West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

Bryce Butler repeats as MEC player of year.
Montague and McKinney are 2nd team, but I would not trade them or Cannady for any guards on 1st team, due to their complete game of shooting, defense, passing, rebounding, assists and steals. They are perfect fits for the wlu style. However, the chosen 1st team guards are deserving of the honor, for they are also excellent players.

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...am-honors.aspx

I hear what you're saying. Guys like Jaedon Willis & Sam Rolle are really good at what they do, but what they do isn't what WLU asks its guards to do.

I'll tell you who might actually fit nicely (maybe a little prayer to the Portal gods) is second-team guard Freddie Word. He defends & rebounds very well as well as scoring the ball. I'd like to see what he could do in WLU system.

[Columbuseer]

I hear what you're saying. Guys like Jaedon Willis & Sam Rolle are really good at what they do, but what they do isn't what WLU asks its guards to do.

I'll tell you who might actually fit nicely (maybe a little prayer to the Portal gods) is second-team guard Freddie Word. He defends & rebounds very well as well as scoring the ball. I'd like to see what he could do in WLU system.

Interesting...your thoughts about Turbo Smith?
imho it is hard to predict if great players also have the motor and high pain tolerance to play the wlu style.
Many have thought they could, but after open gym game, realized it was not a match.

[Columbuseer]

Found out that if players with eligibility remaining were not sure about coming back then Coach encouraged them to walk on Senior Day..
Podcast below has the quote (women's bball coach is 1st portion, followed by men's). Coach Howlett talks about NDC and Wheeling game.
https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...n-wrap-up.aspx

[Scrub]

Interesting...your thoughts about Turbo Smith?
imho it is hard to predict if great players also have the motor and high pain tolerance to play the wlu style.
Many have thought they could, but after open gym game, realized it was not a match.

I'm not as high on Turbo. But I really admired Freddie's motor when we've seen him. The only knock on Freddie is that he's a bit foul-prone. But that said, he wouldn't have to play 38 minutes in WLU's system, so he might not have time to rack up as many fouls.

[Columbuseer]

WL always has had scorers at every position. However, the defensive skills of Cannady, Montague, and McKinney enabled WL to win games despite having terrible shooting nights as a team. Imho, anyone from the portal, whether guard or forward, has to be a proven shutdown defender as well as a scorer.

[Columbuseer]

Been doing some ciphering on offensive rating, which is points per 100 possessions.
Nova SE 125.7
West Liberty 122.3
Gonzaga (#1 D1) 121.2
Sacramento Kings (#1 NBA) 118.8
Boston Celtics 118.0
Houston Cougars 118.0
Pitt 111.4
WVU. 109.0

Not 100% certain Nova is #1. Maybe a team like nw mo. State might be higher.

[Columbuseer]

For those waiting on 6 pm Friday,
one can watch St. Crutch in action below. They lead by 10 at half over Florida Tech. They are loaded with talent, share the ball and don't take heat check shots.

https://www.sunshinestateconference....playvid=539173

[Layton]

One final clunker for the ladies to cap a forgettable season. Did not look very well coached tonight

[Columbuseer]

One final clunker for the ladies to cap a forgettable season. Did not look very well coached tonight

Broken record... defenders standing upright trying to guard a dribble drive. Middle school coaches teach to crouch in defensive stance. Basic Newtonian physics; lower center of gravity changes direction faster.
Their shooting skills are offset by poor defensive fundamentals.

[Columbuseer]

Intentional foul wlu. Wlu defender playing with back to the ball, instead of being in position to see both defender and ball. Basic individual defensive concept.

[Scrub]

The ladies got outplayed in all phases tonight. No other way to say it. Fairmont wanted it more and came in and took it.

[Columbuseer]

Dangerous opponents for Fairmont and WLU
Glenville won both games this season vs Fairmont.
At Feb 11 game at WLU, CU ran into the perfect storm of WLU on fire from three. From a 7 point halftime lead, WLU grew the lead to 50.
However, CU has the athletic players, pg, coach and rebounding to challenge WLU. Rahama averaged a double double for season.

CU keys:

• control the boards
• Attack the rim after breaking the press
• Shoot much better than wlu
• Get WLU in foul trouble
• Limit fatigue

WLU keys:

• Get back on defense
• Exert pressure on offense and defense
• 2nd platoon must exert extreme pressure
• Force CU to use their thin, young bench and then attack them
• Avoid ill-advised fouls
• Double Rahama to make him pick up ball
• Shoot at least 35% from three

[bballfan03]

some stats on Transfers
PSAC Schools (in portal)
Cal PA - 1
Clarion - 4
Boro - 2
GU - 2
Kutztown - 3
Ship - 1

other schools
Adams State - 5
Saint Rose - 8 (eek!)
Texas-Permian Basin - 6
Truman State - 5

[Columbuseer]

Observations from a Dummy - NDC vs WLU 3/4/23

NDC is a dangerous team . They defeated Charleston by 13 and defeated Youngstown State and Wvsu yesterday. They are a young, talented team, with 3 sophomores and 2 seniors/grad students on the starting 5. They are strong 1-on-1 players, which is both a blessing and a curse. NDC might be an elite team next year, as they get older. They have the second leading scorer in the MEC in willis.


Tale of the Tape (Season)

NDC WLU

Points 81 101

FT % 77% 74%

FG % 44% 49%

3FG% 36% 39%

Turnovers 14 12

Assists 14 23

Assist/TO ratio 1.0 1.9

NDC Strategy

· Play tight defense - FAIL fatigue allowed many open looks but they did get steals on 47% of 17 wlu turnovers

· Minimize turnovers against WLU pressure - FAIL committed 21 turnovers of which 67% were live ball steals
· Use motion offense with multiple screens in rapid-fire succession to free up their talented players to finish at the rim. Get Jaedon Willis open looks as he is averaging 21 points per game, 40% from three and 89% of FTs. - PARTIAL SUCCESS Willis made difficult shots in the paint but held to his average,

· Try to draw fouls and get WLU in foul trouble. Make FTs. FAIL WLU had 4 players with 4, but they occurred too late to affect outcome

· Shoot the 3 effectively. Three starters shoot over 40% from three. - FAIL 2 for 18 for 11%

· Deny Rasile open looks from three. FAIL Rasile 3-5 60%

· Keep WLU off the offensive glass and win the rebounding battle. PASS won off. reb 16-13 and was close in def. Reb 20-22

· Double team Butler in the lane to prevent inside moves. FAIL Butler had 22 points and 16 rebounds

· Avoid the WLU blackouts. FAIL WLU had several that opened a lead. But NDC did not collapse and lose by 40.

[Layton]

Getting hot at the right time