West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

WL has always been small by traditional standards. Even the Seger years they weren't imposing. This year is a different animal. That's a pretty small lineup.

I'd guess most nights it won't matter. They will just out-score teams and run them to death.

I'll be curious, however, when they match up with a team just as talented who has legit bigs.

Granted, that won't happen very often ... but it will eventually. The Atlantic has some elite bigs this year. Eventually they will have to contend with a Sleva, etc.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

WL has always been small by traditional standards. Even the Seger years they weren't imposing. This year is a different animal. That's a pretty small lineup.

I'd guess most nights it won't matter. They will just out-score teams and run them to death.

I'll be curious, however, when they match up with a team just as talented who has legit bigs.

Granted, that won't happen very often ... but it will eventually. The Atlantic has some elite bigs this year. Eventually they will have to contend with a Sleva, etc.

I think that will be a problem. IMHO, I think their thought process on dealing with a productive big will be to trade 2's for 3's...not such a bad thing having an opponents big get 30 inside points when you are getting 45 on the same number of possessions. Also, we will have bench players with fouls to give so maybe they can come in and play SUPER aggressive against the productive big.

With such a small line-up, 3 point shooting % and pressure D is going to be absolutely critical. It can be done but our margin of error will be razor thin. As a team if we have a cold shooting night, we will probably lose. Of course, with so many shooters the chance of ALL of them being cold on the same night are pretty small.

[IUP Extra Mile]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Thoughts on the MEC preseason poll...I know it's only for talking points, and for us to use as a benchmark as you enter the season...But I'm not surprised that WL is voted 3rd...They lost a starting team....Think about it...You have a Top 10 team that either graduated or transferred
PG Dennis
SG Hoehn
SF Clay
PF Kirkbride
C Grossenbacher

That being said, I'm optimistic... I forgot about Griffin, who finished last year playing really well...Adds some needed size, good 3 point shooting, and was able to drive the lane pretty well...

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Fairmont has a tough road prior to Christmas.

Give them credit ... taking road games at Findlay and at IUP in the non-conference.

Also before the break, FSU plays at WLU and hosts Wheeling Jesuit and Cal.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Thoughts on the MEC preseason poll...I know it's only for talking points, and for us to use as a benchmark as you enter the season...But I'm not surprised that WL is voted 3rd...They lost a starting team....Think about it...You have a Top 10 team that either graduated or transferred
PG Dennis
SG Hoehn
SF Clay
PF Kirkbride
C Grossenbacher

That being said, I'm optimistic... I forgot about Griffin, who finished last year playing really well...Adds some needed size, good 3 point shooting, and was able to drive the lane pretty well...

Imho, Griffin has the potential to be a dominant player. He just needs to work on defense against post players, especially down low, and his offensive moves with his back to the basket like Seger did before his Sr. Year. I am interested in seeing his improvement this season. With so many starters gone, who has put in the work to step up their game to the next level and take advantage of the opportunity?

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Thoughts on the MEC preseason poll...I know it's only for talking points, and for us to use as a benchmark as you enter the season...But I'm not surprised that WL is voted 3rd...They lost a starting team....Think about it...You have a Top 10 team that either graduated or transferred
PG Dennis
SG Hoehn
SF Clay
PF Kirkbride
C Grossenbacher

That being said, I'm optimistic... I forgot about Griffin, who finished last year playing really well...Adds some needed size, good 3 point shooting, and was able to drive the lane pretty well...

The only ones I'm concerned with losing off your list are Dennis, Hoehn and Gross. And of those three, I think Gross is the biggest loss...or perhaps more correctly, the loss that we don't seem to have a replacement for. I think Arnold will do a pretty good job replacing Dennis (maybe not just as good, but a lot closer than people are giving him credit for)...Several players on WLU's roster have the same skill set as Hoehn (I think Bolon could end up being the best of two or three vieing to "replace" Hoehn)...Kirk gave us "hussle" minutes but really wasn't that productive. Clay was primarily an off the bench player who was a "typical" WLU guy...I think Smith is more than capable of filling this role.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Like you said who will reject shots and rebound like gross? Not obvious. Maybe Ochoa or moore but it is asking a lot to expect it next year.

