West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Layton]

[boatcapt]

Coaches pregame speech: Men, we can win this game! All we have to do is score more points than they do. NOW GET OUT THERE AND SCORE POINTS!!!!

[Columbuseer]

So all they need to do is shoot better? Humm...Seems like most teams that lose could say the same thing...We would have won instead of loosing by 20 if we just made six more buckets and three more 3 pointer!

You are correct. Regardless of style, points per possession determines the winner. It, in turn is heavily influenced by shooting % and turnovers. A horrendous shooting night can often result in defeat. You may disagree, but 18% from three in second half and 47% free throws is sufficiently abysmal to put victory in jeopardy for any team, especially if the opponent is shooting well. Wlu was 1.01 points per possession. For the past n seasons, their season average is around 1.25.

[boatcapt]

So all they need to do is shoot better? Humm...Seems like most teams that lose could say the same thing...We would have won instead of loosing by 20 if we just made six more buckets and three more 3 pointer!

[Columbuseer]

More wlu - nd observations
1. The offensive rebound efficiency was 34.4%, which is in the same ball park as prior games and is a very good %. (Off reb /(off reb + opponent def reb)).
We were kind of spoiled last year with Dalton, Will and Luke, who pushed that stat on some nights to an other worldly 40%. This stat was lowered at ND by terrible 18% 3 pt shooting in 2nd half, because a missed three often results in long rebounds.

2. For the most part, the drives to the rim were good shots. In listening to many interviews with wlu coaches over the years, their goal is to spread the floor and to get a good shot, whether a drive to the rim or a three.
When not hitting threes, rim runs have the advantage of drawing fouls and shorter rebounds. Of course you have to make your foul shots. We were under 50% (9-19) instead of the typical 70+%.

3. A rim run need not affect rebounding if you crash the boards behind the driver and do not impede him. It often leaves openings for put backs because the driver draws attention. The problem is that not enough folks were aggressively crashing the boards. As evidence, watch Dalton crash the boards last season from the wing on rim runs or shots by his teammates. As Coach Howlett said, offensive rebounding is mostly about desire.

Once folks get more experience playing together, I expect the stats to improve.

[boatcapt]

But again, it's hard to be in good rebounding position while standing around the perimeter watching a guy try to go 1-on-3 in the lane. It's all related. And tomorrow will be very interesting. Gotta get it fixed more quickly than last year. Andrew Sischo can be a problem for us when we're playing well let alone playing poorly.

Exactly...When four guys are standing around the perimeter, you ain't going to get many rebounds. Iso ball feeds sooo many bad things...ball stops moving...players start standing...offensive rebounds go down...second chance points go down...etc...etc...etc.

[Scrub]

If they could have rebounded the ball they'd have won by 10+

Lost the glass 45-32.

That's not hero Ball. That's just getting hammered on the glass.

But again, it's hard to be in good rebounding position while standing around the perimeter watching a guy try to go 1-on-3 in the lane. It's all related. And tomorrow will be very interesting. Gotta get it fixed more quickly than last year. Andrew Sischo can be a problem for us when we're playing well let alone playing poorly.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

However you get to 1-on-1 basketball, that is where WLU was at last game. Kind of a chicken and the egg argument...Are players playing hero ball because everyone was standing around or were they standing around because they knew the player with the ball was taking it to the rack?? Either way is not good...either the players aren't listening to the coach's instructions to MOVE or they aren't listening to the coach's instructions to MOVE THE BALL.

We'll see tomorrow if Ben can nip this in the bud or if it's going to take several games (like last year) for the players to figure it out on their own.

If they could have rebounded the ball they'd have won by 10+

Lost the glass 45-32.

That's not hero Ball. That's just getting hammered on the glass.

[boatcapt]

I hadn't seen the stats when offering initial impressions. And I like your point that the assist numbers are encouraging.

And you're absolutely right that there seemed to be stagnation on offense (not moving without the ball), which is what caused our talented guards to attempt a lot of rim runs with very little ball movement (and gave the impression of "hero ball" to a viewer seeing that stagnation).

Good stuff as always, Columbus. Appreciate your perspective.

However you get to 1-on-1 basketball, that is where WLU was at last game. Kind of a chicken and the egg argument...Are players playing hero ball because everyone was standing around or were they standing around because they knew the player with the ball was taking it to the rack?? Either way is not good...either the players aren't listening to the coach's instructions to MOVE or they aren't listening to the coach's instructions to MOVE THE BALL.

