West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Grif better pick up his game or he is going to see a reduction in minutes. He missed some shots at the end of the game yesterday that really hurt!

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Well...It was bound to happen. Going through an entire basketball season undefeated is very difficult. Toppers gave it a hell of a run though. Seasons past, Crutch learned a lot from losses and made appropriate adjustments that often made the team better. We'll see if Ben is able to make similar adjustments. Seems like he will be able to do so but you never know until it happens.

What this game did show again is that no team can ever feel safe no matter how big a lead they might have on the Toppers.

As we move into the "playoff set-up" protion of the season, I look for WLU to shorten it's bench. Freshmen Saben and Moore have already been trimmed from the rotation. I'd look for Allen to see his minutes drastically cut (I thought he would be much better than he has played this year) and it also appears French will see his minutes cut (Don't understand this...When French is on the floor he is very productive...one of the best 3 point shooters on the team which is saying something and absolutely deadly from the foul line. But for some reason Ben (and Crutch before him) don't seem to have a lot of confidence in him. Can someone please explain that to me??) with the "extra" minutes going to the core group (Bolon, Monty, Meini, Grif and Smith)...Dyer will still start at PG but get second tier minutes...Watson will be a game to game decision based on how he plays early in the game (produce and he will see additional minutes...shoot poorly early and he'll be sitting)...Primmer will be a situational sub who will get minutes in several positions depending on the flow of the game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I watched the game. Nothing from the announcers stood out (to me, anyway). They were neutral. One cool thing they did was they had the sideline reporter listening in on huddles and then relaying a synopsis. The first couple timeouts the report from the Fairmont huddle kept saying the coach was telling the players the barrage of treys was 'fool's gold' and it wouldn't last forever.

In my opinion, WL stayed in the press far too long. With a couple exceptions it was ineffective. They were giving up way too many open looks on the deep shot and Fairmont was hitting them as well as way too many easy baskets at the rim. Fairmont thrives in that 100 mph pace that the press dictates. I can't remember his name but the kid from Marist killed you guys. Not just the missed FT at the end but he was way off all night.

The near-deadly turnover at the end of the game ... just a horrible play by the inbounder. He has to run the lane in that situation. They were extremely fortunate to hang on for the win. WL goes full steam for every second of the game. They don't go away.

Even when FSU was up 16 or whatever ... it always felt like it was a one possession game. You knew the WL run was coming. Watching it you knew Fairmont couldn't stay that hot all night. It was a very entertaining game for us neutral fans. Round 3 on a neutral court (if it happens) should be another thriller. That was great being on actual television. It's a great change from watching a game on a phone or a laptop.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Random Observations on WL-FSU game
I attended in person and thought it was a great game. FSU and WL played an incredible game.

1. Just like the game at WLU, FSU was very well coached to handle the press. They had great spacing, which made it difficult for WL to play "free safety" and intercept passes.
FSU has the players to go to the rim off the press. They also had the green light to shoot the 3 in transition with no one underneath and they were red hot from 3, which enabled them to jump out to a 20-6 lead. FSU also pressed WL at the beginning of the game, with little effect.
The result was an intense pace of play. FSU realized they were getting worn out and called off their press after about 3 minutes into the game. FSU maintained a lead of 10 to 16 points throughout much of the half. They were getting open looks for 3s or layups off the press. WL hit 2 3s in the last minute to get the lead down to 10 at half, 56-46. But one could see that FSU was getting tired. Their half court defense was losing its aggressiveness.

2. WL made a great adjustment at halftime, which is a tribute to their coaching staff and the improvement in WL's half court defense this year. They probably realized that they could beat FSU in a half court game and took off the press. This took away the easy buckets and the open 3s. However, FSU did make some difficult shots against excellent defense to maintain a 8 to 14 point lead.

3. But FSU's effort in the first half was starting to take its toll. They were a step slow on defense and WL was getting layups.

4. Another great adjustment - WL put 6 ft 4 Brandon Smith at PG. He was giving them fits as no one matched up well with him. This put 5 TALL slashers on the court who could finish at the rim and also hit the 3 in Smith, Monterosa, Bolon, Meininger, and Griffin, as well as Primmer. We might see more of this in the future. It is a match-up nightmare.

