West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

WLU has a huge gap to fill with Luke Dyer leaving in many areas. One of these areas is steals.



His stats are otherworldly and are listed below. He would have been #1 in the NBA is three different steal statistics.
He will be missed.


FYI

Basketball teams are using data analytics to gain insights into the best winning strategy and the contributions of individual players.
Topic: Steal Percentage for WLU Players 20-21 season

Although steals have long been part of the standard box score, it has significant limitations, for it does not consider the following important factors:

• The minutes that a player was on the floor. One player might get 2 steals in 10 minutes of play, while another gets 4 steals in 35 minutes.

The statistic Steal Percentage attempts to correct some of these limitations.

• For example, if a player got 2 steals while playing 10 minutes, that extrapolates to 8 steals in 40 minutes of play. (40-minute game / 10 minutes the player played). If the opponent had 80 possessions, then the block percentage is 8/80 = 0.1, or 10%.

Here are the Steal Percentage for WLU players in 2020-2021

Player	Minutes Played	Avg Min Per Game	PF	Stl	Steals per Min Played	StealsPerFoul	STLPct	Comments
Luke Dyer	564	24.5	57	51	0.090	0.895	4.56%	1. Steals per Minute Played - Luke (.090) would rank 1st in NBA ahed of Matisse Thybulle (.08) of the 76ers 2. Steals per Game (51/23 = 2.21) would rank 1st in NBA ahead of Jimmy Butler at 2.02, even though NBA is 48 mins and Luke only averages 24.5 minutes per game) 3. Steal Percentage (4.56%) would rank 1st in NBA ahead of TJ McConnell at 3.4% 4 Steal Per Foul would rank Luke 7th in NBA, just after Jrue Holiday at .911
Owen Hazelbaker	310	13.5	44	16	0.052	0.364	2.60%	Tied for 6th in NBA with Ricky Rubio
Malik Mckinney	436	19.0	63	22	0.050	0.349	2.55%	Tied for 7th in NBA with Draymond Green
Pat Robinson III	619	26.9	38	30	0.048	0.789	2.45%	Tied for 8th in NBA with Kent Bazemore
Evan Conley	65	5.9	8	3	0.046	0.375	2.33%	Tied for 12th in NBA with Lonzo Ball
Marlon Moore Jr.	398	17.3	62	18	0.045	0.290	2.28%	Tied for 18th in NBA with OG Anunoby
Will Yoakum	286	23.8	31	12	0.042	0.387	2.12%	Tied for 24nd in NBA with Kyle Anderson
Dalton Bolon	639	27.8	47	23	0.036	0.489	1.82%
Elijah Watson	259	11.3	43	8	0.031	0.186	1.56%
Zach Rasile	345	15.0	31	10	0.029	0.323	1.46%
Bryce Butler	556	24.2	49	14	0.025	0.286	1.27%
Ben Sarson	122	7.6	22	3	0.025	0.136	1.24%

Limitations of the Statistic: Steal percentage can be skewed for players who play limited minutes.
Here is definition from https://www.basketball-reference.com.../glossary.html

• STL% - Steal Percentage (available since the 1973-74 season in the NBA); the formula is 100 * (STL * (Tm MP / 5)) / (MP * Opp Poss). Steal Percentage is an estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while he was on the floor.

[Columbuseer]

WLU releases basketball schedule.
let the comments begin!

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-schedule.aspx

[boatcapt]

WLU releases basketball schedule.
let the comments begin!

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-schedule.aspx

Not much to say. Clearly Ben has drank the hard schedule cool aid. Real chance of going 0-3 to start the season and still having to play Fairmont and UC (twice) and Daimen as well as always tough Bowie, Concord and WVS (twice).

[unc4life]

Anyone got any intel on the Denbow kid who seems to have left the Charleston team two years ago and is now verbally committed to WLU (at least according to VC)? I haven't really heard anything about the signing.

Just hope its a two for one deal with his brother Luke. Garrett is a very good basketball player, his brother is a star.

