West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

Bryce Butler MEC player of the year!

• can beat you from three, off the dribble, and with his back to the basket in the low post.
• 68% two-pt FG%
• 42% three-pt FG%
• 7.3 rebounds with his 6-5 frame
• 1.68 assist to turnover ratio
• Leading offensive rebounder and leading defensive rebounder
• 3rd on team in assists
• Very strong defender
• Runs the court hard in transition

Butler, a 6-5 third-year sophomore from Latrobe, Pa., exploded onto the MEC scene this winter in his first full season as a starter. The second-leading scorer (18.6 ppg.) and leading rebounder (7.3 rpg.) on the nation's highest-scoring team, Butler ranks 9^th in the country with 222 made field goals and is 10^th in field-goal percentage (222-of-347, .640). He has scored double-figures in 27 of 28 games with a team-high 8 double-doubles. A 1.000-point scorer, Butler posted season- and career-highs of 30 points at Fairmont State, 13 rebounds vs. W.Va. State and 9 assists at Glenville State.

[Scrub]

Ben Howlett MEC coach of year!

• Lost will yoakum to injury who was all mec
• Had 6 new players including 3 transfers
• Played challenging out of conference schedule
• 4 points away from being undefeated

It's the second MEC Coach of the Year Award for Howlett, who is now in his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater. The former All-Region guard has proven to be just as adept on the sidelines as he was on the court. His 125-20 (.862) career record gives him the highest career winning percentage of any NCAA men's coach with 5 or more seasons on the bench.

As a side note: I thought Audrey Tingle got robbed on the women's side. That's to take nothing away from Re'Shawna Stone--she's an absolute star who, in any other year, is an obvious POY. But Tingle's season was historic on a national level, so how does her own conference not vote her POY?

[Columbuseer]

Ben Howlett MEC coach of year!

• Lost will yoakum to injury who was all mec
• Had 6 new players including 3 transfers
• Played challenging out of conference schedule
• 4 points away from being undefeated

It's the second MEC Coach of the Year Award for Howlett, who is now in his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater. The former All-Region guard has proven to be just as adept on the sidelines as he was on the court. His 125-20 (.862) career record gives him the highest career winning percentage of any NCAA men's coach with 5 or more seasons on the bench.

[Columbuseer]

FYI since recruiting is in full swing...

So many parents and players have unrealistic expectations. One NCAA survey: Over 70% of basketball players thought they had the skills to play in NBA. The odds are more like 1%.
Article written before transfer portal started drying up slots available for high school players, which makes it even more relevant.



THE TRUTH ABOUT PLAYING DIVISION 2 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

https://proskillsbasketball.com/play...ge-basketball/


February 2, 2017 by Brendan

Key points follow:

#1 High-Quality Basketball

#2 Scholarships Are Available

#3 Not Everyone Can Play D2 Basketball

#4 You Can Still Go Pro

#5 Hundreds of D1 Players Transfer to D2 Every Year

[boatcapt]

No crutches or boot on Saturday. He was merely in street clothes on the bench, but I took the lack of boot or crutches as a good sign.

That is a positive. Give him the first round bye and Qtr Final game to recover and role him out on the second five for the semi's. Makes our second unit even stronger with a proven starter in it!

[Scrub]

Looks like Yokum has largely knocked the rust off going 10 of 14 shooting including 3 of 6 from three and scoring 13 and 14 the last two games. While Sarson was having a really good step-up second year and should be a force in the future, a healthy Yokum is a pretty big upgrade. Yokum's return was also very fortuitus given Sarson's injury vs NDC. Has anyone heard an injury report on Sarson? Hopefully he can return and add his ability to an already potent "second platoon."

No crutches or boot on Saturday. He was merely in street clothes on the bench, but I took the lack of boot or crutches as a good sign.

[boatcapt]

Observations West Liberty at Wheeling U 2/26/22

Wheeling Strategy[LIST][*]Although they lack height and depth, WU has some very talented, experienced scorers, who can score both inside and out. They are talented one-on-one players. They have played many close games against good opponents.[*][FONT=Calibri]Typical goals for WLU opponents: Avoid turnovers, rebound, draw fouls, and take the open three-point shot. Attack the rim only if it leads to a good chance to draw a two-shot foul on WLU or leads to an open three. Otherwise, be patient in the half-court offense and share the ball to get a good shot.

Looks like Yokum has largely knocked the rust off going 10 of 14 shooting including 3 of 6 from three and scoring 13 and 14 the last two games. While Sarson was having a really good step-up second year and should be a force in the future, a healthy Yokum is a pretty big upgrade. Yokum's return was also very fortuitus given Sarson's injury vs NDC. Has anyone heard an injury report on Sarson? Hopefully he can return and add his ability to an already potent "second platoon."

[Columbuseer]

FYI - end of regular season stats

• Nation-leading scoring increased to 100.8, as WLU scored 109 against Wheeling on only 84 possession for an amazing 1.30 points per possession.
• West Liberty is in the top 4 nationally in 8 categories!
• West Liberty is in the top 10 nationally in 9 categories!
• 90^th percentile in 14 categories!
• ^th in nation at FG 51.70%
• WLU 3FG% edged upward to 38.91% (19^th in nation)
• Assists are #2, up to 20.7 a game, which is an indicator of how much they share the ball, especially when one considers the scoop and scores on steals, which are generally not applicable for assists
• Assist to turnover ratio is an amazing 1.69, considering the rapid pace of play and the increased number of possessions in a game.
• Wheeling shot extremely well and WLU was below par at the foul line, which reduced their stats in these areas.
• Three-point attempts ranking declined, because WU was defending the three and giving up the inside score.

