West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Nwmsu may not be the best example. It does not matter the style that you play against nwmsu. We lost by 18. Semi and final losses to nwmsu were much worse. At one time nwmsu was up by approx. 30 in the finals on west texas.
No one was even close to nwmsu. Heck they lost to duke by 6 in exhibition. They had 2 nba level players on their team. We did not have yoakum and nwmsu had a week to prepare.
hillsdale coach said it was really hard to prepare for wlu in 1 day. But they still would have beaten us.

Look at Augusta in finals last year. Incredibly powerful, much bigger team and nwmsu schooled them. So big boy basketball is not a panacea.

Some counter examples on assertion that wlu is unwilling to change. Wlu went to zone against va state with 8 mins left, which won the game in past regional.

Against wvsu we left the trap and went man to man pressure for a latter part of 2nd half. We forced 18 turnovers with 12 steals and killed them on offensive glass for the game.

Imho wvsu is an ncaa tourney team. If one looks only at our shooting % most folks would have thought there was no way wvsu would lose. Imho it is the cumulative effect of the pressure. We got many more shots despite playing a taller, athletic, physical team.

I wouldn't say they schooled Augusta. They won by 9 and that was a real tight game with 2 minutes to play.

[Columbuseer]

I wouldn't say they schooled Augusta. They won by 9 and that was a real tight game with 2 minutes to play.

Yep i should have been more specific. On paper, nwmsu looked out manned and augusta looked like a favorite after IUP game. No one to guard the 7-2 guy. And i thought their 6-6 guy was better than he. Diego barnard playing hurt. Many folks believe elite big boy basketball beats small guards shooting from three. Imho the nwmsu coach took the augusta coach to school. Totally outcoached him.

[Columbuseer]

Wlu stats
Fyi ncaa stats west liberty as of dec 11

1st - assists per game 23.4
1st- 3pt attempts per game 35.2
1st - 3pt made per game 12.7
1st- Assist to turnover ratio 2.07
2nd - Turnover margin 9.3 Nova se is 9.5
2nd - forced turnovers 20.67 Nova se is #1 at 26
3rd- scoring 100.7 Nova se is first at 101.8 lol
4th - steals per game 12.8 Nova se is 13.4
4th - Scoring margin 24 Nova se 1st at 29
11th - offensive rebounds per game 14.56
40th - FG % 48.37
50th - Rebound margin 5
78th - FT % 73.97
102nd - 3 pt % 35.96

[Columbuseer]

FYI
Congrats to Bryce Butler, who was named D2CIDA National Player of the Week!
He has taken his game to another level.

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-the-week.aspx

[Layton]

Hopefully he doesn’t get the D1 Flu

[Columbuseer]

Fyi
To see wlu games in vegas will cost $30 as it requires 1 month subscription to flohoops. No free trial. Can cancel at any time.
they broadcast many games.
https://www.flohoops.com/signup?redi...age_id=7983334

[Columbuseer]

Hopefully he doesn’t get the D1 Flu

I agree. Imho his future is in Europe and wlu is one of best places to showcase those skills. Kovacevic is doing very well in Spain.
Imho at 6-4, in d2 one needs to shoot over 40% from three for a mid major d1 starting job; d1 inside guys are too athletic for post up game.

[boatcapt]

Hopefully he doesn’t get the D1 Flu

The success of Bolon and Robinson at 11-1 College of Charleston speaks volumes about the D1 opportunities that await Butler...If he choses to enter the portal. D1 can be a copycat "league" and I would imagine there are a number of D1 programs that are looking at CofC and then looking at Butler and saying hummmm...Wonder if we can repeat their success by getting this years WLU top dog? The real question is will Ben be able to convince Butler that staying at WLU is in his best interest.

As for WLU players punching the Euro ticket, I doubt Bolon or Robinson or Butler if he chooses to transfer to a D1 will suddenly lose that. All three will have plenty of Euro "offers" when their college careers are over. Success at a D1 would only enhance those opportunities.

[Columbuseer]

The success of Bolon and Robinson at 11-1 College of Charleston speaks volumes about the D1 opportunities that await Butler...If he choses to enter the portal. D1 can be a copycat "league" and I would imagine there are a number of D1 programs that are looking at CofC and then looking at Butler and saying hummmm...Wonder if we can repeat their success by getting this years WLU top dog? The real question is will Ben be able to convince Butler that staying at WLU is in his best interest.