5. Mazulla did a great job in resting Jolly and others.

6. Learning from the previous meeting, Monterosa was setting up about 3 ft beyond the 3 point arc to guard Jolly. IMHO, like many players, Jolly is what I call a pattern shooter. He practices shots using a specific sequence of moves that foreshadow when he is going to launch a 3. Late in the game, Monterosa would use a series of feints and hand motions on defense, to disrupt the sequence. Jolly got many of his points on a screen switch and the other defender did not step out far enough on the switch.

7. WL came back and got a 1 pt lead briefly near the end of the game. Monterosa made a Brady-like move and ran Jolly down from behind on the press, dove and knocked the ball away. Incredible effort!

8. WL caused a turnover on an inbounds pass from FSU at the WL end with 5 seconds to go. WL was going to go with their seniors, Smith and Monterosa. Bolon had fouled out, so one of their key deep range shooters was not on the court.

9. IMHO, taking the ball out of bounds on the side is not an ideal situation with 5 seconds to go and given the type of motion, passing offense WL runs. You only have time for 2 passes at most after the end bounds and most of the far side of the court is too far away to be in play. If you had thrown the ball into the near backcourt to get floor balance, avoid the double team and get a strong dribble drive down the middle, you would lose probably 2-2.5 seconds due to the distance. Not a good situation. FSU played it well. They waited until about 3 seconds to see who was going to get the ball for the last shot and then they swarmed Monterosa with 2 or 3 players, knowing that there was not enough time to kick to the corner for a shot and that referees often swallow their whistles at the end of game unless the foul is significant. Hats off to FSU. They sold out on the play to stop a great scorer from winning the game.

Great crowd, Great coaching, great players. I admire WL for never giving up and giving great effort down to the last second. With this attitude and their excellent academic records, WL players will be successes in their careers once they graduate, which in the end is what sports is all about.
Great game.

If you watched it on TV, I would like to hear your impression of the announcers on WL's style of play as well as FSU.

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

A little Crutch update...After starting the season on fire and going 9-1, Nova Southeastern is starting to struggle a bit going 3-5 over the last 8 games to stand at 12-6 on the season. Could be wrong but I believe this is the first time that a Crutch coached team could be said to be in a slump. It will be interesting to see if he can coach his way out of this. As it stands right now, a Nova invitation to the NCAA is in jeopardy.

Figured that would happen with all the close games and OT's early on, hard to sustain that effort all season with the lack of talent he has currently

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

A little Crutch update...After starting the season on fire and going 9-1, Nova Southeastern is starting to struggle a bit going 3-5 over the last 8 games to stand at 12-6 on the season. Could be wrong but I believe this is the first time that a Crutch coached team could be said to be in a slump. It will be interesting to see if he can coach his way out of this. As it stands right now, a Nova invitation to the NCAA is in jeopardy.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Carry sounds like a very good prospect who has the potential to be as good if not better than Dennis. Never know how he will adjust to college ball though. But on the plus side, WLU has a history of getting gifted first year players up to speed quickly and smoothly...like Dennis.

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

You can take unofficial visits anytime time

[CelticCoach]

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

FYI West Lib Fans

Here is some info about the point guard for next year., Sincere Carry from Solon. He is 6ft -0. I think he may be better than David Dennis.

He has been making noise in the cleveland area since the 8th grade.

Here is summary of articles and highlights in links
- Confirms he had significant interest from Power 5 D1 schools before his two knee surgeries.
- Said West Lib hung with him through the tough times during his injury.
- 247sports has Carry as 18th best player in Ohio.
- His coach said WL was a great choice and showed Carry's maturity. Coach emphasized that D1 is over-hyped and is often not the best choice for players.
- Visited WVU in Oct 2015 as a sophomore, before his knee injuries, and Huggins thought highly of him (from Zac Fleers 270 hoops site)
- In Vic's showcase, which is held in Reynoldsburg at various times and brings together the best players in ohio or at least central ohio, Vic said Carry is arguably the best class of 2018 point guard in Ohio as a SOPHOMORE.

