West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

This season in the Atlantic -- from the outside -- appears like it will be a full-blown circus.

Charleston and Gannon were gutted (and both HCs left). How will the rebuilds work?

IUP and WL are full of new players.

California is replacing several stars. Mercyhurst is gone. East Stroudsburg does return a lot. The CIAA is always a crapshoot.

It's going to be an interesting year.

Don't sleep on Fairmont either. Mangas will be back from injury (I assume), so he and Jolinder should make a solid 1-2 combo on that front line.

But I'm with you--ESU might be the most stable roster in the Atlantic right now. I expect both ESU & Cal to be pretty tough.

But I never count out Joe's or Howlett's ability to "coach 'em up." It'd be potentially foolish to overlook either IUP or WLU just based on roster turnover.

[boatcapt]

Woodward is still a strong inside player with greatly improved footwork. He realized his outside shot needed to improve to draw defenders away from the paint in order to open up driving lanes for teammates as well as himself. At least that is the view of some "pundits".

I've got nothing against addressing an obvious deficiency in his game. I actually applaud him for it. That said, I don't want his improvement to come at the expense of another part of his game.

We have plenty of 3 point snipers. I'd rather have the ball in their hands with Woodward in position for the put back on the 60% that miss the mark!

[Columbuseer]

Don't sleep on Fairmont either. Mangas will be back from injury (I assume), so he and Jolinder should make a solid 1-2 combo on that front line.

But I'm with you--ESU might be the most stable roster in the Atlantic right now. I expect both ESU & Cal to be pretty tough.

But I never count out Joe's or Howlett's ability to "coach 'em up." It'd be potentially foolish to overlook either IUP or WLU just based on roster turnover.

Good points.

Some thoughts...
Imho wlu has upgraded their shooters overall without giving up defense or athletic ability.
We have some guys who could hit 40% threes - spadafora, shull, dragas, autrey, clanet and tinsley
We have several guys making plays above the rim: stewart, harper, kisner, shuler, and chester.
My guess is 3 starters are Spadfora, D 'Augustino, and Woodward. After that maybe Shuler, Harper, Stewart or Clanet. The starting combo might depend on matchups with opponent, whether to go big or small.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Good points.

Some thoughts...
Imho wlu has upgraded their shooters overall without giving up defense or athletic ability.
We have some guys who could hit 40% threes - spadafora, shull, dragas, autrey, clanet and tinsley
We have several guys making plays above the rim: stewart, harper, kisner, shuler, and chester.
My guess is 3 starters are Spadfora, D 'Augustino, and Woodward. After that maybe Harper, stewart or clanet. The starting combo might depend on matchups with opponent, whether to go big or small.

You talking about Jaylen Stewart? What rim does he play above?

[Columbuseer]

You talking about Jaylen Stewart? What rim does he play above?

I saw a highlight of him at iup. He dribbled from the left wing, came to an almost complete stop at the foul line to freeze the defender. Then he took a couple of long strides toward the basket, took off from approx. 6 ft away and dunked it. That is very hard to do at his height. Cannot recall if it was 2022 or 2023. I think it was the first highlight in link below.

https://x.com/Jaylen_stew/status/1771243799534031028


Imho, he seems very well suited to showcase his skills in the fast paced transition game of wlu. Deadly in transition. Have seen him grab rebounds and block shots above the rim.

[Columbuseer]

Fyi

Verbal Commit as of Aug 1, 2024
Source: myles montgomery x (twitter)

Myles Montgomery
Minford HS | c/o 2025 | | 4.0 gpa | 5’10 point guard
Jr.
- 3 sport athlete
- 22.7 ppg 5 assists 5 reb., 3 steals
- 3rd team d3 all ohio
- Kicked 42 yd field goal in football
- strong body, strong play, high motor like a blend of spadafora and D'Augustino
- good soccer player like Kyler D'Augustino
- Deep range > 25 ft. on three.

