West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

From the Wheeling newspaper:

[I]

He covers all the local teams, high school, college, and the Nailers maybe the Steelers too. He speaks his mind and is controversial at times. I'm pretty sure he's a member of this site

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

From the Wheeling newspaper:

[I]

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Another well rounded performance by the Toppers last night. Looks like our "big three" from a scoring standpoint are going to be Monteroso, Bolton and Griffin. As with Cheyney, this was over early but we did see some signature "WLU Style" things that bode well for the rest of the year...pressure D...steals...points off steals...high %'age shooting.

It is hard to believe but the intensity had gone up a few notches. Rebound outlet pass coming out much faster.

I think Jordan Watson is coming on strong. More comfortable in Seton hill game. Watched him warm up Friday. Hit 3 after 3 after 3 with a variety of moves. Very quick release. Great defensive pressure for a new guy.
Nate Allen just needs time to adjust to get rid of bad aau/ d1 defensive habits. Playing too straight up on d and needs to move feet. But the skills are there to dominate. I'm seeing glimpses of what he can do. He was called on a travel when he made an NBA move from the top of key to the rack for a layup. It was so awesome for d2 the ref could have called it for that reason alone. Lol!
Meininger and french are also great shooters. If the big does not guard meininger he will bury the 3.

Primmer on Friday was a big surprise. Playing with much more aggressiveness and confidence.

When bolon sets his feet for the 3, he is bonifant like. Saw a video of him hitting 31 in a row in high school practice a while back.
West lib is harassing the bigs down low with their guards.
They are playing 13 guys with no apparent drop off in efficiency or teamwork.
Will take great coach, big unselfish team who can play d and protect ball and/or bad shooting night for the entire game to beat them imho.

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Look for the lady toppers to have a nice bounce back year, gave #10 Cal a good game and currently blowing Mercyhurst out. Lots of young and new faces last year and a new young coach who was an assistant here the last few years

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Another well rounded performance by the Toppers last night. Looks like our "big three" from a scoring standpoint are going to be Monteroso, Bolton and Griffin. As with Cheyney, this was over early but we did see some signature "WLU Style" things that bode well for the rest of the year...pressure D...steals...points off steals...high %'age shooting.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

All absolutely true. A big part of the problem is PASSHE, the governing body of the 14 state schools. ULTRA POLITICAL and very given to making the same stupid decisions that most political bodies do. Some of the schools have become successful (WCU, IUP, CALU, BLOOM) by virtue of strong local leadership and alumni support, but ,as you said, not at CHEYNEY. Those who support the school probably have 5 years, at most, to get their act together and get a plan turned into action.

The one positive Cheyney gives a number of other PASSHE schools is to keep the cold glare of their troubles being in the spotlight. Without them, that spotlight would be on these other schools and quite possibly serious questions would be asked about whether they should be closed.

With the reductions in state provided funding, you got to wonder if the PASSHE can continue to support soooo very many public colleges that offer basically the same courses of study. Imagine how much the PASSHE could provide to four "regional" state schools instead of the current 14.

[CALUPA69]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Cheyney is a vexing problem that goes FAR beyond basketball (or any athletics). Moving down to D3 really won't save them much if any money. There is just soooooo much mismanagement there and resistance to any change. Can't believe they haven't had a University President in years...can't believe they haven't changed their academic focus to areas more likely to attract students...can't believe they haven't seriously curtailed their athletic programs by cutting entire teams. I think Cheyneys only solution is to enter into some sort of public/private partnership with a tech company were they trade land/buildings and establish specific majors/training programs in exchange for cash and campus wide facility upgrades. Even then, it will be tough to come back unless the culture of the Cheyney board of directors and alumni change.

All absolutely true. A big part of the problem is PASSHE, the governing body of the 14 state schools. ULTRA POLITICAL and very given to making the same stupid decisions that most political bodies do. Some of the schools have become successful (WCU, IUP, CALU, BLOOM) by virtue of strong local leadership and alumni support, but ,as you said, not at CHEYNEY. Those who support the school probably have 5 years, at most, to get their act together and get a plan turned into action.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Saddest part about the likely demise of CHEYNEY is that in their probably rather small trophy case there is one marked NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION 1977-78 . Under HC JOHN CHANEY (yes the TEMPLE coach) they defeated WISC-GREEN BAY 47-40 so his emphasis on defense was around long before he moved to D1. The PSAC really should allow the school to step down to DIII athletics so they at least could play with some hope of competing against other schools that give no athletic scholarships.