I would rate hoehn close #2 after gross. He had ice water in his veins at crunch time. Great shooter under pressure. I would put Dennis at #3 even though I am a big fan and he is very talented. He needed to improve 3 pt shot and settle for 8 ft shot in the lane like hearn instead of attempting difficult shot at the rim. Very difficult to guard however. He was a good passer too.
I am intrigued by the transfers especially Watson at pg.. He might be quicker than Dennis based on some videos I have seen.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I don't know ...

If Dennis wanted to come here ... I'd have personally paid for the limo to pick him up.

He's pretty special. He was only a sophomore. Two years to go ... monster.

The guy you guys don't talk about much is the one who played for Valdosta last year. He had some serious stats. It will be interesting to see him and Clay play together.

There will be some nights not having that big will be an issue. Vorhees and Highsmith will cause some problems.

Side note: I don't get Pat Moseh and Highsmith not getting any preseason accolades. That's crazy. Those two are going to be elite this year.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Bo justice plays for Valdosta. A complete player and intense competitor. Saw a lot of minutes off the bench as a frosh at wl. Thought he had a great future at wl just like clay. Don't know why he left. Think he made all conf at Valdosta Last year.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I don't know ...

If Dennis wanted to come here ... I'd have personally paid for the limo to pick him up.

He's pretty special. He was only a sophomore. Two years to go ... monster.

The guy you guys don't talk about much is the one who played for Valdosta last year. He had some serious stats. It will be interesting to see him and Clay play together.

There will be some nights not having that big will be an issue. Vorhees and Highsmith will cause some problems.

Side note: I don't get Pat Moseh and Highsmith not getting any preseason accolades. That's crazy. Those two are going to be elite this year.

I think from a pure basketball ability standpoint, Dennis is the top of the WLU players who are not returning. What I was saying is that Arnold is a pretty high quality "replacement" for him so his loss will be somewhat mitigated...maybe not a 100% replacement but 80-90% which ain't bad!. The one player we did not replace is Gross. Net/net, I think the biggest loss will be Gross.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Bo justice plays for Valdosta. A complete player and intense competitor. Saw a lot of minutes off the bench as a frosh at wl. Thought he had a great future at wl just like clay. Don't know why he left. Think he made all conf at Valdosta Last year.

Valdosta is one of "those" colleges. I count one player on the roster who did not transfer from another college to the program. I note that they show Gauzilotte's previous school as "West Liberty HS" and Justice's previous as "West Liberty State." 10 juniors and seniors on their roster but only three of those played at Valdosta last season. You think WLU is going to have trouble replacing five departures...Imagine 10!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Valdosta is one of "those" colleges. I count one player on the roster who did not transfer from another college to the program. I note that they show Gauzilotte's previous school as "West Liberty HS" and Justice's previous as "West Liberty State." 10 juniors and seniors on their roster but only three of those played at Valdosta last season. You think WLU is going to have trouble replacing five departures...Imagine 10!

I am curious. What's up with wholesale replacement? Grades? Does d2 cut capable players loose if they can get a better transfer? Closer to home I saw a lot of new faces on glenville roster and missing upperclassmen that I thought were decent last year. Charleston coach mentioned a lot of new players at press conference. Does team like Valdosta promise that you will be the main man if you transfer? Academically, it ranks well below wlu and nsu.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

There's a ton of these programs out there. Slippery Rock is the PSAC version. New team yearly. Not to say they don't win ... but those schools will rarely ever win in March.

High school recruiting is tough. There's pressure to win immediately. Schools with a lot of scholarship money can take high school players to develop but the lure of taking kids ready to play is strong.

The culture of college basketball is so transfer heavy now at all levels. Transfers all think they should be the star, too. Most anyway.

IUP takes a lot but rarely one-year guys. Dyer of course was one but you can't pass that kind up.

Different era, I guess.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I am curious. What's up with wholesale replacement? Grades? Does d2 cut capable players loose if they can get a better transfer? Closer to home I saw a lot of new faces on glenville roster and missing upperclassmen that I thought were decent last year. Charleston coach mentioned a lot of new players at press conference. Does team like Valdosta promise that you will be the main man if you transfer? Academically, it ranks well below wlu and nsu.

I don't know the reason players leave but it is clear that some programs traffic in transfers more than others. Bring them in for a year, if they don't cut it in the classroom or on the basketball court, get rid of them and bring in a new crop of transfers. Functional equivalent of a semi pro team.

[Layton]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anyone go to the scrimmage tonight