Westley signs to play with Barton County

Westley signs to play with Barton County
Barton County Community College men's basketball coach Ryan Wolf announced that Omari Westley, a transfer from the 2001 NJCAA National Champion Wabash Valley College, Ill., will be a part of the Barton County team this season. Westley, a 6-7 forward averaged eight points and four rebounds during the regular season to go along with a 70 percent field goal shooting percentage at Wabash Valley. During the NJCAA National Tournament, Westley was third on the team with 12 points a game and tossed in 18 points during the title game against Allegany, Md. Westley was also an important part of Wabash's win over Barton County in the first round, netting 14 points against the Cougars in Barton's only loss of the tournament.

"I think Barton's uptempo style of play suits my game," Westley said. "After playing against them last year on the way to the national title, I look forward to playing for them and look forward to playing for another national title again this year."

During the NJCAA Tournament, Westley hit 73 percent of his field goals and led the team in rebounding as well.

Westley said he chose Barton over a number of other community colleges including Indian Hills (Iowa), Hutchinson, Cowley County, Butler County, Wabash Valley, and Vincennes (Ind.). Westley originally signed with the University of Arkansas out of high school before attending Wabash Valley last season. As a senior at Cleveland's Shaw High School, he was tabbed the top high school player in the state of Ohio his senior season.

"This is a great addition to our juco ball club," Coach Wolf said. "He is a great athlete that will fit in very well in our system.

"He comes from a winning program, that will help as well. He will be an important part of what we are trying to accomplish here."

Westley will probably play the small forward position for the Cougars.