Jr. Highlights
http://www.hudl.com/v/2Nmdnr

Sophomore
-SOC II Player of the Year
-AP District. Player of the Year
- 1st Team All-Ohio
- 23.1 ppg
- hit 6 threes and 31 pts. Against wheelersburg


Freshman Year
- 1st Team All SOC 1st Team All District.
- Coaches Association 1st Team AP All District
- Special Mention d3 All State
- 20.1 ppg

Offers or visits:
Concord
Rio Grande
Hillsdale
Cedarville
Ohio Dominican
Youngstown State

[Columbuseer]

Great news for West Liberty fans, players, and recruits!
Bryce Butler is now an assistant coach at West Liberty!
He and Dan Monteroso (volunteer assistant who is splitting time with a pro team in Germany) provide an invaluable opportunity for wlu players to develop their game to their highest potential. Bryce's back to basket footwork is incredible and a joy to watch!


https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...ing-staff.aspx

Details on Bryce:

- 2-time NCAA Division II All-American and Atlantic Region Player of the Year
- first-team Academic All-American
- mvp of mec tourney and atlantic region tourney

- At d1 college of charleston, Butler earned one CAA Player of the Week honor during the season and was selected as the 2024 CAA Sixth Man of the Year in post-season voting by the league coaches. When the game was on the line in the last 3 minutes, coach Kelsey invariably inserted Bryce because he knew he would not make mistakes.

--Butler was on the 2022 FIBA USA U21 3x3 Nations League roster of 6 players. The other 5 players were high major d1 players, with two from Villanova. The USA won the America's region. Whenever Bryce played, the USA won, beating national teams from South America, the Dominican Republic, as well as Puerto Rico.

-2024 CAA Sixth Man of the Year Bryce Butler has been named to the 2024 FIBA USA U23 3x3 team in Nations League tourney.

[boatcapt]

10 days till the new look Toppers take the court!

[Columbuseer]

I like how:
-west liberty schedules scrimmages against strong teams like cal and walsh
- wlu treats the contest as a scrimmage, trying out different combinations of players rather than treating it as a game situation. Helps everyone learn what they have to work on against excellent competition.

Imho this team, with 9 new players, will need some time to reach their full potential and adapt to the unique aspects of the wlu system.

[Columbuseer]

Fyi
west liberty #1 in MEC in preseason coaches poll with 9 of 11 1st place votes.
https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...ason-poll.aspx

[boatcapt]

Fyi
west liberty #1 in MEC in preseason coaches poll with 9 of 11 1st place vote
https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...ason-poll.aspx

Interesting first game matchup for the Toppers vs West Chester. WCU was picked second in the PSAC East coaches poll. They are returning 3 starters and the bulk of their scoring. No matter how you parse it, WLU returns one player who has started on the Hilltop (D'Agustino who averaged 8.9 PPG). Of the other 14 players on the roster this year, only three played for WLU last season. Collectively, the four returning Toppers averaged 34.5 PPG. To equal last years PPG performance (97..2) that's 62.7 points per game that the returners AND the 10 new players will need to get...That's a TALL order! The good news is that the game is on the Hilltop were WLU is very hard to beat

Six days until they roll out the basketballs and turn on the bright lights...I'm very nervous for this one.

[Columbuseer]

It will be interesting to see how quickly transfers can adapt to a style that is so different for them. Autrey may be the best pure shooter to come to the hilltop since Bonifant.

[TopperNation]

Yeah, I'm excited to head to the Hilltop on Friday and see the new look squad. It will take some time for them to gel with all the new faces, but the talent seems to be there. I'm really interested in seeing who's up to speed of the game day 1. The pace that WLU play is insane in practice, but we know once the bright lights are on it changes things for some.

[Columbuseer]

Bryce is already making an impact on the footwork of players.
He also plays in practice as needed, which can only help players develop.
The team is loaded with high motor guys - Spadafora, D'Augustino, Shuler, Woodward, Dragas, Stewart, just to name a few.

[Columbuseer]

Half wlu 52 west chester 33