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  • Originally posted by Columbuseer View Post
    Fyi
    ​​D'Augustino MEC player of week

    https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-the-week.aspx
    Hahahaha! How do you get named the Player of the "Week" when you haven't played in 2 weeks???

    Comment


    • Originally posted by boatcapt View Post

      Hahahaha! How do you get named the Player of the "Week" when you haven't played in 2 weeks???
      D2 has a much longer holiday break than d1. Only 1 game played from Dec 21 through jan 1.

      Comment


      • Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for my own frustration levels), I was unable to watch last night. Someone who saw it wanna tell me what the hell happened?

        Box score shows more turnovers than is ideal, and WLU lost the rebounding battle pretty sizably. But this team has found ways to win despite those deficiencies before. What was different this time?

        The really short bench is troubling (only, what, 7 guys in double-digit minutes?).

        If you give up 102 to Frostburg, I'm assuming the story of the game was defensive breakdowns?

        Comment


        • A Dummy’s Observations on WLU at Frostburg State 1/8/25

          Frostburg State (FS) Game Plan

          FS has a couple of talented, athletic 1-on-1 scorers in Baker and Baptiste, who average 22 points and 11 points, respectively.
          The FS strategy seemed to be:
          • PASSED – Exert full court pressure, force turnovers, play the passing lane and play a fast-paced up and down the court game. They forced 16 turnovers, of which 15 were live ball turnovers (steals).
          • PASSED – Win the rebounding battle. FS outrebounded WLU 44 to 31.
          • PASSED –Attack the rim on offense, both in half court and when breaking the press in transition.
          • PASSED – Try to get Harper for WLU in foul trouble by attacking him. Harper got his 4th foul with 10:40 remaining, returning to the game at 6:22, and fouling out at 3:25 remaining in the game.
          • PASSED – Keep WLU off the offensive glass. WLU got a poor 14% of potential offensive rebounds.
          • PASSED – Draw fouls and get to the FT line. FS caused 20 WLU fouls and shot 23 foul shots.
          • PASSED – Shoot at their average from three. FS shot 37.5% from three, above their average of 28%.
          • FAILED – Defend the 3pt shot from WLU. WLU averaged 37% for the game, 33% for 1st half and 41% in the second half.
          • FAILED – Take care of the ball and avoid getting sped up in their game. FS had 23 turnovers, which led to 31 WLU points.


          Comments on the close WLU 102-100 Loss

          WLU encountered the perfect storm at Frostburg – A team with 2 outstanding 1 on 1 players having a career night, while WLU was committing uncharacteristic mental errors and turnovers.

          WLU showed tremendous heart and effort, even when the opponent:
          • Dominates WLU on the boards, and limits second shots by WLU
          • Is forcing WLU into uncharacteristic turnovers
          • Has star players having a career night – Bake was 10 points over his average and Baptiste was 15 points above his average. WLU had significant matchup issues against Baker and Baptiste in a 1 on 1 game.

          WLU offset these deficiencies by:
          • Creating fatigue resulting in 24 fast-break points.
          • Tremendous effort and pressure on FS, forcing 23 FS turnovers, of which 14 were steals, resulting in 31 points from turnovers. WLU showed tremendous heart at the beginning of the second half, changing an 11-point deficit to a tie game in just 130 seconds
          • Great transition game in the second half, where the WLU ball was often ahead of 2 or 3 gassed FS players, resulting in a numbers advantage and easy assists for layups.
          • Younger players are playing an increasingly important role. Dragas played 30 minutes and Tinsley played 19 minutes as first big man off the bench. Dragas scored 12 points and Tinsley 11 points.
          • From three-point range, Harper (2-3 67%), Dragas (4-9 44%) and Tinsley (3-8 38%), shot well.

          Areas for Improvement for WLU
          • They need to improve help defense when WLU defenders are getting beaten in the 1 on 1 game in half court.
          • They need to clean up the turnovers, and detect when quick opponents are playing the passing lanes.
          • Some players on the second platoon need to improve their game and intensity to earn more minutes. WLU needs more depth that they can rely on, as WLU is having to depend on 7 players, many of whom are guards.
          • Due to the lack of depth, all WLU players (especially forwards Harper and Woodward) have to stay out of foul trouble.

          Comment


          • Well...I guess we didn't use the 18 days off to fix our team problems. All the problems WLU has had this season and historically cropped up during this game. No new players coming on-board at the break to prop things up...no redshirts being burnt to give our starting 5 a break...none of our bench players suddenly "getting it" and playing up to their pre-season hype. We are effectively going to ride our starting 5 until they break down and HOPE we don't face a team that can out shoot us...or doesn't have dominant bigs...or has guards that can break our press...or has a deep bench. As the saying goes, HOPE is not a plan and rarely is a winning strategy.

