West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Well...If we shoot against WJ the way we shot tonight, we won't be #1 for long. That was straight up sh!t! Only 6 three pointers made and four of those were by French. Watson was 0-4, Bolon was 1-4 and Monteroso was 1-3. Total from the field was 44%. Thank god it was Concord.

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

WLU is #1 and WVU is #2...Looks like D1 and DII basketball run through northern WV!!!!!!!!

WVU won't be for long :( I'm so mad at the last two games plus the Steelers loss

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Indeed we are #1

WLU is #1 and WVU is #2...Looks like D1 and DII basketball run through northern WV!!!!!!!!

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It's entirely possible that your Running Hilltoppers could be voted the #1 team in the country this week's poll....Queens College #1, lost to #5 Linc Memorial by 1, and Bellarmine got upset by Wisc Parkside. And #3 WL keeps winning.

Believe me, #1 in min-Jan means nothing other than good ammunition for the SID at WL...but it is pretty crazy when you think about what they lost and the off-season changes....

Indeed we are #1

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It's hard to get a vibe on them so far. Yes, they are killing people but the schedule has been awful. WL's opponents have a combined 72-132 record and only four of the 14 opponents are above .500 so far. The SOS has to be the worst in the Region among the top half of teams.

They may be an elite team ... I just think the jury is still out until we see them in some bigger games against teams who can punch back. Fairmont was obviously a good win. The rest ... none of them will be playing past the regular season.

Cheyney (2-11)
Seton Hill (5-10)
D&E (3-10)
Glenville (2-12)
WVU (2-13)
Urbana (3-11)
NDC (4-11)
Shep (9-6)
FSU (11-4)
King (9-8)
UDC (1-13)
WV State (7-7)
Charleston (8-7)
Wise (6-9)


Note: Boat .. before you go nuts ... this is just a 'discussion' topic. I follow D2 basketball more than just my school. Due to this board I think by default we get to know each others conferences pretty well.

Not going to go nuts at all. I in fact like it when opponents question weather WLU is good or if they are just a product of scheduling. Makes it easier for other teams to dismiss us and perhaps not be as prepared as they should be!

Looks like a few days can change things. WLU has now played six teams with 500+ records.

King College is 10-8
Fairmont 12-4
Shepherd 10-6
WV State 8-7
Charleston 9-7
Concord 9-7

Soooo...that means 40% of WLU's games have been played against teams that stand above 500.

[IUP Extra Mile]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It's entirely possible that your Running Hilltoppers could be voted the #1 team in the country this week's poll....Queens College #1, lost to #5 Linc Memorial by 1, and Bellarmine got upset by Wisc Parkside. And #3 WL keeps winning.

Believe me, #1 in min-Jan means nothing other than good ammunition for the SID at WL...but it is pretty crazy when you think about what they lost and the off-season changes....

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

119 to 110 .... That's a lot of baskets

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

nm

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It's hard to get a vibe on them so far. Yes, they are killing people but the schedule has been awful. WL's opponents have a combined 72-132 record and only four of the 14 opponents are above .500 so far. The SOS has to be the worst in the Region among the top half of teams.

They may be an elite team ... I just think the jury is still out until we see them in some bigger games against teams who can punch back. Fairmont was obviously a good win. The rest ... none of them will be playing past the regular season.

Cheyney (2-11)
Seton Hill (5-10)
D&E (3-10)
Glenville (2-12)
WVU (2-13)
Urbana (3-11)
NDC (4-11)
Shep (9-6)
FSU (11-4)
King (9-8)
UDC (1-13)
WV State (7-7)
Charleston (8-7)
Wise (6-9)


Note: Boat .. before you go nuts ... this is just a 'discussion' topic. I follow D2 basketball more than just my school. Due to this board I think by default we get to know each others conferences pretty well.

[IUP Extra Mile]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

their press is much more energetic / active than in years past...interesting bc they lost some studs from last year's team...Dennis, Hoehn, Grossenbacher, and Clay... They've surprised me with 14-0 record...but two games with WJ and one with Fairmont to play..

Ben has done a great job of molding them...

[cavsfan94]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

From what I've been seeing tonight, the Hilltoppers have been very impressive. They are very talented on offense and the full court press has been good. Should be interesting to see how they end up at the end of the season.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Regardless of warm-up length or weather their opponent goes back into the locker room or not, WLU's real strength is an unwillingness to ever be intimidated...They just believe that there is no way they can lose regardless of how much more athletic the other team is than they are or how big the lead the other team may sprint out to...If they keep grinding and playing "their" game, eventually the other team is going to crack physically or mentally (often it is both). I think playing WLU is "soul crushing" for most teams who see how much "better" they are in warm up, how much "better" they are athletically and how much "better" they look playing only to find themselves falling victim to the constant unrelenting pressure and mind numbing barrage of 3 pointers coming from EVERY player on the WLU squad. It's got to be like an out of body experience were they are watching themselves be dissected and keep screaming "IT'S NOT POSSIBLE...IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!"...while the doctor is cutting their heart out in slow motion.

