West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

A Dummy’s Observations on WLU vs Bluefield State 3/15/25 WLU 91- BSU 84

Bluefield State (BS) Game Plan

In his 4th season, Coach Hoehn has recruited a group of athletic scorers nationwide from Detroit, California, NY, and FL. BS has arguably their best team in Coach Hoehn’s tenure. They have the Regional Player of the Year and CIAA Player of the Year in Hinds. They had a significant height advantage at nearly every position. BS played the WLU style with full court pressure and attacked the rim in transition. They played an up-tempo game. However, three players played >31 minutes, only six players played more than 10 minutes, and their star player Hinds had 36 minutes, so fatigue might have been a factor in a very close game. BS trapped full court to try to force WLU turnovers. On offense, BS decided to press their 1v1 advantage and only had 9 assists. They were a near mirror image of WLU, attacking the rim in transition and taking advantage of any defensive lapses.

The BS strategy seemed to be:

• PASSED – Attack WLU with 1v1 plays on offense. According to the broadcasters, the bench encouraged their offense by yelling “they cannot guard you”. Hinds is a special player.
• PASSED – Play the WLU style on defense. They pressed successfully, in adversely affecting the WLU shooting. However, BS eventually took off the trap, when it was not having the desired effect and to conserve energy.
• PASSED – Draw fouls and get to the FT line. BS was 14-18 while WLU was only 6-12
• PASSED – Shoot above average – BS FG was 45.7% (47.2% season), FG was 46.2% (3 p1.5% season) and FT was 77.8% (72.7% season). Fortunately, BS was just 6-13 on 3FG.
• FAILED – Dominate the boards – WLU won offensive rebounding 15-14 and both teams got a high % ofoffensives rebounds (BS 37%) and WLU 36%). The D1 90th percentile is 33.7%. BS won the defensive rebounding 27-24.

FAILED – Take care of the ball and keep the turnover margin close. BS had 20 turnovers to just 13 for WLU. WLU got 28 points off turnovers to just 13 for BS.

Keys to the WLU Victory

• This was a defensive struggle between strong offensive teams. The offensive efficiency rating was 108 for WLU and 100 for BS (points per 100 possessions). D1 90th percentile is 113.
• IMHO, the difference in the game was West Liberty’s depth, and will to win. In the second half, it seemed that WLU was getting run-outs in transition for easy layups and BS was less of a presence on the boards. I think BS got tired in the last 10 minutes.
• WLU shared the ball extremely well. WLU had 65% of goals from assists (24-37), compared to 28% for BS (9-32). 90th percentile for D1 is 59.8%
• WLU forced 20 turnovers and got 46 points in the paint, despite being a smaller team.
• Shuler and others did an admirable job on Hinds, who is a special player. Hinds hit 5-6 threes that were deep and contested. Eventually, fatigue takes its toll late in the game.Overall, it was a gutsy victory against a talented BS team.

Areas for Improvement for WLU

• WLU will need to shoot better to advance as they were 45.7% FG, 30.6% 3FG and 50% FT. These are significantly below average and would have been worse without some breakaway WLU goals in transition.
• Opponents will target players who have tendency to foul. WLU had two players foul out.
• Opponents will attack WLU 1v1 and then look to pass or score. WLU will need to shift their defense to help and cut off the drives without giving up the assist.

[Columbuseer]

A Dummy’s Observations on WLU vs Gannon 3/18/25 WLU 101 - FS 90

Gannon University (GU) Game Plan
Gannon plays the same style as WLU, to which some have coined the term “Crutchball”. It utilizes double team traps on makes and misses, up-tempo play, pushing the ball in transition, unselfish play, and taking only great shots. GU averages 90.8 points per game, 45.2% FG, 34.7% 3FG, 70.5% FT, 43.3 rebounds, 17.4 assists, and 15 turnovers per game. They are a young team with excellent three-point shooters, led by Freshman of Year in PSAC West Prosser at 41% and DeBuck at 38%. Currently, they only play 7 players more than 13 minutes, led by Prosser at 29.5 mins.

GU averages more turnovers and less assists than WLU, which is probably a concern for GU, given their youth. Given their similar styles, the team that shoots the best will likely win the game.

The GU strategy seemed to be:
• PASSED (marginally)– Get more fast break points. GU had 25 points to 23 for WLU.
• PASSED (marginally)– Shoot significantly above average – GU FG was 45.3% (45.2% season), and 3FG was 36.4% (34.7% season), but I expect they were hoping for a better shooting night, given how they scored on 7 of their first 8 possessions of the game.
• PASSED– Take care of the ball and keep the turnover margin close. GU had 19 turnovers to 17 for WLU. Most of the turnovers were steals for GU and WLU. However, WLU got 31 points off turnovers to just 14 for GU. WLU scored 1.63 points per turnover versus 0.82 for GU.
• FAILED – Hold WLU to below their shooting average. WLU shot 52% FG, and 41.4% 3FG, both above their average.
• FAILED - Limit the inside game of WLU. Shuler, D’Augustino, Harper and Woodward had solid inside games.
• FAILED – Dominate the boards – this was essentially a draw. WLU and GU both got a very high % of offensives rebounds, 50% for WLU to 48% for GU. The D1 90th percentile is 33.7%. The defensive rebounding for both teams was subpar, at 50% for WLU and 52% for GU, with the D1 median being 72%.

Keys to the WLU Victory

WLU played with great effort, pushing the ball hard in transition, and subbing frequently in an effort to fatigue GU. WLU’s offensive efficiency rating was an outstanding 125, compared to an excellent 111 for GU (points per 100 possessions). D1 90th percentile is 113.

• IMHO, I suspect that WLU decided early in the game that they could beat GU in a half-court game, rather than trying to trap them the entire game and likely give up a significant number of easy points. Several guards posed matchup problems for GU, as GU got tired. WLU would focus their energy on tight defense, beating GU in transition, by using waves of personnel in short bursts. As a result, in the second half, they had conserved enough energy to play several of their players heavy minutes without a break, when needed to stop any potential GU runs or to improve scoring efficiency of WLU.
• IMHO, the difference in the game was West Liberty’s depth, energy, and will to win. In the second half, it seemed that WLU was getting run-outs in transition, as well as ripping the GU half-court defense for easy layups. At about the 8:30 mark in the second half, GU was down by 10, but did not have the energy for the extra push to significantly close the deficit. By the 3:28 mark the lead was 15. At the 1:32 mark, the lead reached 20 at 101-81, and WLU lost focus and was marking time to end the game. WLU missed 4 consecutive free throws, lowering their FT % from 84% to a subpar 65%. To their credit GU kept playing and narrowed the margin to 101-90.
• WLU shared the ball extremely well. WLU had 64% of goals from assists, compared to an excellent 56% for GU. 90th percentile for D1 is 59.8%
• WLU limited their fouls in the second half, committing only six, which kept GU out of 1-1. WLU entered the 1-and-1 with over 7 minutes remaining and got into the double bonus (10 GU fouls) with over 3 minutes remaining. This made it very difficult for GU to catch up after they fell behind.
• WLU rebounded extremely well.
• This game illustrated how fatigue reduces the skill of talented players, affecting their shooting and defense. The 3FG% for GU dropped from 44% in the 1st half to 29% in the second half. GU also fouled more frequently. IMHO, GU played their starters too long without a rest, which caught up to them in the second half.

Areas for Improvement for WLU

• When going inside against good teams like Gannon, there will be a multitude of hands slapping at the ball, which can result in above average turnovers.
• There were a couple of circus shots in the game. Players need to remember that a dunk counts no more than an easy layup.
• WLU lost focus in the last 1:32 of the game, essentially resulting in a 9-0 run. No team in the elite 8 is going to roll over and quit playing, even when the game is apparently out of reach.
 

[Topper_Hopper]

From NCAA.com.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...eres-what-know

Cal State Dominguez Hills. There is going to be a serious Toros' watch party going on as both the men's and women's teams danced their way to the DII Elite Eight — the only program to do so this year. As mentioned in the DII Women's Elite Eight preview, the Toros are the first team in CCAA history to have the men's and women's programs win six titles: two regular-season championships, two CCAA tournament championships, and two West Region championships. Now the Toros are making their DII Men's Elite Eight debut, taking on a program that is somewhat a regular to the event and two years removed from the national championship game.

West Liberty. West Liberty is back in the DII Men's Elite Eight for the first time since 2023. This is the eighth trip to the quarterfinals, and as usual, this team is cooking offensively. They have broken the century mark eight times in their last 10 games, including the Atlantic Region championship game, to advance to Evansville. The way the bracket is set up, we could see a 2023 rematch of coach vs. apprentice against Nova Southeastern, a game that could easily end with 300 total points on the board.

