West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

For jumping ship and taking perhaps the best PG in the country with him ... you guys sure are loyal.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

FYI nova se beat no. 12 Barry. Dennis had 30 pts. Barry had 20 turnovers nova had 4.
Crutch is back!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

If Nova can get a player to visit ... done deal. Nobody else should stand a chance. They have essentially unfair recruiting advantages.

Valdosta is the same way ... just beautiful campuses.

The ladies down South ... that's the big leagues.

We mid atlantic schools have to hope for a tropical storm on their recruiting visit LOL.
Valdosta academic ratings are not in the stratosphere, relative to WLU. That is why I was puzzled by Clay's transfer, as he was a very high GPA high school student.
The rumor in Columbus was that Dennis thought he was D1 material even in his freshman year. He may have listened to that D1 siren song one too many times, and the phone call never came...

Glad Dennis landed at Nova. I think Nova is supposed to be pretty good academically.

In defense of the mid-Atlantic schools, having a school where parents can drive to see you play can be another card we can play.

But I agree, if Crutch wants you and you are willing to step up to play his style, he has an advantage with his location. Looks like he is dipping into Europe for 3 or 4 players (some are D1 transfers).

[Scrub]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

The beauty of Nova's campus notwithstanding, a coaching change will ALWAYS cause transfers. As much as we don't want to think so, athletes, for the most part, choose schools because of coaches, not teams, traditions, academic programs, etc. So when a coach leaves, players leave too. I may not like that fact--and it stings to see Dennis playing so well at Nova--but it is certainly understandable (which is the idea I invoked).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

If Nova can get a player to visit ... done deal. Nobody else should stand a chance. They have essentially unfair recruiting advantages.

Valdosta is the same way ... just beautiful campuses.

The ladies down South ... that's the big leagues.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Since you brought up transfers, Boat . . .

The Guillozet & Dennis transfers (as well as the Nick Smith decommit) made a ton of sense (coaching change, clean break, etc.). Griffin also makes some sense, as he graduated with his undergraduate degree, so basically had a "free" transfer to go anywhere to start his Master's. That's understandable, as WLU doesn't have a ton of Master's offerings yet.

But I've always wondered what might have been with Justice. I didn't go back and look it up, but the kid averaged something like 12 minutes as a Freshman at WLU on an experienced team. Not much more you can ask as a true Frosh. But then he suddenly disappeared and turned into the All-American Howlett obviously predicted him to be when recruiting him in the first place. Wish I understood that one a bit more.

I don't think Guillozet and Dennis transfers made a ton of sense since both were major contributors on a really, really, really good program. Now if they wanted to be the lead dog, it wasn't going to happen at WLU were it's more team than star driven. I don't know this to be true but it was widely rumored here that originally both Dennis and Guillozet were supposed to go to Nova but WLU restricted Guillozet's transfer and that is why he opted for Valdosta.

I think the Justice transfer to Valdosta was driven by his brother (How many ways can you say "player tampering"!!??) being at Valdosta. Nice plum for a prospective Assistant Coach to dangle..."Hire me and I can get my brother to come play here!!"

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Since you brought up transfers, Boat . . .

The Guillozet & Dennis transfers (as well as the Nick Smith decommit) made a ton of sense (coaching change, clean break, etc.). Griffin also makes some sense, as he graduated with his undergraduate degree, so basically had a "free" transfer to go anywhere to start his Master's. That's understandable, as WLU doesn't have a ton of Master's offerings yet.

But I've always wondered what might have been with Justice. I didn't go back and look it up, but the kid averaged something like 12 minutes as a Freshman at WLU on an experienced team. Not much more you can ask as a true Frosh. But then he suddenly disappeared and turned into the All-American Howlett obviously predicted him to be when recruiting him in the first place. Wish I understood that one a bit more.

[Scrub]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Since you brought up transfers, Boat . . .

The Guillozet & Dennis transfers (as well as the Nick Smith decommit) made a ton of sense (coaching change, clean break, etc.). Griffin also makes some sense, as he graduated with his undergraduate degree, so basically had a "free" transfer to go anywhere to start his Master's. That's understandable, as WLU doesn't have a ton of Master's offerings yet.

But I've always wondered what might have been with Justice. I didn't go back and look it up, but the kid averaged something like 12 minutes as a Freshman at WLU on an experienced team. Not much more you can ask as a true Frosh. But then he suddenly disappeared and turned into the All-American Howlett obviously predicted him to be when recruiting him in the first place. Wish I understood that one a bit more.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

That team would jack up your current team with one more big added to the roster (legit big not a SF).

