Western Kentucky to pay Charles Bassey's guardian $200K as assistant

Justin Sayers | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Rick Stansbury talks about recruiting Charles Bassey WKU head basketball coach Rick Stansbury talks about his efforts over the years to recruit Charles Bassey.

Top Western Kentucky basketball recruit Charles Bassey's legal guardian is about to receive a salary from WKU equal to the team's highest-paid assistant coach.

The school has proposed to pay Hennssy Auriantal $200,004 annually, according to numbers provided to the Courier Journal by the university on Thursday.

The hire, which was submitted on June 28, is still awaiting the approval of the school's board of regents. Western Kentucky announced the addition of Auriantal to its men's basketball coaching staff on Tuesday.

More: Western Kentucky hires Charles Bassey's guardian as assistant coach

The Hilltoppers announced Bassey's signing June 13. A five-star center from Louisville prep school Aspire Academy and one of the nation's top 2019 prospects, Bassey opted to reclassify and join the Hilltoppers as a 2018 prospect.

Auriantal's hire ended months of speculation that Auriantal would join Bassey in Bowling Green. The Courier Journal reported in February that Auriantal was being considered for a job on Rick Stansbury's WKU staff.

WKU's other two men's basketball assistant coaches, Marc Hsu and Nikita Johnson, earn $200,004 and $85,008, respectively, according to the school. Hsu was hired on July 10, 2017, while Johnson was hired on July 5, 2017.

Auriantal has less NCAA Division I coaching experience than his fellow assistants, coaching as an assistant at Jackson State from 2013-2015. He also played college basketball at Wisconsin.

Hsu has more than a decade of assistant coaching experience, including stints at the Division I level at New Mexico (2017), New Mexico State (2016-2017), Texas Southern (2010-2012) and Binghamton (2008-2010).

Johnson has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including Division I jobs at Stetson (2013-2017), Louisiana Lafayette (2010-2012), Louisiana Tech (2007-2010), LSU (2004-2007), New Orleans (1998-2004), Tennessee State (1998), Duquesne (1995-1998) and Murray State (1993-1995).

See also: The 5 reasons that top recruit Charles Bassey chose WKU basketball

Stansbury received a raise in January, bumping his annual salary to $650,000, according to records provided to the Courier Journal .

Auriantal is Bassey's legal guardian, which in the NCAA's view would define Auriantal's relationship with Bassey as a parent.

Auriantal ran Yes II Success, an organization that has brought international players to the United States while also sponsoring an AAU team. Several of those players joined Bassey this past season at Aspire, as did Auriantal, who moved to Louisville from a previous spot in Texas to fill a staff position.

Another of the players originally tied to Yes II Success was current WKU forward Moustapha Diagne, who attended high school in New Jersey.

Diagne missed WKU's first 16 games this past season while the NCAA investigated his ties to Auriantal.

WKU's press release announcing Auriantal's hire did not mention his relationship to Bassey.

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins.