West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

FYI all 3 recruits have signed LOI
Aiden Satterfield 6-6 charleston Catholic smooth scorer and captain all state A team as a Jr. Serious Interest from d1 schools
Austin Webb 6-3 22 South point oh. Interest from d1 schools and mec schools. Style and build similar to yoakum
Dante Spadafora - 6-0 point guard 3 time pa all state Coraopolis pa. Only loss was in ot to aliquippa. Warrior mentality and great passer and scorer. Style resembles combo of dyer and Robinson iii. Interest from d1 schools.

[Columbuseer]

More info on Austin Webb of south point OH who signed loi yesterday.
1. valedictorian of his class
2. interest from marshall and many d2 schools
3. gym rat (common trait for wlu players)
4. leads by example


https://m.irontontribune.com/2020/11...-west-liberty/

[Columbuseer]

FYI
according to huntington paper, west liberty has a new commit. See recruiting roundup section.
6-3 SG Austin Webb south point OH . 22 ppg as a jr.

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/spor...56a60f0bc.html

[Columbuseer]

FYI
Great podcast interview with ben howlett starting at about minute 9.
host said wlu versus lincoln memorial was tge best game no one ever saw. Wlu lost 103-102 with seger scoring 44!

https://anchor.fm/chris-cott/episode...Howlett-elq9n4

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Just an observation...I think WLU's small by DII standards roster size contributes to the condition of every player. When you are on a DII that has 20+ "players" on the team, you get plenty of rest between your turn in the lay-up line. The intensity of WLU's practices has been well documented...not many chances to catch your breath when you are going full court 5 on 5 with 12 or 13 players!!

As they say, steel sharpens steel!

I've noticed that in a lot of other leagues ... giant rosters. The PSAC teams have never really done it. I get the reasoning ... more enrollment dollars.

[boatcapt]

Just an observation...I think WLU's small by DII standards roster size contributes to the condition of every player. When you are on a DII that has 20+ "players" on the team, you get plenty of rest between your turn in the lay-up line. The intensity of WLU's practices has been well documented...not many chances to catch your breath when you are going full court 5 on 5 with 12 or 13 players!!

As they say, steel sharpens steel!

[Columbuseer]

Great to hear! Hahahahaha...There appears to be a distance between "good shape" and WLU shape!! I bet big $ that he wasn't the first potential recruit to come in and halfway through his first practice think "Holly fu*k!!! I'm going to DIE!!!"...And then spend 5 minutes with his head burried in a court side trash can!! Heck, probably most of the players on the roster thought and did the same at their first practice! Difference between a player who plays at WLU and those that decide to go elsewere...WLU player is insulted that HE couldn't keep up and works harder, person who goes elsewhere finds it insulting that WLU put HIM through such a hard tryout.

[boatcapt]

FYI
interesting article on dante spadifora committing to west lib...

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...s/202010070018

Great to hear! Hahahahaha...There appears to be a distance between "good shape" and WLU shape!! I bet big $ that he wasn't the first potential recruit to come in and halfway through his first practice think "Holly fu*k!!! I'm going to DIE!!!"...And then spend 5 minutes with his head burried in a court side trash can!! Heck, probably most of the players on the roster thought and did the same at their first practice! Difference between a player who plays at WLU and those that decide to go elsewere...WLU player is insulted that HE couldn't keep up and works harder, person who goes elsewhere finds it insulting that WLU put HIM through such a hard tryout.

[Columbuseer]

FYI
interesting article on dante spadifora committing to west lib...

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...s/202010070018

[Columbuseer]

Well deserved pre season recognition for dalton and will. However, opponents had better not ignore patrick robinson III, who now has a year of experience. If one looks just at points per minute played, the top three were:
patrick: 0.752
will: 0.716
dalton: 0.687

patrick shot over 50% From three until tailing off late in the season, finishing at 44.5%.

all three players can also finish at the rim.

[boatcapt]

Basketball Times Pre-Season rankings just dropped. WLU checks in at #4 behind NW Missouri, W TX A&M and Lincoln Memorial and one slot ahead of #5 IUP. Other Atlantic Region teams making the poll are Charleston at #18 and Fairmont at #20.

WLU placed two on the Pre-Season All-American list with Bolon and Yoakum making the list.

For those interested, the "other" team playing the WLU-Style, Nova Southeastern, checked in at #8

https://hilltoppersports.com/news/20...preseason.aspx

[Columbuseer]

D2 basketball gets an extra year.
as i understand it, those who have used up eligibility (i.e., seniors) could come back and retain aid but would not count against scholarship limit. However any transfers would count against scholarship limit, Which is 10 in d2.
if Dalton, Luke And Marlon return, wlu could be lethal, especially with the underclassmen.

[Columbuseer]

Right, but if you go back one more year it's 3-2 vs. IUP and the tie-breaker game was in Double OT (and neither cracked 100). Those games were a long time ago ... talking more recently 5-6 years.

