games at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 7–25, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. In the Southern Conference tournament, they were defeated by VMI in the first round.

## Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2017–18 season 13–19, 8–10 in SoCon play, to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Furman.
Following the loss to Furman, head coach Larry Hunter resigned. 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.

## Offseason
### Player departures

| Name | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Devin Peterson | G | 6'1" | Senior | Milton, GA | Graduated |
| Haboubacar Mutombo | G | 6'5" | Senior | Pickering, ON | Graduated |
| Deriece Parks | G | 6'5" | RS Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Ashley Williams | G | 6'5" | Senior | Morehead City, NC | Graduated |
| Devonte Fuller | G | 6'1" | Senior | Hickory, NC | Graduated |
| Charlendez Brooks | F | 6'9" | RS Senior | Duncan, SC | Graduated |
| Desmond Johnson | G | 5'11" | Freshman | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Odessa College |
| Mike Amius | F | 6'7" | Junior | Lake Worth, FL | Turned pro |

### Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| D.J. Myers F | Raleigh, NC | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kameron Gibson G | Cincinnati, OH | Walnut Hills High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Josh Cottrell G | Hayesville, NC | Hayesville High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 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 |
| Douglas Elks | G/F | 6'5" | 200 | Sophomore | Raleigh, NC | Roanoke College | 3 | Will have to sit out 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules |
| Mason Faulkner | G | 6'1" | 190 | Juinor | Glasgow, KY | Northern Kentucky | 2 | Will have to sit out 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules |
| Carlos Dotson | F | 6'7" | 270 | Juinor | Riverdale, MD | Central Florida CC | 2 | Eligible immediately |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wright State Cancún Challenge campus game | L 73–96 | 0–1 | Nutter Center (3,292) Fairborn, OH |
| November 10, 2018* 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | College of Charleston | L 74–77 | 0–2 | Ramsey Center (1,689) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 14, 2018* 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at SMU Cancún Challenge campus game | L 65–98 | 0–3 | Moody Coliseum (5,440) Dallas, TX |
| November 17, 2018* 4:00 p.m. | | Hiwassee | W 94–55 | 1–3 | Ramsey Center (500) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 20, 2018* 12:30 p.m. | | vs. Jacksonville State Cancún Challenge Mayan Division semifinals | L 53–84 | 1–4 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Convention Center Cancún, Mexico |
| November 21, 2018* 12:30pm | | vs. Southern Miss Cancún Challenge Mayan Division consolation | L 63–68 | 1–5 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Convention Center Cancún, Mexico |
| November 24, 2018* 2:00 p.m. | | Jacksonville | W 77–65 | 2–5 | Ramsey Center (778) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 27, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | at Wake Forest | L 64–71 | 2–6 | LJVM Coliseum (4,741) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 1, 2018 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 88–90 $^{2OT}$ | 2–7 (0–1) | Timmons Arena (2,131) Greenville, SC |
| December 5, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | at NC State | L 67–100 | 2–8 | PNC Arena (5,500) Raleigh, NC |
| December 8, 2018* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Asheville | W 71–59 | 3–8 | Kimmel Arena (1,702) Asheville, NC |
| December 15, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at High Point | L 59–86 | 3–9 | Millis Center (1,211) High Point, NC |
| December 18, 2018* 9:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 23 Iowa | L 60–78 | 3–10 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,642) Iowa City, IA |
| December 21, 2018* 1:00 p.m. | | at Bowling Green | L 52–73 | 3–11 | Stroh Center (1,715) Bowling Green, OH |
| December 29, 2018 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | L 54–74 | 3–12 (0–2) | Ramsey Center (1,043) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 3, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Chattanooga | L 62–73 | 3–13 (0–3) | Ramsey Center (1,322) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 5, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | W 76–69 | 4–13 (1–3) | Ramsey Center (1,295) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 10, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | L 80–84 | 4–14 (1–4) | Hawkins Arena (2,521) Macon, GA |
| January 12, 2019 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 94–82 | 5–14 (2–4) | McAlister Field House (1,042) Charleston, SC |
| January 17, 2019 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 60–69 | 5–15 (2–5) | Ramsey Center (2,226) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 19, 2019 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | L 83–91 | 5–16 (2–6) | Cameron Hall (2,500) Lexington, VA |
| January 26, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | East Tennessee State | W 91–69 | 5–17 (2–7) | Ramsey Center (2,095) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 31, 2019 8:00 p.m. | | at Chattanooga | W 105–96 | 6–17 (3–7) | McKenzie Arena (3,626) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 2, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Samford | L 81–92 | 6–18 (3–8) | Pete Hanna Center (974) Homewood, AL |
| February 7, 2019 7:30 p.m. | | Furman | L 45–64 | 6–19 (3–9) | Ramsey Center (2,423) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 9, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 56–83 | 6–20 (3–10) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (3,400) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 14, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | L 65–74 | 6–21 (3–11) | Ramsey Center (1,203) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 16, 2019 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 103–82 | 7–21 (4–11) | Ramsey Center (1,633) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 21, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 76–79 $^{OT}$ | 7–22 (4–12) | Greensboro Coliseum (3,851) Greensboro, NC |
| February 23, 2019 7:30 p.m. | | VMI | L 78–83 | 7–23 (4–13) | Ramsey Center (2,587) Cullowhee, NC |
| March 2, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | L 74–81 | 7–24 (4–14) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,520) Johnson City, TN |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2019 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (8) VMI First round | L 83–96 | 7–25 | U.S. Cellular Center (2,138) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source: