West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Dirtybird]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

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.

Boswell can definitely support the PG position as well as McKinney possibly, depending on where Conley is at and if there is a desire to red-shirt him.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Those recruits waiting on low to mid Major d1 offer with dreams of NBA instead of elite d2 team offer may regret it.
84% of players on NBA roster come from power 5 and big east conference.
Better shot at Europe with eurostyle team like wlu. No one will care in 5 years whether u played d1 or d2.

Speaking of WLU playing a eurostyle and WLU players having a better shot at playing there as pros...I hear "WLU's Version of a Big Man" Seger Bonifant, just got selected as one of 4 finalists for "Small Forward Of The Year" in the German ProA League!

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Oh...The irony is not lost on me!! And we didn't even have to go to Ohio or "basketball rich" Western PA to do it...He was right here in tiny old WV!!!!

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

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!!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Those recruits waiting on low to mid Major d1 offer with dreams of NBA instead of elite d2 team offer may regret it.
84% of players on NBA roster come from power 5 and big east conference.
Better shot at Europe with eurostyle team like wlu. No one will care in 5 years whether u played d1 or d2.

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Probably his best path to playing in Europe would have been to stay at WL. As they say on TV, there will be no shoe contracts for him in the NBA so Europe is at least achievable.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I agree. I never saw hill as a d1 player mainly due to his slight build and height. At wlu I actually saw him as a potential all American by his senior year with a shot in Europe since wlu plays eurostyle. Worst case for him is he winds up with dribble drive team that does not develop his skills for Europe or sits on bench of d1 team due to size.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Here is my shot at first platoon:
Pg Dyer
Sg bolon
Sg Boswell
Sf yoakum
Sf Moore

Second platoon
Sg butler
Sg McKinney
Sf Alessandro
Sf Collins?
Pg? Depending on development of Conley

Wonder if there are openings for more players this year? Undecided Recruits better realize that train is boarding now and getting ready to leave the station

[Columbuseer]

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!

Would not be surprised to see Conley redshirt to get stronger or he will back up Luke. Luke has an elite level assist to turnover ratio and is a shutdown defender of opponents point guards. Other players should study his ability to stay in front of quicker players. Also is a pickpocket on defense against bigger players. Leads team in risk taking statistic. Really smart player.
Also would not be surprised to see hazelbaker redshirt. He is so smart it would really help his development and might still be growing. I wonder if Collins will contribute next year? I expect butler to see a lot of minutes.

[boatcapt]

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

Hahahah!! You'd probably NEVER get him to admit THAT! I would imagine though that his sphincter is getting a little tight as he watches all the "seats at the D1 table" filling. Don't know what was going through his head when he decided to transfer but he needs to ignore that voice in the future!!

I would imagine he will catch on somewhere. Probably at another DII.

[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!

[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

[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

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.

[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.