West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

In looking over the wlu roster, it appears that it contains an inordinate amount of experience, even for wlu, where 10 players see significant action. IMHO a common thread for deep runs in ncaa is a highly experienced roster.

Consider just the college game minutes played:

Cannady 2616
Mckinney 2539
Montague 2305
Butler 2100
West 1680
Sampson 1506
Rasile 939
Hinds 856
Sarson 597
Webb 263

Spadafora 0 redshirt
Woodard 0 elite prep
Barnhart 0 high school

The pre season open gym games should be incredibly competitive! Another positive outcome is that the younger players will improve even more rapidly due to playing against proven, skilled, experienced players.

[Columbuseer]

Observations: WLU Team 3 pt FG% during regular 21-22 season

Bin	Frequency
20.00%	1
29.75%	5
39.50%	12
49.25%	6
59.00%	5
More	1

3fg% Std. Deviation		0.110972
3FG% Median		36%
3FG% Mean		39%

[Columbuseer]

FYI

Luke and Garrett Denbow landed at Anderson Univ., a D2 private Southern Baptist school in Anderson, SC. New coach and only 7 players on roster so my guess is they both probably got scholarships.

I definitely suggest that they pursue at least a minor in Ethics LOL.

Tough road to tourney... Lincoln Memorial, Queens, etc.

IMHO their wlu replacements are significant upgrades.

[Columbuseer]

Nice addition roster is shaping up nicely. Any spots left?

Have no info.
By my count we have 13.
7 returnees
4 transfers
1 hs
1 prep school

Last year they had 15, which is a number they liked since it provided a buffer for the inevitable practice injuries. However, they don't recruit practice cannon fodder, but only guys who can compete.
My uninformed guess is they would like at least one more player, provided they are a fit.

[Layton]

Nice addition roster is shaping up nicely. Any spots left?

[Columbuseer]

Great news!
Wlu has signed Michael Sampson, a double double machine with 2 years to play. Could fill rebounding void left by Marlon Moore Jr. 6-4 forward with arms of 6-10 player is a big advantage on defense.
https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...r-2022-23.aspx


Excerpts:
Sampson is no stranger to Hilltopper fans or the rest of the Mountain East Conference as the Houston, Texas native put up some impressive numbers while starting every game for Notre Dame over the past two seasons.
The 6-4 southpaw scored more than 500 points and grabbed over 400 rebounds during his two seasons with the Falcons while shooting a blistering 63 percent (215-of-341) from the floor. He led NDC in rebounds (8.1 rpg.), steals and blocks while ranking second on the team with 75 assists this season. He had 16 double-figure scoring games and 10 double-figure rebound games.
Among his season highlights were an 11-point, 15-rebound night in an 82-81 upset of West Liberty on Nov. 23 and a career-high 22-point game against Davis & Elkins on Dec. 8. Sampson finished the season ranked among the Top 5 in the MEC in Offensive Rebounds, Defensive Rebounds and Steals.

[Columbuseer]

There's the rub. He has things in his skill set that we haven't had in a big in quite a while. Will we take advantage of those "different" skills or will we use him as nothing more than a really big guard?

I suspect we will leverage all his skills, based on what the opponent is giving us, just like we did with Viktor last year.

Viktor was quite good with his back to the basket (see Bowie State against athletic 6-8 big as an example). Viktor was also one of the best interior passers we have had in recent years, which will be hard to replace. We got many layups by Viktor drawing big away from basket, leaving big gaps in defense for an assist from Viktor.

Having a big who can also play outside puts additional stress on the opponent's typical one-dimensional traditional bigs.

Concord HOF Coach Cox (broadcast analyst) said as much describing Viktor during game at Concord, where he blew by defender from the corner for a score. He said Concord's bigs are not used to guarding opponents away from the basket. He said you don't often see bigs with those skills. He definitely considered it as an advantage.

[boatcapt]

Chaz Hinds season average based on 27 mins per game

2 pt fg. 60%
3pt fg. 35% avg 2.5 attempts per game
Offensive efficiency 58%
Scoring avg 15; 22 pts per 40 min
Rebounds 7
Assists 3
Steals 1.5

He is a typical wlu recruit who can do a bit of everything. Just happens to be 6-8 with very muscular frame. Big difference from a skinny 6-7 freshman.