            Comment


            • Stewart' s season-ending injury was a big blow on offense and defense for wlu. His game was made for wlu style. He was a force similar to Harper but at the guard position. I am thankful that Chester is finally looking to be ok after a scary upper body injury several months ago. But he missed so much time. Maybe I am just taking more notice, but there seems to be more injuries among teams this year.

              I feel really bad for Cal PA. They had all the pieces to make a deep ncaa run. Very impressive vs west liberty in a scrimmage. They have been decimated.
              Last edited by Columbuseer; 01-11-2025, 12:02 AM.

              Comment


              • Now THAT was West Liberty basketball!

                Comment


                • Originally posted by Scrub View Post
                  Now THAT was West Liberty basketball!
                  Yes, INDEED! First time this year we've seen WLU play like WLU. I got the feeling from watching that Ben effectively said, we are playing OUR style and the 5-10 guys (second platoon) are going to have to step up because the second platoon was getting serious minutes...and almost to a man, they DID step up. Heck, even Kinder who was effectively a 2 minute a game guy was in the regular rotation AND delivered!

                  Now...the question is was this a one off or has the team finally figured out, turned the corner, or what ever descriptor you want to use?? One game can be an aberration while two games can be the begining of a trend.

                  Comment


                  • A Dummy’s Observations on WLU hosting Fairmont 1/11/25


                    Fairmont (FSU) Game Plan
                    FSU comes into the game rated #9 in D2, with a former WVU player and several very talented players.

                    The FSU strategy seemed to be:
                    • PASSED –Use their athletic ability to attack the rim on offense, both in half court and when breaking the press in transition.
                    • PASSED– Keep WLU off the offensive glass. WLU improved to a decent 27% potential offensive rebounds compared to 39% to FSU.
                    • PASSED – Draw fouls and get to the FT line. FSU caused 17 WLU fouls and shot 83% (19-23) foul shots. This kept FSU in the game. But the fouls evened out in the box score late in the game, when FSU was forced to foul in the last 3 minutes.
                    • PASSED, marginally – Win the rebounding battle. FSU outrebounded WLU 36 to 30.
                    • FAILED – Shoot at their average from three. FSU shot 28.6% from three, below their average of 35.3%.
                    • FAILED– Try to get Harper and Woodward for WLU in foul trouble by attacking them. WLU mitigated this risk by distributing more minutes among all the big men on the roster. Only Tinsley finished with 4 fouls.
                    • FAILED – Defend the 3-point shot from WLU. WLU averaged 48% (13-27) for the game, 53% for 1st half and 40% in the second half.
                    • FAILED – Take care of the ball and avoid getting sped up in their game. FSU had 20 turnovers, which led to 29 WLU points.

                    Comments on the WLU 103-87 victory

                    WLU shocked the crowd and probably Fairmont with several changes:
                    1. A new starting lineup, with 3 players starting for the first time this season, with D’Augustino and Woodward the only holdovers.
                    Platoon 1: D’Augustino, Woodward, Tinsley, Clanet and Dragas
                    Platoon 2: Spadafora, Harper, Kisner, Shuler, and Autrey
                    2. Shorter platoon rotations, usually lasting about 2 minutes, rather than the typical 3-4 minutes.
                    3. The new platoon arrangement balanced the experience, 3-point shooting, height and “slashers” effectively across both platoons.

                    In my opinion, the above changes proved to have several benefits:
                    1. Typically, coaches want to play their best 5 players together. It could be argued that this WLU approach got the best collective output, synergy, and pressure on the opponent from the team’s two platoons for this game.
                    2. It kept Woodward and Harper out of foul trouble.
                    3. All the players appeared to be less fatigued, which can be argued has a positive impact on turnovers and shooting %.
                    4. It allows much more intense defensive pressure on the opponent due to shorter stints on the court.
                    5. The resulting fatigue on Fairmont resulted in open look threes and many great passes to the interior by WLU. Fairmont seemed to be a step slow.

                    Keys to Victory
                    • From three-point range, Tinsley (2-2 100%), Autrey (4-5 80%) Dragas (2-3 67%), Clanet (2-4 50%) and Kisner (2-5 40%) shot well.
                    • WLU’s offensive efficiency was an amazing 131 points per 100 possessions, compared to a very good 111 for Fairmont.
                    • WLU had 26 assists on 36 made FGs, which was an amazing 72%, compared to only 33% for FSU.
                    • Fouls were much more evenly distributed among the big men, keeping Harper and Woodward out of foul trouble.
                    • WLU only committed 10 turnovers, some of whom were well-intentioned assist attempts. FSU had 20 turnovers. WLU scored an incredible 1.45 points per forced turnover.

