West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

Looks like Luke Denbow De-committed last night.

It's the Sincere Carry story all over again. I trust Howlett to find a reasonable replacement (hopefully he has calls in to Mulbah & Radford among others).

I wonder if Garrett will go with Luke. Garrett got some decent minutes last year on the Hilltop, but wasn't a key cog. I wonder if he would consider following Luke (if possible, that is) if Luke lands elsewhere in D2. Not sure if Luke's original reason for committing to WLU was that he wanted a chance to play with his brother.

[Scrub]

Well, at least one version of a replacement is already on the way. Steve Cannady (from Mercyhurst and formerly Wheeling) is headed to the Hilltop.

I would assume he's being brought in to run the second team perhaps? Kinda this year's version of CMont? Not sure how he fits to be honest.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, at least one version of a replacement is already on the way. Steve Cannady (from Mercyhurst and formerly Wheeling) is headed to the Hilltop.

I would assume he's being brought in to run the second team perhaps? Kinda this year's version of CMont? Not sure how he fits to be honest.

He pulled a Houdini vanishing act in many big games.

[Columbuseer]

It's the Sincere Carry story all over again. I trust Howlett to find a reasonable replacement (hopefully he has calls in to Mulbah & Radford among others).

I wonder if Garrett will go with Luke. Garrett got some decent minutes last year on the Hilltop, but wasn't a key cog. I wonder if he would consider following Luke (if possible, that is) if Luke lands elsewhere in D2. Not sure if Luke's original reason for committing to WLU was that he wanted a chance to play with his brother.

Very similar. Only difference is that InSincere had a D1 body. Luke does not. If he somehow goes d1, it will be as a stand in the corner 3-pt sniper.Timing raises eyebrows, just after an all star game, which usually has a high weasel audience. Maybe he is not interested in the possibility of playing overseas. Whatever the reason, Just don't sign the LOI.

[Ship69]

I'm curious who the PSAC will target when Mercyhurst allegedly joins the Big 10.

My guess is they'd make a big push with Frostburg State. They'd go in the East and perhaps Ship comes back to the West.

Because, you known, we need 97 teams in the league.

Not sure why some of you guys think they'd stick Frostburg in the East and Shippensburg, which is located about 80 miles northeast of Frostburg, in the West, but guess you have it wored out. It makes no sense from a travel standpoint and I doubt Ship and Shepherd would be too crazy about that move.

[Columbuseer]

Well, at least one version of a replacement is already on the way. Steve Cannady (from Mercyhurst and formerly Wheeling) is headed to the Hilltop.

I would assume he's being brought in to run the second team perhaps? Kinda this year's version of CMont? Not sure how he fits to be honest.

Remembering him from his wheeling days, i always thought he would be a great fit for the wlu style.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Very similar. Only difference is that InSincere had a D1 body. Luke does not. If he somehow goes d1, it will be as a stand in the corner 3-pt sniper.Timing raises eyebrows, just after an all star game, which usually has a high weasel audience. Maybe he is not interested in the possibility of playing overseas. Whatever the reason, Just don't sign the LOI.

Somebody got to him.

[TopperNation]

Somebody got to him.

That is an absolute fact! Someone was in his ear during and after that all-star game, which is similar to the Sincere situation except Sincere's Solon High School team made it to the big show and state final. I've seen Luke Denbow play twice this year, he's a good kid, solid player, and very skilled but he is not currently a D1 guard.

[Fightingscot82]

It's the Sincere Carry story all over again. I trust Howlett to find a reasonable replacement (hopefully he has calls in to Mulbah & Radford among others).

I wonder if Garrett will go with Luke. Garrett got some decent minutes last year on the Hilltop, but wasn't a key cog. I wonder if he would consider following Luke (if possible, that is) if Luke lands elsewhere in D2. Not sure if Luke's original reason for committing to WLU was that he wanted a chance to play with his brother.

There he goes.

[Scrub]

There he goes.

Predictable.

[Columbuseer]

Garrett Denbow - Great shooter. Unselfish. Later in season, he improved greatly in the area of rebounding. Great potential.

IMHO his areas of improvement were 1 on 1 defense and judgment on when to avoid fouling to prevent and ones.

Not everyone is a gym rat and that is OK.
IMHO Alek West is ahead of him at this time from a development point of view.

Could be a double figure scorer at another school.

I wish him well.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Predictable.

Just like the duo from Cal/Fairmont.

[Scrub]

Garrett Denbow - Great shooter. Unselfish. Later in season, he improved greatly in the area of rebounding. Great potential.

IMHO his areas of improvement were 1 on 1 defense and judgment on when to avoid fouling to prevent and ones.

Not everyone is a gym rat and that is OK.
IMHO Alek West is ahead of him at this time from a development point of view.

Could be a double figure scorer at another school.

I wish him well.

I definitely saw the potential. But it was also clear he wasn't "WLU-ready" right out of the gate. And as you say, he can step in elsewhere and go for 12-15 points a night and make a nice little college career out of it if that's what he wants.

[Columbuseer]

Opportunities for minutes are increasing at wlu. 2 starting positions open with departure of Patrick and Will.
Guess at Definite Starters

1. Bryce
2. Malik
3. Cmont pg
4. Ben
?------------------


5. ??? If playing a weak ball handling guard oriented opponent, maybe Steve Cannady to ratchet up pressure?
Or Alek West against forward oriented teams?

Dont count out Dante making a push for major minutes. He has a warrior mentality. Could easily see him as pg on second platoon (at least). Zach improved his defense immensely in 1 year. If he continues that trajectory, he could push for 20+ minutes.
Austin was forced into duty early. With time to get stronger, i see him making significant contributions

The open question for me is how quickly can Woodard acclimate to the system? Initially i see him with the second platoon.


Thoughts?

[boatcapt]

Opportunities for minutes are increasing at wlu. 2 starting positions open with departure of Patrick and Will.
Guess at Definite Starters

1. Bryce
2. Malik
3. Cmont pg
4. Ben
?------------------


5. ??? If playing a weak ball handling guard oriented opponent, maybe Steve Cannady to ratchet up pressure?
Or Alek West against forward oriented teams?

Dont count out Dante making a push for major minutes. He has a warrior mentality. Could easily see him as pg on second platoon (at least). Zach improved his defense immensely in 1 year. If he continues that trajectory, he could push for 20+ minutes.
Austin was forced into duty early. With time to get stronger, i see him making significant contributions

The open question for me is how quickly can Woodard acclimate to the system? Initially i see him with the second platoon.


Thoughts?

By default, that's as good a top four as any we can muster. If we truly play positionless basketball, why would we need to designate someone as the PG and why would we need to worry about specifically countering a forward oriented team with our version of a forward? Any of the players on the roster should be able to fill any of those roles.