Awesome imagery.
Soul crushers - perfect description!
Once again you nailed it!
Bravo!

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Regardless of warm-up length or weather their opponent goes back into the locker room or not, WLU's real strength is an unwillingness to ever be intimidated...They just believe that there is no way they can lose regardless of how much more athletic the other team is than they are or how big the lead the other team may sprint out to...If they keep grinding and playing "their" game, eventually the other team is going to crack physically or mentally (often it is both). I think playing WLU is "soul crushing" for most teams who see how much "better" they are in warm up, how much "better" they are athletically and how much "better" they look playing only to find themselves falling victim to the constant unrelenting pressure and mind numbing barrage of 3 pointers coming from EVERY player on the WLU squad. It's got to be like an out of body experience were they are watching themselves be dissected and keep screaming "IT'S NOT POSSIBLE...IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!"...while the doctor is cutting their heart out in slow motion.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Seems like a weird topic but it is interesting.

Personally, I never thought the 'leaving the court' part had anything to do with the physical part of it -- rather the psychological part.

In using IUP as an example (because I know them the best) ... I think the logic to it is they have a big, fancy building ... they usually have nice crowds ... they turn the music off ... then come back out to their entrance music and a good ovation. They leave the visitors out there all alone in the quiet -- with nothing but the hecklers. I think many (not all) teams coming to the KCAC get a little intimidated by the mystique and just of the building and crowd. Most D2 teams are lucky to draw 250 people. Indiana has averaged more than 1,500 for years and on big nights can get upward of 3,500. IUP almost never loses at home. Granted, it's nothing like Miami running through the smoke (obviously) but the same concept. It's why football teams likely go back inside instead of staying out.

Physically ... these are 18-21 year-old kids in tip-top shape. Those couple minutes aren't doing much in my opinion. The adrenaline is flowing at that point. It's like anything else ... kids shoot free throws in the exact same manner every time. That's their comfort zone and pattern. I think staying out or going back down is just a comfort zone thing (for the most part).

End of the day the better team wins. I'm sure different coaches would give different reasons and different coach-speak answers.

Good points. The psychological aspect is certainly huge. The environment at IUP sounds special. I hope to get there one day for a game. Maybe the MEC could take notes on increasing the attendance!

"... End of the day, the better team wins..."
I suppose it depends on the definition of better team.
I would argue that most teams are not in physical condition to play WLU, as fatigue is a major factor unless teams judiciously rotate 9 or 10 guys.
The premise of WLU is "Let's play like we are are down by 10 with 2 minutes to go FOR THE ENTIRE GAME."

At WLU, there have many games where I have looked at the two teams and thought, "there is no one on WLU who could beat his man in a one-on-one pickup game".
In some cases, the coaches are also evenly matched.

At the beginning of the game, with the adrenaline flowing, the opponent may jump out to a 15 point lead. Unfortunately, adrenaline is chemically a short term boost for flight or fight scenarios. It wears off quickly and also accelerates fatigue long term.

The continuous mental and physical pressure of WLU on offense and defense wears on teams physically and psychologically until they break, resulting in a 14-20 point run in a 3 minute span.

IMHO, Teams may be conditioned to play a traditional game; in those games or playground style games, the warmup probably does not matter as much. IMHO, most teams' conditioning is not sufficient for the intense up and down offensive and defensive style of WLU. For example, in the first half, Charleston hit 82% of their FTs. In the second half, they hit 45%. When a player's legs get heavy, the shooting percentages crash.They also start trailing cutters and reaching on defense.

According to some studies, they have measured reduced performance when warm-up time was insufficient (it wasn't in basketball but running).

In summary, I am not saying that the WLU style is the only way to win, as there are many successful styles. However, if I were an opposing coach, I would focus attention on the warm-up, conditioning and substitution patterns, which may be different when playing WLU. Too many good teams have blown up and hit the wall in the past, who probably should have beaten WLU.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Seems like a weird topic but it is interesting.

Personally, I never thought the 'leaving the court' part had anything to do with the physical part of it -- rather the psychological part.

In using IUP as an example (because I know them the best) ... I think the logic to it is they have a big, fancy building ... they usually have nice crowds ... they turn the music off ... then come back out to their entrance music and a good ovation. They leave the visitors out there all alone in the quiet -- with nothing but the hecklers. I think many (not all) teams coming to the KCAC get a little intimidated by the mystique and just of the building and crowd. Most D2 teams are lucky to draw 250 people. Indiana has averaged more than 1,500 for years and on big nights can get upward of 3,500. IUP almost never loses at home. Granted, it's nothing like Miami running through the smoke (obviously) but the same concept. It's why football teams likely go back inside instead of staying out.

Physically ... these are 18-21 year-old kids in tip-top shape. Those couple minutes aren't doing much in my opinion. The adrenaline is flowing at that point. It's like anything else ... kids shoot free throws in the exact same manner every time. That's their comfort zone and pattern. I think staying out or going back down is just a comfort zone thing (for the most part).

End of the day the better team wins. I'm sure different coaches would give different reasons and different coach-speak answers.