Date	National Ranking	West Liberty rank	Value
2/27/2022	Scoring Offense	1	100.80
2/27/2022	Scoring Margin	1	20
2/27/2022	Assists Per Game	2	20.70
2/27/2022	Steals Per Game	3	11.00
2/27/2022	Turnover Margin	3	7.00
2/27/2022	Turnovers Forced	3	19.29
2/27/2022	Assist Turnover Ratio	3	1.69
2/27/2022	Field-Goal Percentage	4	51.70
2/27/2022	Three-Point Field Goals Per Game	6	11.00
2/27/2022	Three-Point Attempts	11	789
2/27/2022	Offensive Rebounds per game	14	13.21
2/27/2022	Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage	19	38.91
2/27/2022	Free-Throw Attempts	22	586
2/27/2022	Free-Throw Made	27	420
2/27/2022	Blocked Shots Per Game	45	3.80
2/27/2022	Rebound Margin	45	4.00
2/27/2022	Total Rebounds per game	47	38.63
2/27/2022	Free-Throw Percentage	142	71.67
2/27/2022	Defensive Rebounds per game	163	25.39
2/27/2022	Field-Goal Percentage Defense	217	45.94

[Columbuseer]

Observations West Liberty at Wheeling U 2/26/22

Wheeling Strategy

• Although they lack height and depth, WU has some very talented, experienced scorers, who can score both inside and out. They are talented one-on-one players. They have played many close games against good opponents.
• Typical goals for WLU opponents: Avoid turnovers, rebound, draw fouls, and take the open three-point shot. Attack the rim only if it leads to a good chance to draw a two-shot foul on WLU or leads to an open three. Otherwise, be patient in the half-court offense and share the ball to get a good shot.

WU succeeded in drawing fouls and shot extremely well. WU had an outstanding 59.3% effective FG shooting %, sparked by their 64% three-point %.

Keys to WLU Victory

• WLU forced 19 turnovers, with 53% being steals. They forced several time outs to avoid 5 second turnovers on inbounds pass.
• WU tried many players to guard Bryce inside, to no avail. Inside, he shot 77% (10-13) and 100% from three (2-2)
• Patrick was 58% inside (7-12), despite an off-night for threes (1-4). He wreaked havoc with 3 steals and 3 offensive rebounds.
• With Ben Sarson injured, Will Yoakum played a hefty 22 minutes, hitting 75% (3-4) inside and 67% from three (2-3). He is rapidly regaining his pre-injury form.
• WU fatigue, especially in the second half, took its toll. WLU leveraged their depth, with no one playing over 29 minutes, with 9 players getting at least 12 minutes.
  • WU conceded all rebounds off their misses to WLU. No one was trying to get an offensive rebound.

Statistic	WLU	Opponent	Advantage To:
Team	WLU	At Wheeling
Date	2/26/22	2/26/2022
Score	109-94		WLU
w/l	W	L	WLU
FG	45	33	WLU
FGA	77	63	WLU
FG Pct	58%	52%	WLU
3FG	10	9	=
3 FGA	19	14	WLU
3 FG PCT	53%	64%	WU
FT	9	19	WU
FTA	13	25	WU
FT PCT	69%	76%	WU
Off Reb	12	7	WLU
Def Reb	26	19	WLU
Tot Reb	38	26	WLU
Reb Per Game	38.6	33.9	WLU
PF	22	13	WU
Assist	21	10	WLU
TO	13	19	WLU
Blk	1	2	WU
Stl	10	6	WLU
Pts	109	94	WLU
Avg Pts Per Game	100.8	80.1	WLU
Steals per Forced TO	53%	46%	WLU
Assist to TO Ratio	1.62	0.53	WLU
Assist per FG	47%	30%	WLU
Points Per FGA	1.42	1.49	WU
Points Per Possession	1.30	1.09	WLU
Num Possessions	84	86	=
OppDefReb	19	26	WLU
Off Reb Effic	39%	21%	WLU
Forced TO	19	13	WLU
Game num	28	28	=
Two Pt FG %	60.3%	49.0%	WLU
Effective Shooting %	64.9%	59.5%	WLU

[Layton]

I agree that it felt like a very strange senior night. The volume of seniors was notable, as you pointed out. Also, the fact that 3-4 of those seniors had 0 family members in attendance. They were walked out onto the floor by their underclass teammates. I'd never seen anything like that. The whole thing just had a pro forma (as opposed to a truly celebratory) feel. It was odd.

[Scrub]

Wheeling has about 15 senior basketball players

I agree that it felt like a very strange senior night. The volume of seniors was notable, as you pointed out. Also, the fact that 3-4 of those seniors had 0 family members in attendance. They were walked out onto the floor by their underclass teammates. I'd never seen anything like that. The whole thing just had a pro forma (as opposed to a truly celebratory) feel. It was odd.

[Layton]

You should have asked those idiots who fired Sancomb how it feels to be an after-thought.

I completely forgot that they fired him. What a bunch of morons

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Wheeling has about 15 senior basketball players

You should have asked those idiots who fired Sancomb how it feels to be an after-thought.

[Layton]

Yoakum is very lively today

[Layton]

Sarson is out