We'll see tomorrow if Ben can nip this in the bud or if it's going to take several games (like last year) for the players to figure it out on their own.

[Columbuseer]

Compensating for loss of Will Yoakum...

I am impressed by effort of Bryce Butler on defense and offense. Great effort in blocking shots and rebounds. If he does jump stops for short jumpers and reduces charging calls, he will get another 4 points per game.

but wlu needs other players to step up when Bryce sits for a rest. I see Ben Sarson maturing quickly and not committing as many ill advised fouls. Last game he got time with first platoon. Great effort on the Boards.

But we need others to step up, for it will take a committee to compensate for Will. Who will it be?
Garrett Denbow? - I see him losing more rust each game.
Austin Webb ? - just needs more experience to get more confident.
Elijah Watson? - plays with great effort. improving inside moves.
Luke Powell? - Can other facets of game improve rapidly to match his shooting?
Marlon Moore jr.? - now he plays when Viktor sits. Can he play more along side Viktor?

Until then, Wlu players have to treat each possession as gold, and take only high percentage shots and reduce turnovers.

Thoughts?

[Scrub]

I hadn't seen the stats when offering initial impressions. And I like your point that the assist numbers are encouraging.

And you're absolutely right that there seemed to be stagnation on offense (not moving without the ball), which is what caused our talented guards to attempt a lot of rim runs with very little ball movement (and gave the impression of "hero ball" to a viewer seeing that stagnation).

Good stuff as always, Columbus. Appreciate your perspective.

[Columbuseer]

IMHO, here are the root causes.

1. Horrendous foul shooting of 47%
2. I felt that we took the foot off the gas after we got the lead and into the second half. Folks have to realize that it is working harder than our opponents that enables WLU to win on a bad shooting night.
   1. Slow close out on defense on ND 3-pt shooters, especially in the corner, during transition against the WLU press. When an opponent is hot from three, that is a big problem.
   2. Too many offensive possessions where teammates were not moving without the ball. This makes it tough to get shots other than dribble drive.
   3. Often there was a huge ND defensive gap in the lane, but no one was flashing there to get a pass. A pass in the lane is very disruptive to a defense.
3. The cold three-point shooting (18%) in second half.
4. We also had excessive unforced turnovers or missed easy shots after great interior passes.
5. The loss of Will has left us without another experienced player who is a great defender and offensive force. Some of our depth just needs more experience before they can fill those shoes. Until our new players get more experience, that is causing a dangerous increase in minutes, which may result in fatigue for some players

Some Positives:

1. We had assists on 56% of our goals, which is consistent with prior games; it would have been even higher if WLU hit the shots after getting a kick out pass. If hero ball were a problem, this number would have been significantly lower.
2. We were scoring at will at times on drives to the basket, and frankly that kept us in the game late.
3. We had 12 steals and forced 22 turnovers
4. Viktor is getting more and more comfortable.
5. We have 3 shut-down guards with Patrick, Malik and Cmont.

Team	FG	FGA	Pct	Three FG	ThreeFGA	Three FG PCT	FT	FTA	FT PCT	Off Reb	Tot Reb	PF	Assist	TO	Stl	Pts	Assist to Turn over Ratio	Points Per Possession	Num Possessions	Assists Per FG made
WSSU	37	80	46.3%	9	25	36.0%	21	27	77.8%	18	43	20	19	9	17	104	2.11	1.25	83	51.4%
ESSU	38	75	50.7%	18	35	51.4%	14	21	66.7%	12	35	28	24	16	13	108	1.50	1.23	88	63.2%
at UP-J	33	70	47.1%	8	28	28.6%	21	29	72.4%	14	42	22	15	8	6	95	1.88	1.23	77	45.5%
A-B	39	77	50.6%	11	20	55.0%	11	20	55.0%	15	46	17	24	15	17	100	1.60	1.16	86	61.5%
At ND	32	72	44.4%	8	23	34.8%	9	19	47.4%	11	32	17	18	10	12	81	1.80	1.03	79	56.3%

[boatcapt]

I know what you're saying about the recruiting of athletes. No offense to great players from WLU's history like Eric Meininger, Chris Morrow, Keene Cockburn, CJ Hester, Evan French, etc., but you are right that those players seemed to know they had to work within the system to be elite. They didn't have the one-on-one "hero ball" tool in their toolkit. Alex Falk, Corey Pelle, Cedric Harris, Seger Bonifant, Dan Monteroso, etc. certainly DID have that tool, but also knew they were surrounded by system guys and were smart enough to stay within the system. I buy your point that having elite athletes like Robinson, McKinney, Butler, Moore, Montague (who got to be "the guy" last year at Walsh), etc. on the roster makes outbreaks of "hero ball" more of an issue. Good point.