[Columbuseer]

Garrett Denbow is a gifted shooter with a high motor. Probably around 6-5.
He might be one of the best shooters on the WLU team, based on the stats below (which came from his former team).
As with all new players, it takes a while to adjust to the pace of the game as well as the emphasis on ball movement rather than one-on-one, dribble drive style.
The variation in athletic ability among the 15 players is the smallest I have seen on a WLU roster in the last 10 years.
Everyone is capable of contributing on Day 1. The issue is that there may not be enough minutes.

Here is the definition from basketball-reference.com:

• eFG% - Effective Field Goal Percentage; the formula is (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA. This statistic adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. For example, suppose Player A goes 4 for 10 with 2 threes, while Player B goes 5 for 10 with 0 threes. Each player would have 10 points from field goals, and thus would have the same effective field goal percentage (50%)
• TS% - True Shooting Percentage; the formula is PTS / (2 * TSA). True shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.

• TSA - True Shooting Attempts; the formula is FGA + 0.44 * FTA.

Player	AvgMin	FG	FGA	FGPct	3FG	3FGA	3FGPct	FT	FTA	FFTPct	3FGA per All FGA	3FG%	True Shot Att	EFGPct	True Shot Pct
Garrett Denbow	11	16	34	0.471	10	23	0.435	12	12	1	61.8%	43.5%	39.28	61.8%	68.7%
Viktor Kovacevic	30.4	51	91	0.56	16	33	0.485	35	52	0.673	36.3%	48.5%	113.88	64.8%	67.2%
Dalton Bolon	27.8	171	334	.512	68	153	.444	80	89	.899	45.8%	44.4%	373.16	61.4%	65.7%
Will Yoakum	23.8	73	130	.562	15	45	.333	37	49	.755	34.6%	33.3%	151.56	61.9%	65.3%
Malik Mckinney	19.0	64	124	.516	12	34	.353	69	82	.841	27.4%	35.3%	160.08	56.5%	65.3%
Zach Rasile	15.0	55	116	.474	39	93	.419	8	12	.667	80.2%	41.9%	121.28	64.2%	64.7%
Pat Robinson III	26.9	171	319	.536	37	99	.374	90	118	.763	31.0%	37.4%	370.92	59.4%	63.2%
Ben Sarson	7.6	20	44	.455	7	23	.304	11	12	.917	52.3%	30.4%	49.28	53.4%	58.8%
Bryce Butler	24.2	96	193	.497	24	58	.414	32	49	.653	30.1%	41.4%	214.56	56.0%	57.8%
Owen Hazelbaker	13.5	44	99	.444	18	54	.333	12	22	.545	54.5%	33.3%	108.68	53.5%	54.3%
Luke Dyer	24.5	46	109	.422	24	70	.343	5	14	.357	64.2%	34.3%	115.16	53.2%	52.5%
Cmont Montague	34.6	76	187	0.406	32	96	0.333	28	36	0.778	51.3%	33.3%	202.84	49.2%	52.3%
Elijah Watson	11.3	35	74	.473	1	10	.100	14	30	.467	13.5%	10.0%	87.2	48.0%	48.7%
Marlon Moore Jr.	17.3	62	152	.408	6	39	.154	31	43	.721	25.7%	15.4%	170.92	42.8%	47.1%

[Columbuseer]

Not much to say. Clearly Ben has drank the hard schedule cool aid. Real chance of going 0-3 to start the season and still having to play Fairmont and UC (twice) and Daimen as well as always tough Bowie, Concord and WVS (twice).

If they build on the Hillsdale game and continue to pass the ball quickly for a good shot and play half court D like that game, they should be OK. IMHO you only get better by playing teams that can beat you. I have heard that guys have been hitting the weights hard and that it shows. Would not be surprised to see folks bounce off of Patrick Robinson III.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not much to say. Clearly Ben has drank the hard schedule cool aid. Real chance of going 0-3 to start the season and still having to play Fairmont and UC (twice) and Daimen as well as always tough Bowie, Concord and WVS (twice).

