West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Layton]

http://www.hudl.com/profile/12440841/Devin-Collins

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

http://www.hudl.com/profile/12440841/Devin-Collins

6'8" SG??? Are you kidding me? Hahahaha! Ben should list him on the roster as a Center!!

Can anyone remember when the last time was that WLU had a player even listed as a C?

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Should be a really good pickup. That has been the best AA program in the state for the last several years. Chapmanville has a junior that will be a D1 recruit next year and Collins would have gone up against him everyday in practice.

[Columbuseer]

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

Based on search of internet:
My guess is sg position. Shut down defender. Great speed and quickness. 3.2 gpa end of jr year of high school. Averaged double figures as a frosh at shu. May be shorter than 6-4.
Here is review of him after jr. Year of high school.

https://www.prephoops.com/2017/10/re...alik-mckinney/

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

Take this for what it's worth as I am by no means an expert evaluator of basketball talent, but here was my assessment right after he transferred to WLU:

Is McKinney a "1 for 1" replacement for Hill. In some ways yes and other ways no. From looking at his HS tape and reading the "scouting" reports on him, he is certainly a gifted ball handler who can slash and distribute the ball equally well...looks like he can jump out of the gym which is a plus for a slasher. Left hander which is a bit unique. His focus has (had?) been on the defensive end of the court where his cat quick speed is impressive. He has a quick release on his jumper but he doesn't take, or make, many 3's. I wouldn't call him a 1 for 1 for Hill because of his lack of 3 point production but in every other aspect, he seems to be equal to Hill. He will need to spend many hours in the gym working on his 3 but he seems to have the stroke to get much better at it. I think 6'4" is a bit of roster padding on the part of Seton Hill but he is every bit of 6'2" which would be a step up for WLU if he plays the PG position. A starter from game one as a freshman at Seton Hill...but we're talking about Seton Hill so that doesn't carry the same weight as if he was freshman starter at WLU or IUP or... Mercyhurst!

The consensus from some PSAC posters who saw him play this year is that he is an outstanding defender and ball handler while his offense is less developed.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Take this for what it's worth as I am by no means an expert evaluator of basketball talent, but here was my assessment right after he transferred to WLU:

Is McKinney a "1 for 1" replacement for Hill. In some ways yes and other ways no. From looking at his HS tape and reading the "scouting" reports on him, he is certainly a gifted ball handler who can slash and distribute the ball equally well...looks like he can jump out of the gym which is a plus for a slasher. Left hander which is a bit unique. His focus has (had?) been on the defensive end of the court where his cat quick speed is impressive. He has a quick release on his jumper but he doesn't take, or make, many 3's. I wouldn't call him a 1 for 1 for Hill because of his lack of 3 point production but in every other aspect, he seems to be equal to Hill. He will need to spend many hours in the gym working on his 3 but he seems to have the stroke to get much better at it. I think 6'4" is a bit of roster padding on the part of Seton Hill but he is every bit of 6'2" which would be a step up for WLU if he plays the PG position. A starter from game one as a freshman at Seton Hill...but we're talking about Seton Hill so that doesn't carry the same weight as if he was freshman starter at WLU or IUP or... Mercyhurst!

The consensus from some PSAC posters who saw him play this year is that he is an outstanding defender and ball handler while his offense is less developed.

Keep in mind he played in an offense that was completely focused on two players doing about (what seemed) 80 percent of the scoring. I saw him in person twice this past off-season. The 6'4" is definitely not correct but he's a nice player. I wouldn't have pegged him as a 'WL type' but we'll see. Offensively he was a total non-factor in both IUP/SH games. He got in foul trouble pretty quickly in both games.

But, he was a true freshman and wasn't exactly surrounded by a strong supporting cast minus Blondin and Davis. He has a little 'playground' in him that they'll need to work out of him this summer. But, he should thrive in the chaos press. The deep shot is certainly going to be a work in progress.

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anything official from the school on Collin's commit other than Layton's post? (Not that I don't trust you Layton, just like to get this confirmed. I think this will be a home run!)

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anything official from the school on Collin's commit other than Layton's post? (Not that I don't trust you Layton, just like to get this confirmed. I think this will be a home run!)

Collin's "retweeted" a post that said he had signed with WLU so I'd say that is as good as the school posting it!