But I also trust that Howlett has recruited smart young men who will get it figured out. And you're absolutely right that it took too long to figure it out last year. Hopefully this outbreak is a mere one-game epidemic. We'll see. The road doesn't get any easier with Andrew Sischo coming to town.

Just like last year, I think they will figure it out. I just hope it doesn't take them 3 losses to do it. Those 3 losses really hurt us come playoff seeding time which ultimately was the difference between a possible NC game appearance and an E8 looser.

[Scrub]

I would never say WLU shouldn't get "better athletes," but when you have a collection of players that have "hero ball" in their tool bag, you run the risk of them pulling that tool out. If you have a bunch of players that know they can't beat anyone off the dribble, they ain't going to try it!

Now the question is can Ben stop this trend at one game? As I recall, it took him 3 games last year to get the "hero ball" outbreak under control which cost us dearly in the NCAA seeding and ultimately caused us to play NW in the Elite 8.

While we are fond of saying that it doesn't matter who starts at WLU, but I would imagine that it does mean somthing to the players that start. I'm not Ben, but if it were me, we'd trot out an opening tip lineup of Luke Powell, Elija Watson, Garrett Denbow, Marlon Moore and Zach Rasile against Damien Monday...And as long as they played well, I'd keep them in (and the normal "starters" on the bench). Nothing like some "pine time" to refocus a player on how he needs to be playing! Can't afford a three game skid while our starters "figure it out."

I know what you're saying about the recruiting of athletes. No offense to great players from WLU's history like Eric Meininger, Chris Morrow, Keene Cockburn, CJ Hester, Evan French, etc., but you are right that those players seemed to know they had to work within the system to be elite. They didn't have the one-on-one "hero ball" tool in their toolkit. Alex Falk, Corey Pelle, Cedric Harris, Seger Bonifant, Dan Monteroso, etc. certainly DID have that tool, but also knew they were surrounded by system guys and were smart enough to stay within the system. I buy your point that having elite athletes like Robinson, McKinney, Butler, Moore, Montague (who got to be "the guy" last year at Walsh), etc. on the roster makes outbreaks of "hero ball" more of an issue. Good point.

But I also trust that Howlett has recruited smart young men who will get it figured out. And you're absolutely right that it took too long to figure it out last year. Hopefully this outbreak is a mere one-game epidemic. We'll see. The road doesn't get any easier with Andrew Sischo coming to town.

[boatcapt]

Well, there it is: the "hero ball game" where WLU decides not to play WLU basketball and reverts to AAU ball. They're always good for one of those early in the season. Ball was sticking all night long, and guys were regularly trying to take a defender one-on-one. Just not West Liberty basketball. Here's hoping they use this game to get back to playing the right way--like they have in seasons past.

Additional fun fact: guess who hit the dagger 3 for NDC? None other than Daylin Lee. He was the leading scorer for WVWC the night they went out of their minds and beat WLU on the hilltop a few years back. Lee has transferred to NDC, and he's apparently retained his status as Topper-killer.

I would never say WLU shouldn't get "better athletes," but when you have a collection of players that have "hero ball" in their tool bag, you run the risk of them pulling that tool out. If you have a bunch of players that know they can't beat anyone off the dribble, they ain't going to try it!

Now the question is can Ben stop this trend at one game? As I recall, it took him 3 games last year to get the "hero ball" outbreak under control which cost us dearly in the NCAA seeding and ultimately caused us to play NW in the Elite 8.

While we are fond of saying that it doesn't matter who starts at WLU, but I would imagine that it does mean somthing to the players that start. I'm not Ben, but if it were me, we'd trot out an opening tip lineup of Luke Powell, Elija Watson, Garrett Denbow, Marlon Moore and Zach Rasile against Damien Monday...And as long as they played well, I'd keep them in (and the normal "starters" on the bench). Nothing like some "pine time" to refocus a player on how he needs to be playing! Can't afford a three game skid while our starters "figure it out."