That's a Joe-type schedule. Certainly different than the Crutch non-con slates.

[boatcapt]

That's a Joe-type schedule. Certainly different than the Crutch non-con slates.

Joe of old, yea, it is. But it seems after 2017-18 were he scheduled Findlay, Ferris and Bowie in three of its first four games, losing all three and missing the NCAA tourney, he learned his lesson. Since then he has started the season with Concord, and WV Wesleyan the last two seasons and scheduled other such luminaries as D3 Westminster among their first four games. Chalking up these early season W's the last two years against less than stellar competition, were was IUP seeded come NCAA tourney time??

[Chuck Norris]

Joe of old, yea, it is. But it seems after 2017-18 were he scheduled Findlay, Ferris and Bowie in three of its first four games, losing all three and missing the NCAA tourney, he learned his lesson. Since then he has started the season with Concord, and WV Wesleyan the last two seasons and scheduled other such luminaries as D3 Westminster among their first four games. Chalking up these early season W's the last two years against less than stellar competition, were was IUP seeded come NCAA tourney time??

They also played Virginia State, Bowie State and Lemoyne in 18-19 and went to Lemoyne in 19-20.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

They also played Virginia State, Bowie State and Lemoyne in 18-19 and went to Lemoyne in 19-20.

And a home and home sweep of Fairmont State (including giving them a beating in Joe Retton).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe of old, yea, it is. But it seems after 2017-18 were he scheduled Findlay, Ferris and Bowie in three of its first four games, losing all three and missing the NCAA tourney, he learned his lesson. Since then he has started the season with Concord, and WV Wesleyan the last two seasons and scheduled other such luminaries as D3 Westminster among their first four games. Chalking up these early season W's the last two years against less than stellar competition, were was IUP seeded come NCAA tourney time??

Concord is never a cupcake game. They came here with Tommy Bolte, who as a first team All -American. They've also beat WL several times in the past 5-6 years. That's a solid program.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Joe of old, yea, it is. But it seems after 2017-18 were he scheduled Findlay, Ferris and Bowie in three of its first four games, losing all three and missing the NCAA tourney, he learned his lesson. Since then he has started the season with Concord, and WV Wesleyan the last two seasons and scheduled other such luminaries as D3 Westminster among their first four games. Chalking up these early season W's the last two years against less than stellar competition, were was IUP seeded come NCAA tourney time??

Joe beat Bowie in 17-18. The only time they've lost to Bowie was in 15-16 (after Joe was up 23 at halftime). That's still one of the oddest games I've ever seen.

They lost to Findlay and Ferris State to open the season out in Indianapolis and then to Virginia State in a nail-biter a couple weeks later. That wasn't one of Joe's better teams. Ferris State beat IUP by 2 points -- and then went on to win the national title that season. So, they were obviously pretty good.

Hard to say how he'll schedule this year. We know Virginia State is one of the games. But, in crossover this year they play at Kutztown and at West Chester, and host Millersville, Shepherd and Shippensburg. So, that's a tough crossover slate this season. He probably doesn't need to take many more 'tough' games and he'll still have a strong SOS.

[boatcapt]

Concord is never a cupcake game. They came here with Tommy Bolte, who as a first team All -American. They've also beat WL several times in the past 5-6 years. That's a solid program.

Hahahaha...OK. The mythology of Joe never scheduling cupcake games and only scheduling tough presists in the minds of some!

[Chuck Norris]

Hahahaha...OK. The mythology of Joe never scheduling cupcake games and only scheduling tough presists in the minds of some!

[boatcapt]

Oh come now...The narative of how Joe always schedules tough are legend on this board...just as is the implication that Crutch never scheduled tough games.

There are certain sacred cows on this board. They include in no particular order:

1. Crutch only scheduled cupcake games,
2. Joe always schedules tough,
3. IUP is "loaded,"
4. WLU has an incoming recruit who is GREAT,
5. The ONLY way to be good in March is to schedule tough in November.