West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

[Scrub]

Agreed, Columbus. I look for Hazelbaker to take a big step forward. There's a reason Shifflett was red-shirted and Hazel wasn't if I had to guess. Ben likely saw something in Hazel, and I do think he showed flashes of usefulness this year that suggest he's primed to take a big step forward. He could be one of those Keene Cockburn or Eric Meininger type players who take a year or two for it all to click, but once he does, it could be big.

[boatcapt]

It will be interesting to see the size change in Hazelbaker between this year and next. 6'7", 210 is a nice foundation but I'd like him to be 220 next year (minimum 215). If he could be 225 heading into his Junior campaign, that would be good too provided it does not effect his quickness.

[Columbuseer]

Latrobe High School in PA and McDonald High School in Ohio both play the West Lib style. Next year we will have two players from these schools in Bryce Butler and Zach Rasile, both of whom are a coach's son.

Zach averaged 38 points a game, with 4 assists, 3 steals and 5 rebounds.
Based on a news article from mid-February, Zach was averaging 43.3% from three while scoring 38 points a game. In the district final he scored 50 points. Anywhere over the mid-court line is in range for him. I saw 3 videos where he made threes from approximately 38-42 ft (I did the math based on the angle of the shot).

It is going to be hard to keep him off the floor. If opponents go zone on us, I would not be surprised to see him at the scorer's table waiting to check in, as you have to guard him at half court, which opens the zone wide for his teammates. He is West Lib's Death Star against zone defenses.

If I were a WL guard, I would be working really, really hard this summer, for there is a guy putting up 70,000 shots a summer who is coming to the hilltop. No one is going to out-work this guy.
.

[Columbuseer]

Dalton Bolon
NABC all American
1st team academic all American

WL has had 10 consecutive years of all americans
WL has had 8 consecutive years is academic all americans

So happy WL emphasizes academics when recruiting athletes.

[Columbuseer]

!)

[Scrub]

That's a great post, Columbus. Luke is an easy guy to cheer for--an absolute joy to watch. And I, too, have heard the story about the Arnold illness opening the way for "walk-on" Luke to get minutes. But don't forget that Dave Dennis heading south also played a role in that. Dennis would have been the starter as a Soph had he stayed. Arnold would have likely played the 2 or captained the second team. But it was the combo of Arnold getting ill AND Dennis following St. Crutch that allowed the "depth guy" Dyer to step in and become a Sophomore starter. And the rest is history.

[boatcapt]

True on Dennis departure opening the starting PG door. But Luke put himself in position to be MUCH more than just the next man up. Think the players who transfer looking for more minutes would be wise to look at Luke's career arc.

[Columbuseer]

That's a great post, Columbus. Luke is an easy guy to cheer for--an absolute joy to watch. And I, too, have heard the story about the Arnold illness opening the way for "walk-on" Luke to get minutes. But don't forget that Dave Dennis heading south also played a role in that. Dennis would have been the starter as a Soph had he stayed. Arnold would have likely played the 2 or captained the second team. But it was the combo of Arnold getting ill AND Dennis following St. Crutch that allowed the "depth guy" Dyer to step in and become a Sophomore starter. And the rest is history.

Thanks for adding info about Dennis. I had forgotten about him. Scuttlebutt in Columbus was that he was thinking about leaving even after his freshman year for a d1 gig. He left after his sophomore year if memory serves me. Nice guy though. Worked out well for him.
It forced Luke to start as a redshirt freshman.

Also, Luke's basketball iq is incredibly high which makes him a joy to watch!

[Columbuseer]

True on Dennis departure opening the starting PG door. But Luke put himself in position to be MUCH more than just the next man up. Think the players who transfer looking for more minutes would be wise to look at Luke's career arc.

He epitomizes the phrase "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity" .

[Columbuseer]

As we hunker down, here is a little trivia.

High efficiency three-point shooters at WL 2019-2020

Here are the number of players that are shooting over 37%, which is very efficient shooting from three-point range. Which names do you think go with each 3pt %?
1. 51.2%
2. 50.4%
3. 44.5%
4. 44.4%
5. 42.1%
6. 41.9%
7. 38.9%
8. 37.5%

Here are the members of the team as of Jan 1, 2020. Note that not all players have percentages in the list above (they are lower).

Bryce Butler
Dalton Bolon
Jon Alessandro
Luke Dyer
Malik McKinney
Marlon Moore Jr.
Owen Hazelbaker
Pat Robinson III
Preston Boswell
Quinn Hiles
Will Yoakum

[Scrub]

I'll give it a shot!

High efficiency three-point shooters at WL 2019-2020

Here are the number of players that are shooting over 37%, which is very efficient shooting from three-point range. Which names do you think go with each 3pt %?
1. 51.2% Dyer
2. 50.4% Yoakum
3. 44.5% Boswell
4. 44.4% Robinson
5. 42.1% Bolon
6. 41.9% Moore
7. 38.9% Butler
8. 37.5% McKinney

[Columbuseer]

I'll give it a shot!

High efficiency three-point shooters at WL 2019-2020

Here are the number of players that are shooting over 37%, which is very efficient shooting from three-point range. Which names do you think go with each 3pt %?
1. 51.2% Dyer
2. 50.4% Yoakum
3. 44.5% Boswell
4. 44.4% Robinson
5. 42.1% Bolon
6. 41.9% Moore
7. 38.9% Butler
8. 37.5% McKinney

Yoakum is correct at #2 and 50.4%. #1 would be a surprise to most fans.
You have identified all but one of the players, but they are in the wrong order. One person needs to be removed and one needs to be added. Then you will have all the shooters. Then the order needs to change (except for Will at #2).

Hint 1: once you swap in the missing player,he goes into #8 position. Bob Dylan wrote a song using his name.and a Brit rock band in the 60s took it to #1 in UK;
Hint 2: Youth often needs time to improve their accuracy.

[Scrub]

I'm gonna give someone else a shot at answering--if anyone else is even still reading the board--before I take a second try. I was pretty sure I was right on the first two. I'm surprised Dyer isn't #1. He picks his spots when he shoots, but, man, it just feels like it always goes in when he does. I'll check back in a day or two with my second guess if no one else is playing.

Oh, and, I definitely toyed with the idea of including "Mighty Quinn" in my list. His low number of attempts could make it a touch easier to hit for a high percentage. But it's a total crap shoot on where to place him. Similar issue with McKinney. Fewer attempts makes it harder to guess efficiency.

I'll check back in a day or two after giving others a chance to play.

[Columbuseer]

Thanks for playing, Scrub.
Here are some clues to the names of each player.


1 You might have found him and his friend Stella hanging out with Mario Puzo on the waterfront 51.2%
2 Where there is this person, there is always a way 50.4%
3 This King was protagonist in one of William Shakespeare