That would be one of the best guard rotations in the country this year. Carry is just getting started and Justice is an All-American. Put Cobo Diaz on that 'transfer' team and that's your 2018-19 National Champions.

It would be a power house team, no doubt about that! For a lot of reasons they wouldn't average 149 points (not enough minutes or shots in a game to make that happen consistently!) but on certain nights...WOW!! This team would basically be bring All American players off the bench to sub All American players.

Hard to believe that Howlett had an active hand in recruiting and signing ALL of them!!! WOOF...That's some "high heat!!"

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Much has been said about WLU not recruiting "athletes." The underlying subtext seems to be that WLU's players are "system guys" that excel because of the unique system WLU employs. I've felt that way also. But is that really true? Are WLU's players the product of the "system" and would they suffer elsewere? Starting with Beau Justice, WLU has had a number of quality players either transfer or highly valued recruits chose not to go to WLU. So how are these players performing this year and has WLU been able to replace them? Here are the list of players that have transferred/chose not to attend WLU after signing LOI's:

Dave Dennis, Nova Southeastern, Starter averaging 23 PPG
James Griffin, Univ of HI Helo, Starter averaging 19 PPG
Clay Guillozet, Valdosta, Starter averaging 10 PPG
Beau Justice, Valdosta, Starter averaging 20 PPG
Nick Smith, Nova Southeastern, Starter averaging 7 PPG
Chunky Humphries, IUP, Averaging 1 PPG
Sincere Carry, Duquesne, Starter Averaging 10 PPG

The team of WLU transfers would be averaging 90 points per game! That's pretty good. So has WLU been able to replace these seven players? Yea, yea they have. WLU's current top seven scores are averaging 89 points per game.

It would never happen for sooo many reasons, but had the top five transfers not transferred and we had our current top five, that combined WLU team would be averaging 149 points per game!!!

The really crazy part of this is one person has had a hand in evaluating and recruiting all these players...Ben Howlett! Couple that with the on court performance of the Toppers last year and so far this and that is a pretty good resume stuffer for a second year HC!!!! If he has on court success this year and next and has further equal recruiting success and you have to start wondering how long it will be before D1's start noticing him!

That team would jack up your current team with one more big added to the roster (legit big not a SF).

That would be one of the best guard rotations in the country this year. Carry is just getting started and Justice is an All-American. Put Cobo Diaz on that 'transfer' team and that's your 2018-19 National Champions.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Much has been said about WLU not recruiting "athletes." The underlying subtext seems to be that WLU's players are "system guys" that excel because of the unique system WLU employs. I've felt that way also. But is that really true? Are WLU's players the product of the "system" and would they suffer elsewere? Starting with Beau Justice, WLU has had a number of quality players either transfer or highly valued recruits chose not to go to WLU. So how are these players performing this year and has WLU been able to replace them? Here are the list of players that have transferred/chose not to attend WLU after signing LOI's:

Dave Dennis, Nova Southeastern, Starter averaging 23 PPG
James Griffin, Univ of HI Helo, Starter averaging 19 PPG
Clay Guillozet, Valdosta, Starter averaging 10 PPG
Beau Justice, Valdosta, Starter averaging 20 PPG
Nick Smith, Nova Southeastern, Starter averaging 7 PPG
Chunky Humphries, IUP, Averaging 1 PPG
Sincere Carry, Duquesne, Starter Averaging 10 PPG

The team of WLU transfers would be averaging 90 points per game! That's pretty good. So has WLU been able to replace these seven players? Yea, yea they have. WLU's current top seven scores are averaging 89 points per game.

It would never happen for sooo many reasons, but had the top five transfers not transferred and we had our current top five, that combined WLU team would be averaging 149 points per game!!!

The really crazy part of this is one person has had a hand in evaluating and recruiting all these players...Ben Howlett! Couple that with the on court performance of the Toppers last year and so far this and that is a pretty good resume stuffer for a second year HC!!!! If he has on court success this year and next and has further equal recruiting success and you have to start wondering how long it will be before D1's start noticing him!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

As long as Watson is not disruptive OR takes up a spot for an incoming freshman, I'd be ok with him staying even if he doesn't develop into a big minute guy. May be an odd night or two during the season when we need the particular skills he has. Hopefully it is a moot point and he starts to "get it" and develop over the next month or two and he becomes a productive part of the rotation. But the window for JUCO's to "develop" is SMALL.

