West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

You need d1 body, not just d1 skill. Had a shot at overseas at wlu. Nice guy. Hope he is OK with choice.

[Layton]

[NWFanatic]

[QUOTE=BuffaloChip;n570505]

I agree about WT vs WL. I think WT should be the 1, but we all know how the NCAA kisses NW's butt till it's raw. Haha!

If so, why did NW get the #2 seed in the Central Region and #2 in Elite 8?

[Columbuseer]

the wlu pace of play and pressure has a way of distorting traditional analysis of matchups between teams.
Nwmo has a great team with incredible shooters. Wlu needs to shoot over 40% from three. Imho the winner has a great shot at the finals.

[BuffaloChip]

Guess we'll have to wait Chip until the National Championship game for our two little sad-sack teams to play!!

That sounds like a plan! Frankly, I was surprised WT got the 1 seed due to playing fewer games.

We got screwed out of at least 6 wins because of shenanigans in our conference. A few coaches screwed us and even one school President. Their teams COULD have played, but found ways not to play by shading the covid protocols for all they were worth. Not playing WT, without penalty when the could have played, was better than taking a loss. Our conference gave away too much latitude. For instance, one school played a conference opponent with 5 players available, but only days later, after WT traveled 610 miles for a 2 game series, the same school's President called it off a few hours before tip-off. His team team had 8 players available.

[Columbuseer]

Not entirely true. Infact, PA as a whole does recruit, and on par with many colleges. When you go to their web site, there is an instant "chat" link to connect immediately with a "counselor" (recruiter) about your interest in Pulaski. This counselor is very knowledgable about the various scholarships that students interested in attending PA may qualify for. If you are an athlete, the counselor hints around specific "programs" that are often used to "ease the tuition burden" for athletes. It's almost impossible to get off of the chat with the counselor without receiving an "information package" that includes information on scholarships AND an initial enrollment application.

As far as a coach going on the road and specifically recruiting a player from another HS to come to PA, I agree, that doesn't happen. But I do ascribe to the "If you build it, they will come" theory of recruiting. PA has a great track record of success and putting players into college. Because of that, they don't really need to recruit to have a steady flow of quality players coming through the door each and every year.

I take it that you have not seen them play.

If that is the case, they need to fire their counselor! Out weighed 40-50 lbs on both lines, 150 lb linebacker from Japan. Very few scholarships offers at pa and those few are d2 and d3.

of course every private school has to recruit many students regardless of whether they are good athletes and offer financial assistance. Does help that they are top academic school.

like wlu basketball they have never won a pre game warmup.

they have a d1 recruit every couple of years. Jr running back has offers from Louisville, kansas, etc.
tyler TX had 2 power 5 running backs and PA killed them.

PA did have a qb two years ago who got a late walk on offer from Bama, possibly because he threw for 900 yards in One game and 15,000 in career. he transferred to ark state after freshman year.

they changed the game to compete, that is what wlu football needs to do imho.

[Columbuseer]

definitely not unbeatable. Malik and Luke will be key on defense..
I watched northern state nwmo game. Nsu had them beat and nwmo star hit a contested 25 footer to tie it in waning secs. Won in ot. Refs probably needed a police escort out of no. State arena.

[Layton]

Northwest Missouri it is

Looks like one area we can exploit with our pace and press is their bench seems to be short. Only 7 guys play over ten minutes and 6 play 20 or more

[boatcapt]

I agree about WT vs WL. I think WT should be the 1, but we all know how the NCAA kisses NW's butt till it's raw. Haha!

WT / WL ought to be one of the premierly interesting quarterfinal games in quite a few years. I don't see how our little guard team from the Panhandle of Texas will be able to stay up with the storied coach and WL team.

Mines at the 3, Flagler the 4, Truman the 5, Lincoln the 6. My guess.

I don't see how our little college team nestled in a sleepy little town in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia with a roster consisting of overachieving gym rats who have never won Regonals before could possibly defeat a team from the great state of Texas with a legendary coach that has won National Championships as well as taken multiple teams to the final four.

OK, now that we are finished lying to each other, how do you see the game??