                    Areas for Improvement for WLU
                    So many areas have improved.
                    • One area of improvement is keeping players from driving the baseline.
                    • Another is to avoid fouling a three-point shooter.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Columbuseer View Post
                      [CENTER][B]

                      WLU shocked the crowd and probably Fairmont with several changes:
                      1. A new starting lineup, with 3 players starting for the first time this season, with D’Augustino and Woodward the only holdovers.
                      Platoon 1: D’Augustino, Woodward, Tinsley, Clanet and Dragas
                      Platoon 2: Spadafora, Harper, Kisner, Shuler, and Autrey
                      2. Shorter platoon rotations, usually lasting about 2 minutes, rather than the typical 3-4 minutes.
                      3. The new platoon arrangement balanced the experience, 3-point shooting, height and “slashers” effectively across both platoons.
                      Yup--it was basically a hockey mentality to substitution. And--for at least one game--that 1 minute on/1 minute off structure seemed to allow for increased intensity from all involved. Now, doing that meant trusting guys who hadn't previously been in the "inner circle" (Autry, Kisner, Clanet). But that trust paid off in those guys stepping up and doing their jobs well (in addition to the increased intensity across the board).

                      I don't know if hockey substitution has a future in Hilltopper basketball or not, but I'd love to see that strategy be tried as more than a one-game "message." I hope Howlett sticks with so we can see what dividends it does/doesn't reap.

                      Comment


                      • Here are some player stats from fairmont game
                        max minutes: 22
                        min minutes: 18
                        3pt goals can result in effective shooting exceeding 100%

                        # name minutes effective_shooting_%

                        04 Autrey , Daniel 20 120.0%
                        05 Dragas , John 19 100.0%
                        20 Tinsley , Kameron 19 80.0%
                        33 Clanet , Vadim 20 75.0%
                        02 Shuler, Lanyc 18 66.7%
                        03 Woodward, Finley 22 66.7%
                        13 Harper , JJ 19 57.7%
                        14 Kisner, Garrison 20 57.1%
                        12 D'Augustino, Kyler 22 53.3%
                        10 Spadafora, Dante 21 25.0%

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Columbuseer View Post
                          Here are some player stats from fairmont game
                          max minutes: 22
                          min minutes: 18
                          3pt goals can result in effective shooting exceeding 100%

                          # name minutes effective_shooting_%

                          04 Autrey , Daniel 20 120.0%
                          05 Dragas , John 19 100.0%
                          20 Tinsley , Kameron 19 80.0%
                          33 Clanet , Vadim 20 75.0%
                          02 Shuler, Lanyc 18 66.7%
                          03 Woodward, Finley 22 66.7%
                          13 Harper , JJ 19 57.7%
                          14 Kisner, Garrison 20 57.1%
                          12 D'Augustino, Kyler 22 53.3%
                          10 Spadafora, Dante 21 25.0%
                          Kisner with 30 minutes...mins...BLOWN!! And he was productive in his 20 min. Perhaps he's one of those guys that only turns "on" in games??

                          Comment


                          • Latest nabc d2 poll
                            #10 west liberty
                            #12 colorado school of mines
                            #13 Fairmont state.
                            #15 missouri S&T
                            #21 gannon

                            Comment


                            • Not seeing the jimmies and joes this year

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Layton View Post
                                Not seeing the jimmies and joes this year
                                Let's also not forget that Todd May is a really smart coach who always puts together the X's and O's to compete with WLU. Even when May comes in with a .500 or below record, I always worry about the Concord match-up. Regardless of what else they do in a given season, May ALWAYS has them prepared to play well against WLU and the WLU system.

                                So, yes, WLU might be down a Jimmy or a Joe (especially with a few key injuries), but it's not surprising in the least for Todd May to come in here and X & O his way to a competitive game and ultimately a victory.

                                Like to see WLU take care of the basketball a bit better (some silly and untimely turnovers were costly), and you just can't get outrebounded by almost double--regardless of the fact that Concord was running the entire Tight End depth chart out there. Gotta find a way to body up their bigs and force them to go through you and foul you to gain those boards. Aside from Spadafora--who worked the glass about as hard as possible for an undersized dude--WLU may have gotten outworked on the glass, and that is probably the real story of the game.

                                Comment

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