As for WLU players punching the Euro ticket, I doubt Bolon or Robinson or Butler if he chooses to transfer to a D1 will suddenly lose that. All three will have plenty of Euro "offers" when their college careers are over. Success at a D1 would only enhance those opportunities.

Patrick and Dalton were elite 3pt shooters over 40%. Patrick was also a great finisher (he won game at end of va tech game). Bryce was elite 3p % early in career but now is a good 3pt shooter. His complete skill set is elite. Will be a great coach someday.
I agree that if he goes to d1 and does not start, his future in Europe is secure. His performance in 3v3 won't hurt either. If he stays at wlu he has a shot at national title. That won't happen in d1.

[Layton]

The success of Bolon and Robinson at 11-1 College of Charleston speaks volumes about the D1 opportunities that await Butler...If he choses to enter the portal. D1 can be a copycat "league" and I would imagine there are a number of D1 programs that are looking at CofC and then looking at Butler and saying hummmm...Wonder if we can repeat their success by getting this years WLU top dog? The real question is will Ben be able to convince Butler that staying at WLU is in his best interest.

As for WLU players punching the Euro ticket, I doubt Bolon or Robinson or Butler if he chooses to transfer to a D1 will suddenly lose that. All three will have plenty of Euro "offers" when their college careers are over. Success at a D1 would only enhance those opportunities.

Shhhhhh I’m selfish

[boatcapt]

Shhhhhh I’m selfish

Oh I don't want him to leave either! But D1s seem to have the ability to get their message of interest to a signed player even though they aren't supposed to tamper! I recall an interview with one of the guys that signed with WLU and then backed out and got a D1 offer. He said he was committed to going to WLU but a D1 recruiter was at one of his HS games and said they would offer him if he backed out on WLU. To my simple brain, that was a textbook example of tampering but I guess if no one complains, it didn't happen! I would imagine Butler will receive similar "non-contract" from a variety of D1s. Hope Ben can appeal to Butlers better angles and convince him to finish what he started .

[boatcapt]

Patrick and Dalton were elite 3pt shooters over 40%. Patrick was also a great finisher (he won game at end of va tech game). Bryce was elite 3p % early in career but now is a good 3pt shooter. His complete skill set is elite. Will be a great coach someday.
I agree that if he goes to d1 and does not start, his future in Europe is secure. His performance in 3v3 won't hurt either. If he stays at wlu he has a shot at national title. That won't happen in d1.

Hummm...Chance at a DII NC vs going to March Madness??

[Columbuseer]

Hummm...Chance at a DII NC vs going to March Madness??

Hmm. Interesting question. Assuming d2 player goes to low to mid major conference team like college of charleston in colonial conf, there is only 1 bid in 2022. In 2022 Delaware played #2 seed Villanova and lost by 20 in 1st round. I would prefer my chances at d2 NC rather than chances of getting 1 auto bid and then not getting hammered in 1st round.

[Columbuseer]

lubbock christian 91 wlu 83.

Wlu led for vast majority of game. Went stone cold in last 5 mins.
Lcu very well coached team with great passing and great half court defense. we forced at least 15 turnovers but had many errant kickout passes.for at least 14 turnovers.
week to prepare for wlu press really showed. We got some 5 sec calls but not enough steals.

[Scrub]

lubbock christian 91 wlu 83.

Wlu led for vast majority of game. Went stone cold in last 5 mins.
Lcu very well coached team with great passing and great half court defense. we forced at least 15 turnovers but had many errant kickout passes.for at least 14 turnovers.
week to prepare for wlu press really showed. We got some 5 sec calls but not enough steals.

The WLU turnovers were a problem to be sure. But they still win this game if they don't forget how to shoot for the last 5 minutes of the game. I didn't pay to watch the live broadcast, but there was a neat little feature on the LiveStats feed I was watching that showed stat trends. And WLU's trend box in the upper righthand corner of the screen kept saying things like:

"0-7 over the last 3:45"
"1 for their last 17 FG attempts"
"0-5 over the last 2:15"
Etc.

Lubbock's trends kept saying:
"5-5 on last 5 FT attempts"
"6-7 from the FT line in the last 2:05"
Etc.

Those trends seemed to tell the story. WLU couldn't hit a bull in the arse for 5 minutes, and Lubbock sealed it at the line like a good team should.

In truth, if this team has any hope of making a run, they're going to have to figure out how to beat good teams on neutral courts (or perhaps even have to beat IUP on their own court in a Regional Final if it comes to that). So hopefully they learn from this trip.

(And hopefully they blitz Missouri S&T today to wash the bad taste out of their mouths going into break.)