[Columbuseer]

Fyi
Coach Howkett named Atlantic Region Coach of the year!
He had 9 new players, 4 freshmen and 5 transfers.
Two of the transfers, Stewart and Shull got hurt, forcing him to burn the redshirt of Dragas.
Then Machi Chester, a promising freshman who played on Kevin Durant's AAU team in DC, got hurt and redshirted along with freshman Cooper Kent.
With only 10 players available, he did an amazing job in turning a rebuilding year into a conference championship.

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-2nd-team.aspx

Well deserved!

[boatcapt]

Fyi
Coach Howkett named Atlantic Region Coach of the year!
He had 9 new players, 4 freshmen and 5 transfers.
Two of the transfers, Stewart and Shull got hurt, forcing him to burn the redshirt of Dragas.
Then Machi Chester, a promising freshman who played on Kevin Durant's AAU team in DC, got hurt and redshirted along with freshman Cooper Kent.
With only 10 players available, he did an amazing job in turning a rebuilding year into a conference championship.

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...-2nd-team.aspx

Well deserved!

I think this was Ben's best season as a HC. It's one thing to coach a team when you have a roster full of players that are playing the way you coach AND at a high level. This wasn't that year at WLU. WLU had a collection of what I would call 3's and they weren't playing the WLU Style in the way we have seen Topper teams in the past. Ben masterfully twerked WLU on the fly taking what this crop of players did well and molded it into one of the best squads in the nation. He didn't try to force them to play the WLU Style instead bending the style to their skill set while layering traditional WLU ball on top. Hate the saying but this was a "Master Class" in how a coach can bend his style and still achieve the season goals.

Well earned award COACH!!!

[Layton]

This team is big and slow should be able to wear them out in the second half

[Layton]

Well I was right then we inexplicably forgot how to play basketball yikes

[TopperNation]

West Lib's system fails them again, as they don't have that 1 guy to get you a bucket when you need it. 18-0 and 23-2 runs in an elite 8 game is unheard of. I believe many of us on this board have said this for years, but I for one no longer care about 6 or 7 guys averaging 10+ points a game. Give me the guy that averages 22 plus points a game that can also get you a bucket when you need it and have 2 or 3 others at 9 points a game. Yes, West Liberty can win 25-30 games in the regular season and maybe win a conference regular season title, but the standard has been raised and now it's time to recruit or bring guys in who can flat out score. I had enough of the WL motto "we recruit H.S. winners", I'll take a H.S. guy who hasn't won much but can average 20 points a game on the Hilltop, lol. See you guys next season when the opening will be how good the guys look in open gym and how we brought in a guy who won 3 state titles, is a winner, and will average 13 points per game, haha.

This "system" guys thing doesn't work, you don't believe me look at Nova with Crutch. He went and got guys who can get you a bucket when the "system" breaks down! I've actually spoken to Crutch and he's made mention to this.

[Columbuseer]

Wlu got many good looks inside in second half that just did not drop.
toros did a great job taking away the three.
No system is infallible, but I will take 85% winning % every day.

Regarding nova, if folks are serious about competing with them, better open up the checkbook for $25k in nil per player. Why do you think our 6-6 2025 commit decommitted and went to nova?
Of the 12 d2 players on bevo francis watch list, 3 are from nova se. Graziani, iraldi, and cisarik.

[Columbuseer]

West Lib's system fails them again, as they don't have that 1 guy to get you a bucket when you need it. 18-0 and 23-2 runs in an elite 8 game is unheard of. I believe many of us on this board have said this for years, but I for one no longer care about 6 or 7 guys averaging 10+ points a game. Give me the guy that averages 22 plus points a game that can also get you a bucket when you need it and have 2 or 3 others at 9 points a game. Yes, West Liberty can win 25-30 games in the regular season and maybe win a conference regular season title, but the standard has been raised and now it's time to recruit or bring guys in who can flat out score. I had enough of the WL motto "we recruit H.S. winners", I'll take a H.S. guy who hasn't won much but can average 20 points a game on the Hilltop, lol. See you guys next season when the opening will be how good the guys look in open gym and how we brought in a guy who won 3 state titles, is a winner, and will average 13 points per game, haha.

This "system" guys thing doesn't work, you don't believe me look at Nova with Crutch. He went and got guys who can get you a bucket when the "system" breaks down! I've actually spoken to Crutch and he's made mention to this.

High school
Dragas 28 ppg
Shuler 29 ppg
d'Augustino 28 ppg against double teams
Tinsley 21 ppg

We were forced to play guys who we normally would redshirt due to injury.
So we do have scorers.