Guess we'll have to wait Chip until the National Championship game for our two little sad-sack teams to play!!

[boatcapt]

I don't follow WLU football. Maybe they were trying to lull NDC into a false sense of complacency?
:-)

IMHO, if you cannot beat teams at their game, then change the game.
WLU needs to bring Kevin Kelly from Pulaski Academy (PA) in Little Rock, Arkansas to WLU as a consultant to teach them his style. They are the football equivalent of the WLU style in basketball.
What do they have to lose?

PA played a private VA school near Richmond who had at least 7 D1 players (it is a football magnet high school) and destroyed them, with only two players over 220 lbs. They are playing two classifications above their enrollment and have won 8 state championships with their style.

The had a 150 lb linebacker from Japan, who was a destroyer on defense, both in the run and pass. Amazing player who is probably better than anyone on WLU's defense today.
"Futa Shinkawa finishes his career 7th in state history with 392 tackles. In his career, he had 61 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, and 11 QB hurries. Also, 3 interceptions, 13 pass breakups, and 11 QB hurries, Also he forced 5 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles, and blocked a field goal"

Plus, PA does not recruit. Like WLU basketball, data analytics support the efficacy of the Pulaski Academy style.

Their games can be watched on demand on youtube.

Not entirely true. Infact, PA as a whole does recruit, and on par with many colleges. When you go to their web site, there is an instant "chat" link to connect immediately with a "counselor" (recruiter) about your interest in Pulaski. This counselor is very knowledgable about the various scholarships that students interested in attending PA may qualify for. If you are an athlete, the counselor hints around specific "programs" that are often used to "ease the tuition burden" for athletes. It's almost impossible to get off of the chat with the counselor without receiving an "information package" that includes information on scholarships AND an initial enrollment application.

As far as a coach going on the road and specifically recruiting a player from another HS to come to PA, I agree, that doesn't happen. But I do ascribe to the "If you build it, they will come" theory of recruiting. PA has a great track record of success and putting players into college. Because of that, they don't really need to recruit to have a steady flow of quality players coming through the door each and every year.

[boatcapt]

WLU has been in 8 of the last 10 Regional Finals, winning the game and Regional Championship on 6 occasions. During it's run of Elite 8 apperances, WLU has lost the E8 game only once.

[Columbuseer]

Points per possession. - wlu averages 1.27. Against Hillsdale they were 1.07 PPP, which would be outstanding in d1.the decline was due to some forced passes that went awry in the half court offense and some ill-advised shots during their 4 min. Stumbling, bumbling phase in second half. But what is impressive is that they held Hillsdale to 0.82 PPP, which is Frostburg level of play. Speaks volumes about our defense and effects of fatigue. Cartier was signalling to come out at 17:30 mark of first half!

[boatcapt]

Seeding is going to be very interesting. NWMo is likely the best team in the country and very deserving of a #1 overall Elite 8 seed. However, they weren't even the #1 in their own regional. Furthermore, Daemen was a higher seed than WLU in its region, but does not appear to have had as strong a season. It'll be very interesting to see how the committee weights its own prior seeds and whether they "reward" a Flagler or a WTAM for making it through as a #1 Regional seed. I suspect BuffaloChip's guess is reasonably accurate. But conspiracy theories aside, Boat isn't wrong that the NCAA sometimes does head-scratching things with these seeds. Can't wait to see.

You think the Regional playoff selections are secret and arbitrary, you ain't seen nothing to compare to the Elite 8 "reseeding." The NCAA says it's based on "ranking" but to the best of my knowledge, they never say WHICH rankings.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Daemen is going to get mauled by whomever they play!

They had some major Covid issues throughout the season -- at times playing without up to 4-5 rotation guys. They may just be getting full strength.

[IUPalum]

Can only speculate for now, but now that we know who is moving on to Evansville for the Elite 8, it looks like WL may end up with the #7 seed against #2 West Texas A&M. NW Missouri St with the #1 Seed against #8 Daemen; following their upset of St. Thomas Aquinas. The #3 through #6 seeds may be a little more up in the air. Thoughts?

Daemen is going to get mauled by whomever they play!