He is a great shooter, passer, and is unselfish. In his last game, he hit 5 3's in a row.



http://www.cleveland19.com/clip/1407...-point-in-2018
http://www.cleveland19.com/story/373...-taking-notice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3-FHH9lTI
https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Ba...chool&State=OH

[timbertopper]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Biggest test of the year for Coach Howlett and the boys coming up on Sunday.

Fairmont has won 32 straight at home and had an 8-game winning streak snapped at WJU last night. I think the Hilltoppers were the last team to beat FSU in Joe's Garage, 84-77, in Feb. 2016.

Falcons should be able to run the table in February against a cushiony-soft schedule but may still need a signature win to guarantee an NCAA bid in case of conference tournament upsets.

West Liberty could all but clinch another MEC championship with a win, giving them a 3-game lead over Fairmont and WJU with just 8 games remaining.

Joint will be jumping and regional TV will be on hand. Can't wait!

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

One game but it looks like the shooting slump is over. WLU DESTROYED a pretty good Shepherd squad 115-78. Started the game on a 16-4 run and never looked back taking a 28 point lead into the half time locker room. Closest Shepherd could get in the second half was a brief period of time when they "trimmed" WLU's lead to 21 just before the middle of the period. ELEVEN Toppers hat from 3 to set and NCAA record! Poor Keegan Saben was the only Topper to not hit a bonus bomb last night!!

Next up is a huge game against a very good Fairmont squad at their house!!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

What a game! Another classic in this rivalry, though it wasn't a very smooth free flowing game. It seems like every time Jesuit got it to a one possession game, West Lib hit a big 3. Jesuit has to develop more depth if they are looking to make another deep run come tournament time. I was concerned with that coming into this one and I think fatigued set in down the stretch. I agree with the officiating as mentioned above. It was very inconsistent. I can't stand ticky tack hand checks in the back court, but no calls when guys get hammered at the rim. That was an interesting crew to say the least.

I came away very impressed with Dyer's performance. He played really well! Very heady player. I also really like how Bolon plays. He's a gamer!

Can't wait for round 2!

WJU is formidable. I think they could go deep in the NCAA tourney. I felt they were really strong when Moseh, Highsmith and Wilson were on the floor at the same time when Boswell was out of the game. Very tough inside on offense and defense. Against half-court teams, their lack of depth should be manageable.
That #5 has very quick hands. He stripped Jordan Watson a couple of times in the half court game, which i had not seen before. I like his game.

As you said, Dyer was crucial with his very high assist to turnover ratio, as Jordan is in somewhat of a slump shooting and is not letting the game come to him at the PG position. He needs to focus more on the PG duties rather than taking difficult shots in traffic to help the team the most, IMHO. In the past he has played well at PG, so I don't know what has happened. But Ben will fix the situation. I know he was talking at length to Jordan when he came to the bench.

Bolon is a RS frosh, is an excellent student (top 10 in hs class) and is driven to excel and works very hard at his game. I suspect Bolon having Seger Bonifant's number is not a coincidence. He has the potential to be an All-American at some point, IMHO.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Message Board icon Chuckie Humphries now has official offers from Pace and Clarion.

I still think he lands in the PSAC but not at Clarion.

Question for you WJ guys ... what was the story with PG Kenny Lee (Woodland Hills) leaving the program?

[JesuitHoops]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

What a game! Another classic in this rivalry, though it wasn't a very smooth free flowing game. It seems like every time Jesuit got it to a one possession game, West Lib hit a big 3. Jesuit has to develop more depth if they are looking to make another deep run come tournament time. I was concerned with that coming into this one and I think fatigued set in down the stretch. I agree with the officiating as mentioned above. It was very inconsistent. I can't stand ticky tack hand checks in the back court, but no calls when guys get hammered at the rim. That was an interesting crew to say the least.

I came away very impressed with Dyer's performance. He played really well! Very heady player. I also really like how Bolon plays. He's a gamer!

Can't wait for round 2!