His 60% 2 pt fg % and 7 rebounds indicate he is comfortable inside. IMHO Much better footwork and handles compared to prior bigs that have transferred out of wlu in the past.

There's the rub. He has things in his skill set that we haven't had in a big in quite a while. Will we take advantage of those "different" skills or will we use him as nothing more than a really big guard?

[Columbuseer]

Chaz Hinds season average based on 27 mins per game

2 pt fg. 60%
3pt fg. 35% avg 2.5 attempts per game
Offensive efficiency 58%
Scoring avg 15; 22 pts per 40 min
Rebounds 7
Assists 3
Steals 1.5

He is a typical wlu recruit who can do a bit of everything. Just happens to be 6-8 with very muscular frame. Big difference from a skinny 6-7 freshman.

His 60% 2 pt fg % and 7 rebounds indicate he is comfortable inside. IMHO Much better footwork and handles compared to prior bigs that have transferred out of wlu in the past.

[boatcapt]

Chaz Hinds listed variably as 6-8 or 6-9 and 210 to 225. If he's at the upper end, that would make him the biggest big we've had in quite a while. Much will depend on how we use him...will he be a talk guard or will we use his size? Looks like he's improved his 3 point stroke since his season at UPike. If he wants to see minutes, he better continue to take and make 3s or his minutes will fall to single digits/mopup duty.

[Columbuseer]

Total speculation on 22-23 platoons
Thoughts, ideas?

Alpha platoon
1. Butler
2. McKinney
3. Montague
Positions 4 and 5 are harder to predict.
One guess:
4. Sarson
5. West or Cannady, depending on matchups.

Bravo platoon
1. Rasile
2. Webb
3. Spadafora
4. West or Cannady
5. Woodard or Hinds

Possible redshirt:
Barnhart?
Woodard?

Redshirting may depend on progress of players and availability of meaningful minutes.

[Columbuseer]

https://twitter.com/chaz_hinds/statu...m-yZt-2ew3Az4g

Far from juco stereotype. For example, 4.0 GPA.
Has the skill set to play positionless basketball.
Also very strong physically.

[Layton]

https://twitter.com/chaz_hinds/statu...m-yZt-2ew3Az4g

[boatcapt]

That actually makes a lot of sense, Boat. I'm not sure how feasible it is, but it makes sense.

I suspect Crutch originally started a non-traditional system because of the difficulty of recruiting high-class athletes to an isolated hilltop in WV. So his path to building a respectable program was to find motivated kids who weren't getting chances elsewhere, and the system he built reflects that. But the rest of the region has adjusted. Howlett punched back by using the program's history of success to get better athletes who are willing to run the system. So far, that hasn't brought significant postseason success. That doesn't mean it can't, but it hasn't.

But let's also make a nod to the fact that it's REALLY HARD to have enough go right in a season to hoist that NC trophy (don't let McCollum fool you--it's REALLY HARD). So hard that no team from this very deep and strong Atlantic Region has done it. Not perennial power IUP; not Dustin Sleva's Ship team; not even the seemingly unstoppable Matt Bingaya Fairmont team (who fell to McCollum's first NC team).

So while Howlett's more athletic version of the Crutch system hasn't yielded results yet, that doesn't mean it won't. But you're correct, Boat, that there will come a time (perhaps in the near future) when WLU will need to look very hard in the mirror and decide what it wants to be heading into the future.

I agree with your observations about why Crutch created the style, how Ben has responded to the general improvement in the MEC and across the Atlantic and the difficulty of winning NC's. It's a pretty rare "problem"...most programs are going to be happy with a conf or team tourney championship ever couple of seasons and get an NCAA invite every now and again.

[Columbuseer]

Obviously, garlic, mirrors and holy water were ineffective against the emergence of the "alternate style" proselytizing.

We know factual bullet points bounce off harmlessly. Deductive and inductive reasoning have no effect.
Maybe reciting Aesop' s "The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs" will work. :-)