[Scrub]

We can claim to be disappointed in the system, or the players in the system, or winning only 30 games a year, or whatever. But let's make sure to get a few things straight:

1. The Toros came out and earned this win. Hats off to the CSUDH guys for not folding up the tents when down 17 in the second half. They really turned up the defense (which is the calling card of their system), and they executed their game plan in the second half better than WLU did. Period. Give credit where it's due--great game by the Toros. Great halftime adjustment.

2. Most of us have said all year that this hasn't been a vintage WLU team. WLU historically HAS had the guy who can get you 22 points when the system breaks (remember Butler, Bolon, Monteroso, Cedric Harris, Bonifant, Alex Falk, Corey Pelle, etc., etc., etc.?). This edition just didn't have that guy. Never did, and we kinda knew it all year long. So don't pretend that Howlett doesn't want that guy. He wants that guy. He just didn't get that guy this year. But for a sort of "island of misfit toys" edition of WLU basketball, I'd say an Elite 8 appearance is a pretty dang good result.

3. And, yes, I've heard some talk--as Columbus alluded to above--that we have lost out on recruits to Nova (no secret Ben & Crutch are chasing the same kind of guy) because Nova has deep pockets (due to a very successful med school) and can pony up NIL money for D2 players. It's also no secret that the beach is a heck of a lot easier to recruit than a hilltop in West Virginia where the nearest gas station is 12 miles away. But for a program that is fighting against all of those recruiting challenges, I'm pretty pleased with the consistent results and am proud to be a Hilltopper fan (even on a day they blow a big lead and lose).

[Funny side note about WLU's location: I was talking to a Fayetteville fan during the Regionals last week, and his remark was this: "The students here must all get straight A's." I didn't really follow the assertion, so I said "Why do you say that?" And his answer was, "Because there sure as hell isn't anything better to do up here than just study!"]

[boatcapt]

Two numbers tell you everything you need to know about this game...26 and 15. Both are death for WLU and have happened all to often this year. 26% from 3 and 15 points from WLUs bench. WLU just isn't going to win in the Tourney with numbers like that. Yes we can get through a regular season game against lesser opponents on heart and moxy alone, but eventually as the quality of opponents increases, we fail.

Ben needs to take a deep dive on this team and make some hard choices on who should come back. Maybe we need to ditch an "athlete" or two for a sharp shooter who does nothing but drain 3's. We seem to have an abundance of players who can float to the rim...what we need are a couple of guys who "just" drain 3s

[bballfan03]

West Lib's system fails them again, as they don't have that 1 guy to get you a bucket when you need it. 18-0 and 23-2 runs in an elite 8 game is unheard of. I believe many of us on this board have said this for years, but I for one no longer care about 6 or 7 guys averaging 10+ points a game. Give me the guy that averages 22 plus points a game that can also get you a bucket when you need it and have 2 or 3 others at 9 points a game. Yes, West Liberty can win 25-30 games in the regular season and maybe win a conference regular season title, but the standard has been raised and now it's time to recruit or bring guys in who can flat out score. I had enough of the WL motto "we recruit H.S. winners", I'll take a H.S. guy who hasn't won much but can average 20 points a game on the Hilltop, lol. See you guys next season when the opening will be how good the guys look in open gym and how we brought in a guy who won 3 state titles, is a winner, and will average 13 points per game, haha.

This "system" guys thing doesn't work, you don't believe me look at Nova with Crutch. He went and got guys who can get you a bucket when the "system" breaks down! I've actually spoken to Crutch and he's made mention to this.

Even with only playing 7-8 guys total, Crutch is still running the system though. You're correct, however, that he has better shooters than WLU and Gannon did. But he's still running the system.. just with less guys. The system isn't so much about having 10 guys to rotate every 3 minutes.. but playing the fast paced, run and gun offense and the chaotic full court press.

[Columbuseer]

Even with only playing 7-8 guys total, Crutch is still running the system though. You're correct, however, that he has better shooters than WLU and Gannon did. But he's still running the system.. just with less guys. The system isn't so much about having 10 guys to rotate every 3 minutes.. but playing the fast paced, run and gun offense and the chaotic full court press.

To me, run and gun is Grinnell.
Nova se took great shots, with 14 assist on 19 made shots. They play fast but commit few turnovers per possession

[TopperNation]

Well, we can all agree that the current roster needs some adjustments. They have no knock down 3 point shooter or a player that you can give the ball to and say get me a bucket. Yes, basketball is a team sport, but to win a national title you need to have at least 1 player who can create his own shot at any given moment, WL doesn't have that guy.