West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[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]

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!

[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.

[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.

[Columbuseer]

!)

[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]

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.
.

[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.

[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.

[Columbuseer]

[boatcapt]

So who you got as the "break out" player this coming year? Some parameters...Must be an underclassmen (Sophomore, Redshirt or true Freshman), must have no college starts and average's 5 PPG or fewer. Soooo...basically the list is Hazelbaker, Hiles, Conley, Rasile, or Powell.

Side question, does Big Ben bring in a transfer to replace Shifflett or does he bring in a Freshman?? Here's a flyer...Sean Ulrich formerly of IUP. He is a big unlike the typical WLU guy so that is a strike against him. But based on his JUCO numbers and highlights, it looks like he is more than a imobile 10 feet and in big. Looks like he is active, can handle the ball and has a little bit of range on his jumper. If I had to describe him I'd say a little bigger but a little less mobile version Eric Meininger...cant shoot quite as well from outside but is a little better inside. He might not be in the starting 5, but I think he could hold his own on the second starting 5. If Ben wanted to go all in for next year for Bolon, Dyer(?) and Moore's Senior campaign, this is the type of one year "bandaid" guy you might want to bring in.

[Columbuseer]

Luke Powell is an intriguing prospect, who is coming to West Liberty next year - One of 8 finalists for Mr. Basketball on Ohio - Captain of Times-Leader All Area Team, chosen with help of area coaches in Eastern Ohio - Eastern District Co-Player of the Year - District 12 Player of the Year for the second straight season - First Team All-Ohio - Averaged a double-double, at 33 points and 11 rebounds per game. - Leading scorer in Barnesville history, surpassing his father! - 2,374 Career Points, which is 17th all-time in the State of Ohio He is a very athletic player. Standing flat-footed, the 6-3 guard can elevate and dunk easily. He can make contested deep threes by elevating over opponents while still maintaining his form and balance. He has dribble drive skills to weave through defenders to the rim. He hits the boards hard to get rebounds. Because of his skills relative to his teammates, the Barnesville offense went through Luke. Often, he got the defensive rebound, dribbled up-court and was open for an easy Three (for him). On his team, it was essential for him to stay on the floor as much as possible, so he tended to play conservatively on defense. The transition to WLU will entail learning to move without the ball, demonstrating passing skills, and learning to play face-guarding defense against talented players in a full-court trapping defense. The style is much different than the style that he played in high school. None of these areas of improvement should prove to be insurmountable for Luke, given his intelligence and his raw athletic ability. IMHO, once he develops these facets of the game to a level comparable to his scoring and rebounding skills, he could be a very special player at WLU. To call him a diamond in the rough would be a misnomer. He is more of a high-quality gem that just needs some polishing of a few facets.

[Columbuseer]

There were 8 finalists for Mr. Basketball in Ohio. Two are going to wlu.

One had a very strong case to win it.

Zach averaged 38 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game this season. He was often double and triple teamed. Steph curry like range. Understands the game. Hit 485 three pointers in career, best in Ohio history by 150.

Imho if he were 6-7 instead of 6-0, he would be at Duke next season.

[Columbuseer]

This may give some insight on why Dalton Bolon won Atlantic Region Player of the Year, as some folks may have had questions.

Disclaimer: I have not studied the stats of other deserving players outside of West Liberty for the All Region team or POY. I can only relay statistics on Dalton Bolon.


Like other great players, he stretches defenses to prevent the three, which essentially makes the game a 4 on 4 game. This was especially true in the MEC tourney games. This opens the court up for Patrick, Malik and Will to do their thing both inside and outside. He is much more than just a scorer and deadly shooter. He is an incredible rebounder for a 6-3 or 6-4 shooting guard who plays on the perimeter. He typically played well under 25 minutes a game. It only increased to an average of 27 minutes after Preston left the team in Feb and Will and Dalton inherited much of the additional minutes, as Preston had the 3^rd most minutes on the team when he left.

I suspect that the folks who make these decisions on POY look at many factors besides just scoring and dribble drive or post moves and know something about the game of basketball.
I would be interested in the stats of other players, their national ranking and their stats normalized for a 40-minute game.


Player: Dalton Bolon - height is 6-3 or 6-4
avg minutes per game 27 amazing stats -given that avg minutes were less until Preston left the team in Feb.

ELITE STATS
double doubles 12 elite 27th in nation - All the players ahead of him are taller than Dalton
Tot Rebounds 269 elite 27th in nation despite he is only 6-3 or 6-4
Offensive Rebounding Efficiency per 40 minutes 8.31% elite
FT pct. 87.1% elite 31st in nation

Avg Pts per game 18.5 elite amazing stats -given that avg minutes were less until Preston left the team in Feb.
Avg Reb 8.7 elite for a shooting guard - unreal!

Pct. 3pt shooting 38.9% elite 77th in nation
Projected Fouls if playing for 40 min. 2.8 elite
Projected Off. Rebounds per 40 min. 3.1 elite
Projected Offense Efficiency per 40 Min. 27.3 elite
Projected Points Per 40 min. 27.5 elite
Pts Scored Per Minute Played 0.69 elite

EXCELLENT STATS
Effective FG % 55.6% excellent
Offensive rebounds 65 excellent 203rdProjected Steals per 40 min 1.6 excellent

UNSELFISH STATS
% of Pts Scored 18.1% unselfish
% of Shots Taken 18.4% unselfish

[boatcapt]

Re: preston Boswell
if i interpret the d2 rules correctly, u only get one d2 transfer. Else you must sit a year in residence and not play. Since he has one year left before 10 semester rule is reached, that would rule out a d2 destination.
??????but i am a dummy about these rules.

Figuring out NCAA eligibility requirements is...difficult under the best of situations. I note that Boswell sat out a year after his transfer from Wheeling so it COULD be construed by the NCAA that he HAS sat out a year. Also he is a "graduate transfer." I don't think they are required to sit out. Concerning his 10 semesters (and 4 seasons of play), if I'm doing the math correctly, he is sitting at 8 right now 16-17 and 17-18 at Wheeling (4 semesters and 2 playing seasons), 18-19 at WLU (2 semesters, practice only) and 19-20 at WLU (2 semesters and 1 playing season). That's 8 semesters and 3 playing seasons so he should be good for 2 semesters and 1 playing season were ever he goes.