West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Layton]

I hope we bring in a D1 transfer big, portal could be huge for us

[Scrub]

Elija Watson has entered the portal.

You called that one, Boat.

[boatcapt]

Elija Watson has entered the portal.

[Columbuseer]

OT
down 19 in first half Nova se had 9-0 run to end half down by 10.
?????union tn, former naia power, had serious d1 level athletes. Boykin was unstoppable from 3 and nova was shooting poorly.

Second half Nova came back. Down 1 with 3 secs left, Nova has out of bounds under their basket. They do a tip play to guard in front of rim who dribbles once and powers in a 3 ft shot to win with 0.5 sec left 81-80.

Worth watching the last 3 mins. Exciting stuff.

[Columbuseer]

... but in reality WL isn't a great shooting team as currently constructed. .

What hurt wlu this year was high degree of variation in shooting %. But they are a great shooting team.

Out of 300+ d2 teams
wlu is 4th in fg%
Wlu is 22nd in 3pt %.

It would really take some serious detailed study to find root cause for those abysmal shooting games... mechanics? Balance? foot position? Contested shots? Fatigue?
not sure.

When we shot poorly in the past, we compensated by rebounding well or scoring off turnovers. That did not happen yesterday.

[boatcapt]

Given the depth of your insight into most things WLU MBB, would you care to name any players on the current roster who have significant talent but simply don't, or won't, play the style BH demands of them. In other words who may be popping up on the TP thread in the next few days.

Not to beat a horse, but Watson is probably the best example. He has obvious skills but I don't think, at least thus far, his skills are what WLU values. While he did improve dramatically in 3 point shooting, he just doesn't seem inclined to pull the trigger often enough to be an integral part of the Toppers offense. I love his motor and he shows the potential to be a top notch board sweeper. Limited sample size but he seems very willing to dive on the floor and do the little things that don't necessarily make the stat sheet.

[IUPalum]

Nobody talked down on your program, just your boy Boatcap for all the garbage he spews!

[IUPalum]

McKinney spent way too much time yapping with the crowd yesterday.

He wanted to fight those guys after the game! It was awesome! Thin skin!

[TopperNation]

As a fan of West Liberty Basketball and former recruit of the HillToppers I appreciate and like the success that the team rolls out year in and year out, but we do have to admit that we do have a few misses that are currently on the roster. I mean every team in D2 can atleast admit that happens from time to time, no team gets it right 100 percent. WL just needs to figure out how long to stick with a couple of the players or to replace them. I like Ben Howlett as a coach, he just needs to be able to adjust his style during the game when the "West Liberty way" isn't working. By that I mean when you are full court pressing and the other team isn't even blinking an eye breaking it, leading to dunks and wide open three's. In theory that's how Ben wants to play, but in reality WL isn't a great shooting team as currently constructed. It wouldn't hurt either to be able to switch up defenses like a 3/4 or half court trap, you can still speed the game up but also be in better position to defend and rebound. I still support this program fully and enjoyed this years team, but I also look forward to a few additions and subtractions.

[Layton]

Malik draws charges and shoots 50% from three. He and cmont are lock down guards. deadly on the drive. good judgment.

Zach has improved his defense impressively since last year. No longer just a 45% sniper and rarely commits turnovers. Hits the boards like Dyer. AD Ullom says Zach is now much more than a shooter.

I think Webb was playing not to make an offensive mistake with so many experienced teammates. Understandable for a freshman. He missed a lot of games in high school and was thrown into the fire due to yoakum injury.

Elijah is improving. When it clicks, he will become a human eraser, like keene cockburn. His minutes went down due to Viktor, emergence of sarson and of course Marlon.

Garrett shoots 45% from three. This is really his first year of college ball. Defense is improving. We recruited him hard out of high school. He will surprise next year imho.

[Layton]

(You realize IUP has been to two NC games, right? They have plenty of banners of their own).

[Scrub]

McKinney spent way too much time yapping with the crowd yesterday.

He's definitely prone to some mental lapses (led the team in Technicals this season). But his defense is integral to what WLU is trying to do. McKinney was regularly tasked with checking the opponent's best player, and if you look at some of the league's star guards vs. WLU this season, they are, on the average, below their normal scoring output. That's in large part due to McKinney's constant pressure.

[CALUPA69]

If I were a coach, I would refrain from critiquing but I'm not. I don't think the problems players are having is a matter of not working hard. I think it's a matter of ability vice potential. It's also a matter of quantity and team style. Ben favors a particular type of player. If a player fits that style but is slow to develop, should you keep him around when other players with the same skill set develop quicker and are more helpful to the teams performance? Same with a player whos development shows he's probably not going to have a skill set that Ben finds useful. Should that player waist his time at WLU or should he seek to transfer to a program were his skills are more likely to be valued and utalized?

Given the depth of your insight into most things WLU MBB, would you care to name any players on the current roster who have significant talent but simply don't, or won't, play the style BH demands of them. In other words who may be popping up on the TP thread in the next few days.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

McKinney spent way too much time yapping with the crowd yesterday.

[boatcapt]

I understand fans are disappointed in 1st round loss. But it does no good to denigrate players from behind the computer keyboard. Tell it face to face to their parents. Tell me how it is received. Lol

1. Players are turning down d1 offers to play at wlu. Ben is a tireless recruiter and has excellent judgment in the very inexact science of recruiting.
??????2. Players are getting stronger. That is a fact. New weight room is big addition.
3. Very hard to go undefeated, regardless of style of play. Even nwmsu loses. However, everyone wants the final game to occur later in March.
4. Location often plays a role in where a student decides to go to college. Parents have even told me that they were somewhat wary about the wlu location. That is reality.
5. Other schools have scholarships and good players. Wvsu had a senior laden team that was arguably one of the most athletic in d2. When on, they are very hard to beat.

If I were a coach, I would refrain from critiquing but I'm not. I don't think the problems players are having is a matter of not working hard. I think it's a matter of ability vice potential. It's also a matter of quantity and team style. Ben favors a particular type of player. If a player fits that style but is slow to develop, should you keep him around when other players with the same skill set develop quicker and are more helpful to the teams performance? Same with a player whos development shows he's probably not going to have a skill set that Ben finds useful. Should that player waist his time at WLU or should he seek to transfer to a program were his skills are more likely to be valued and utilized?

I dont know if any or all of the players I highlighted stay or chose to go but I do believe they are the most likley to be asking themselves if staying is in their best interest.