Point was more recently the PSAC teams have had success. And, I'm not counting the Clarion's and Seton Hill's. I think WL is like 4-4 in its last 8 meetings against top PSAC teams. They have losses to Kutztown, (blowout loss) Ship, (blowout loss) Mercy and IUP and two wins against WCU, one against East Stroudsburg (OT) and Kutztown.

Over the past 5-6 years the PSAC has done a much better job of slowing the game down.

https://topperstation.com/watch/mens...vember-17-2018

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Building a WLU roster and playing the WLU style is tantalizing easy...At least on the surface. But for some reason coaches at other schools seem either unable or unwilling to do it. Coaches at other schools, particularly within the region, see and know the "level" and type of player WLU recruits year after year, there is PLENTY written and on video about the plays WLU runs, likewise plenty has been written about WLU's "practiceless practice" and constant competition. Also ample proof of the quick turnaround that can be accomplished (WLU and now Nova Southeastern). The blueprint is there for any coach that wants to follow...but they don't follow.

While WLU has stepped up the "quality" of players it has been bringing in the last several years, it's not like you have to have players like them to run the WLU system. You look at the players WLU brought in back in the day. Basically players that no one wanted...the scrappers, the gym rats, the coaches sons, the 100% heart guys who were not the stars on their HS teams. As Crutch famously said, we've never won a pregame warm-up. That was 100% true...You'd watch them and then the other team in warm-up and think, my god, it's going to be a blood bath and it often was...just not the blood bath you were expecting. Those players are STILL out there for any coach to grab-up...but they just are unwilling to do it.

I'm certainly not a basketball expert, but if I were to somehow get a HC gig at a down trodden DII, I'm implamenting the WLU style right down to the color of the team socks!

Just checked the WLU web-site for the history against the three teams you mention as having "great success" against WLU. Since the 2010, the record in head-to-head matchups is:

vs IUP, WLU is ahead 3-1
vs Hurst, WLU is tied 1-1
vs Ship, WLU is behind 0-1

Right, but if you go back one more year it's 3-2 vs. IUP and the tie-breaker game was in Double OT (and neither cracked 100). Those games were a long time ago ... talking more recently 5-6 years.

Point was more recently the PSAC teams have had success. And, I'm not counting the Clarion's and Seton Hill's. I think WL is like 4-4 in its last 8 meetings against top PSAC teams. They have losses to Kutztown, (blowout loss) Ship, (blowout loss) Mercy and IUP and two wins against WCU, one against East Stroudsburg (OT) and Kutztown.

Over the past 5-6 years the PSAC has done a much better job of slowing the game down.

[boatcapt]

What I've observed over the years is you simply cannot under any circumstances fall in to that WL pace. The teams that beat them slow the game way down. Why the Glenville State's of the world continually want to get in to a sprint with them is beyond mind boggling.

Far too many MEC teams tried to 'roster up' like West Liberty. That doesn't work. You aren't going to beat them playing their pace. I always thought Sancomb's teams were built more like upper-level PSAC teams as opposed to MEC teams.

You've seen Mercyhurst, Ship and IUP control the tempo of the game against them - and give the defense right back. You get in a track meet and goodnight. Break the press and hold the ball. Taking those easy layups is what they want you to do. Slow it to a PSAC pace and you can see if frustrates WL players. Add in a dominant big and that's the recipe. Granted, you need strong guards to pull this off. A typical PSAC team -- Clarion, Edinboro, etc., -- cannot.

It seems Charleston is going in that direction roster-wise.

But, it is funny year after year to watch several of those MEC teams want to outscore WL -- and lose by 45.

I'm interested to see what kind of roster Konig builds at Fairmont.

Building a WLU roster and playing the WLU style is tantalizing easy...At least on the surface. But for some reason coaches at other schools seem either unable or unwilling to do it. Coaches at other schools, particularly within the region, see and know the "level" and type of player WLU recruits year after year, there is PLENTY written and on video about the plays WLU runs, likewise plenty has been written about WLU's "practiceless practice" and constant competition. Also ample proof of the quick turnaround that can be accomplished (WLU and now Nova Southeastern). The blueprint is there for any coach that wants to follow...but they don't follow.

While WLU has stepped up the "quality" of players it has been bringing in the last several years, it's not like you have to have players like them to run the WLU system. You look at the players WLU brought in back in the day. Basically players that no one wanted...the scrappers, the gym rats, the coaches sons, the 100% heart guys who were not the stars on their HS teams. As Crutch famously said, we've never won a pregame warm-up. That was 100% true...You'd watch them and then the other team in warm-up and think, my god, it's going to be a blood bath and it often was...just not the blood bath you were expecting. Those players are STILL out there for any coach to grab-up...but they just are unwilling to do it.

I'm certainly not a basketball expert, but if I were to somehow get a HC gig at a down trodden DII, I'm implamenting the WLU style right down to the color of the team socks!

Just checked the WLU web-site for the history against the three teams you mention as having "great success" against WLU. Since the 2010, the record in head-to-head matchups is:

vs IUP, WLU is ahead 3-1
vs Hurst, WLU is tied 1-1
vs Ship, WLU is behind 0-1