Cheyney is a vexing problem that goes FAR beyond basketball (or any athletics). Moving down to D3 really won't save them much if any money. There is just soooooo much mismanagement there and resistance to any change. Can't believe they haven't had a University President in years...can't believe they haven't changed their academic focus to areas more likely to attract students...can't believe they haven't seriously curtailed their athletic programs by cutting entire teams. I think Cheyneys only solution is to enter into some sort of public/private partnership with a tech company were they trade land/buildings and establish specific majors/training programs in exchange for cash and campus wide facility upgrades. Even then, it will be tough to come back unless the culture of the Cheyney board of directors and alumni change.

[CALUPA69]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Saddest part about the likely demise of CHEYNEY is that in their probably rather small trophy case there is one marked NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION 1977-78 . Under HC JOHN CHANEY (yes the TEMPLE coach) they defeated WISC-GREEN BAY 47-40 so his emphasis on defense was around long before he moved to D1. The PSAC really should allow the school to step down to DIII athletics so they at least could play with some hope of competing against other schools that give no athletic scholarships.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Crutch earned a W in his first game at Nova, 116-92 over "Florida National" (A USCAA team). Much has been said about weather Dyer can "replace" Dennis at PG. Here's a meaningless one game comparison between the two last night:

Dennis - 10 pts (3-8 shooting), 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 1 steal in 33 minutes
Dyer - 7 pts (2-3 shooting), 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals in 19 minutes

I know it's only one game but I'd say Dyer "won."

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

As has been said, it's Cheyney so not a ton we can learn about individual play. But we can learn some things about how Howlett will coach. Not surprisingly, from a style stand point he is much like Crutch but perhaps with more energy and intensity. Yes Crutch played a game that focused on 3's and pressure D but Coach H seems to ratchet that up a tick or two. Also Coach H plays a DEEP bench and expects every player, weather they are the star starter or the 12'th man off the bench, to take the shot if open...69 bench points is just insane but does demonstrate that point.

Stars for the game:

First Star - James Griffin - Leading scorer with 18 points on 6-10 shooting (3-6 from 3). Pitched in with 4 defensive rebounds and 2 steals in only 14 minutes of work. Very good, well rounded game.

Second Star - Evan French - 14 points on 5-9 shooting (4-7 from 3). French was not afraid to pull the trigger as he scored his 14 points in only 12 minutes of play! That's over a point per minute...calculate that out over a 40 minute game and he's scoring at a 47 PPG clip!!! Hahahahaha!!!

Third Star - Luke Dyer - Seven assists in his first college game were he played effectively one half (19 minutes) ain't too bad.

HM - Eric Meininger, Jordon Watson.

First game can also show some things that need to be worked on and this game did show a couple. Chief among them:

1. Free throws - With a team that shoots like WLU you'd think these would be almost automatic. As a team we shot 62% from the charity stripe last night. That ain't a good number for such a good shooting team!

2. Four players with four PF's - This becomes more worrisome when you realize that no WLU player played more than 20 minutes!

But hey, it's Cheyney so you don't really want to over analyze the good or bad from it or make any changes in how you play off of it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

On one hand you have to feel bad for Cheyney.

Every football game it loses, 70-7. The teams in the PSAC want them out as playing them in anything hurts you more than it helps due to the SOS anchor. It's just a real mess up there. They are broke. No scholarships (like 4 in football and probably 1 total in basketball). The enrollment is under 700 and falling.

As a league ... They are a real problem right now. If I was in charge I'd skip D2 tournaments like last night and take any beat-down D1 money grabs I could find. If they have to suffer through beatings ... might as well make a few bucks.

I'm interested to see the Glenville Tournament this weekend. There are some good matchups there.

[IUP Extra Mile]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

was at the game.
as others have said, i have to temper my enthusiasm bc Cheyney is putrid. 36 Turnovers? Their coach just paced the sideline, with hardly any strategy...
that being said...what's not to like about this version of the Hilltoppers, after a game...
Press was smothering in the first 20 mins.
Shooting was lights out-24 3 pointers.
And athleticism looked pretty good.
Impressed with Marlon Moore, fresh-legged freshman, with hops, energy, and rebounding prowess.
Impressed with Dalton Bolon--really good shooter / slasher.

As Boat has said a few times, if they shoot well, they will be a tough to beat. We all know that there will be 5-6 nights when they are clunking 9-40 threes or 7-25 threes...Can they win while shooting poorly, that's the question...but I like this iteration of the hilltoppers...seem to be more in your face and pressing...that may change come Mountain East season, but let's see what happens vs. Seton Hill tonight

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

WL tied an NCAA record with 10 players making at least 1 3 pointer

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Very similar score compared to last year with Cheyney, going to have to see them against a more competent opponent to really gauge them