Some quick hits on Collins:

Collin's was a first team All-WV performer this past year.

Most of the "services" and "showcases" say that he is a D1 level player (that's not surprising...seems like almost every player these "service" review are "D1 players!!").

Collin's was listed as a 5'11", 130 pounder as a freshman at Chapmanville HS.

Collins has apparently grown 4+ inches in the last year.

Collins posted about a Dr visit he had just had where the doc said he should top out at about 6'11".

His HS video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No8-swvxWac

IF he reaches 6'11" and adds about 30 pounds, he could be a DII unicorn! IF he JUST get's to 6'9" and ONLY adds 15 pounds, he could be the WLU version of a unicorn!!

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Keep in mind he played in an offense that was completely focused on two players doing about (what seemed) 80 percent of the scoring. I saw him in person twice this past off-season. The 6'4" is definitely not correct but he's a nice player. I wouldn't have pegged him as a 'WL type' but we'll see. Offensively he was a total non-factor in both IUP/SH games. He got in foul trouble pretty quickly in both games.

But, he was a true freshman and wasn't exactly surrounded by a strong supporting cast minus Blondin and Davis. He has a little 'playground' in him that they'll need to work out of him this summer. But, he should thrive in the chaos press. The deep shot is certainly going to be a work in progress.

All true. It has been a while since we've had a player like him. Not a direct comparison but he plays a similar game to Cedric Harris. Strong defense, cat quick, bunch of assists. Different between the two at least now is that Harris was a much better offensive weapon.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

All true. It has been a while since we've had a player like him. Not a direct comparison but he plays a similar game to Cedric Harris. Strong defense, cat quick, bunch of assists. Different between the two at least now is that Harris was a much better offensive weapon.

He is in a good situation to develop the areas for improvement in his game such as 9 for 29 threes (31%) and assist to turnover ratio <<1. Suspect he is a sg and not a pg. if so Conley is our only other pg besides Luke. Asking a lot for a freshman.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Take this for what it's worth as I am by no means an expert evaluator of basketball talent, but here was my assessment right after he transferred to WLU:

Is McKinney a "1 for 1" replacement for Hill. In some ways yes and other ways no. From looking at his HS tape and reading the "scouting" reports on him, he is certainly a gifted ball handler who can slash and distribute the ball equally well...looks like he can jump out of the gym which is a plus for a slasher. Left hander which is a bit unique. His focus has (had?) been on the defensive end of the court where his cat quick speed is impressive. He has a quick release on his jumper but he doesn't take, or make, many 3's. I wouldn't call him a 1 for 1 for Hill because of his lack of 3 point production but in every other aspect, he seems to be equal to Hill. He will need to spend many hours in the gym working on his 3 but he seems to have the stroke to get much better at it. I think 6'4" is a bit of roster padding on the part of Seton Hill but he is every bit of 6'2" which would be a step up for WLU if he plays the PG position. A starter from game one as a freshman at Seton Hill...but we're talking about Seton Hill so that doesn't carry the same weight as if he was freshman starter at WLU or IUP or... Mercyhurst!

The consensus from some PSAC posters who saw him play this year is that he is an outstanding defender and ball handler while his offense is less developed.

Just a few other comments -Malik looks much stronger than hill. Hopeful he can develop his three point shot. Until he does that is one area where wlu does not have a shortage. Hopefully turnovers will decrease as he develops his decision making in wlu style

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Any news about hill? I hope hill does not regret his decision to leave. It appears that d1 rosters are filling up quickly. The pressure to win is such that few d1 schools may want to invest since he has to sit a year. Wonder if nova se will throw him a lifeline in the summer? Lol

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

We have a very interesting group coming in if you count Preston Boswell and McKinney into the mix. Has the look of a "traditional" basketball team if you ignore that all of them can drain the 3 (except McKinney). Imagine a team with a "starting 6" of:

C Devin Collin, 6'8"
PF Owen Hazelbaker, 6'7"
SF Bryce Butler, 6'4"
SG Preston Boswell, 6'2"
PG Evin Conley. 6'0"
SG/PG Malik McKinney, 6'2"

Add 6'7" redshirt freshman John Alesandro to the mix and you are looking what could be a pretty good team all by itself!