If losing weight is what Greely needs to give him the stamina to play consistent productive minutes, I'm all for it! But I wonder if there isn't a place for him this year at his current size? Seems like at least once a year, we get seriously challenged by a team that has a legit big man that plays a traditional big man game. Often, we don't have an answer and we struggle to beat that team. At least with Greely at his current size, we have someone who can at least challenge that player. But I would caution that if that is what we envision for Greely this year, we need to find minutes for him and run defensive sets during those minutes that permit him to "hone those skills" (which are outside of what WLU normally does). Don't want to have a big beating us like a drum in the playoffs and ask Greely to do things he hasn't done all year.

I watched the Glenville game again. Nick needs a lot of work on defense. Stands too tall in defensive stance that affects mobility and vertical quickness.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Article on 3 signings:
https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...nted-trio.aspx

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Once again, very good points.
I don't think he will be shown the door as long as he is trying both athletically and academically, as it is just not the WLU culture.
But time is his enemy, not his friend. Needs to be obsessively driven to improve. May need to spend extra time on his own.
A lot of work, especially for a full-time college student, but there is the potential for high reward.
WLU skill development is a good fit for European basketball.

I have a feeling he knows that or he would not have come to WLU. WLU gives NO guarantees of playing time.
Still, he has probably always been "The Man", so it is probably very disappointing to get limited minutes. Probably did not want to redshirt, which would have addressed your observation. Other players have gone through the same shock when they arrive at WLU and see that everyone was a 1000 point scorer or star on their team. Hope he takes the long term view.

On another topic, When I look at the performance improvement of Eric Meininger after losing 15 lbs, I wonder if Greely could benefit from dropping some weight through dietary changes. He has a D1 power forward body and seems to struggle running all out for extended periods. Also needs to get more arc and better rotation on his shot.

As long as Watson is not disruptive OR takes up a spot for an incoming freshman, I'd be ok with him staying even if he doesn't develop into a big minute guy. May be an odd night or two during the season when we need the particular skills he has. Hopefully it is a moot point and he starts to "get it" and develop over the next month or two and he becomes a productive part of the rotation. But the window for JUCO's to "develop" is SMALL.

If losing weight is what Greely needs to give him the stamina to play consistent productive minutes, I'm all for it! But I wonder if there isn't a place for him this year at his current size? Seems like at least once a year, we get seriously challenged by a team that has a legit big man that plays a traditional big man game. Often, we don't have an answer and we struggle to beat that team. At least with Greely at his current size, we have someone who can at least challenge that player. But I would caution that if that is what we envision for Greely this year, we need to find minutes for him and run defensive sets during those minutes that permit him to "hone those skills" (which are outside of what WLU normally does). Don't want to have a big beating us like a drum in the playoffs and ask Greely to do things he hasn't done all year.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I agree that players often grow into more playing time by putting in the work. Buuuuuttttttt...Those are primarily HS recruits that have 4 to 5 years to "grow." When a JUCO like Watson comes in, you're looking at a much compressed period of "growing" that should be necessary. Just the nature of the beast...With a JUCO most teams are looking for a turn key player because they don't have much college eligibility left. I would say by the middle of this season he needs to be almost fully on board with the WLU system and style or he will run the risk of being shown the door at the end of the year. Much rather expend minutes on a Freshman or Sophomore that will have more time being successful after they get it than a JUCO who will be gone after next season.

Watson is a gifted basketball player so what WLU is expecting from him should not be foreign concepts. He's been through camp so he should be in good enough shape...the defensive press concepts WLU runs are not unique in basketball so he should have some sort of foundation in them...in the offensive end, don't take the shot unless you are completely open...maintain your spacing...ALWAYS be prepared to receive a pass AND always be prepared to pass the ball...NEVER take "heat check" shots...and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER stop to admire your shot (i.e. Get back on defense ALL the time!!)!!

Once again, very good points.
I don't think he will be shown the door as long as he is trying both athletically and academically, as it is just not the WLU culture.
But time is his enemy, not his friend. Needs to be obsessively driven to improve. May need to spend extra time on his own.
A lot of work, especially for a full-time college student, but there is the potential for high reward.
WLU skill development is a good fit for European basketball.

I have a feeling he knows that or he would not have come to WLU. WLU gives NO guarantees of playing time.
Still, he has probably always been "The Man", so it is probably very disappointing to get limited minutes. Probably did not want to redshirt, which would have addressed your observation. Other players have gone through the same shock when they arrive at WLU and see that everyone was a 1000 point scorer or star on their team. Hope he takes the long term view.

On another topic, When I look at the performance improvement of Eric Meininger after losing 15 lbs, I wonder if Greely could benefit from dropping some weight through dietary changes. He has a D1 power forward body and seems to struggle running all out for extended periods. Also needs to get more arc and better rotation on his shot.