West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

Fyi olsh chargers with dante spadafora defeated philly city league power Constitution 62-49 to win 2a state title

[Columbuseer]

Coach Howlett emphasizes how important it is for players to move without the ball and for the ball not to stick...
When WLU players internalize that philosophy, then they will play like this (and contend for a national championship)
see the video of the offensive possession in the tweet below:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1375271694793850882

[Columbuseer]

Leading 39-37 in 3rd quarter, olsh starts pressing and defeats portage 75-50.
Dante hit 13 fts for a total of 15 points. Next is finals in Hershey on Friday afternoon.

[Columbuseer]

FYI
olsh plays portage at 630 tonight in piaa semis.
Dante Spadafora is PG recruit.

olshathletics.org

[Columbuseer]

Teams with legit post players have given NW some trouble the last couple years since we don't have a true post player. We play more position-less style basketball so Daemen and Sischo could have given us some issues. Losses or really close games in the last couple years include Missouri Southern (Cam Martin- post player who averages 25pts/game), Washburn (Clausing- post player who only averaged 10/game but was hurt in the regular season right after playing us and never was the same player the rest of the year) and Northern St (Fox- D2 player of the year candidate who plays on the post).

I agree with importance of matchups at this level of play.
ideally, one would like to avoid playing the worst matchups while playing the most favorable matchups. But it obviously requires some luck in seeding and upsets.

[NWHoops]

It's clear that this was a year, if any, that the #1 seed really mattered. No offense to Daemen--and the Sischo kid is legit for sure--but their track record suggests they are the far weaker opponent than any of the other 7. In most years, the difference between the 1 & 2 seed is marginal. The fact that NW got the stiffest test of its 2019 title run from #8 Mercyhurst bears that out. But this was a year in which drawing Daemen was a real "prize" for the #1 seed, because there appeared to be a reasonably steep drop-off from #7 (regardless of who got it) to #8 in this Elite 8 field.

Teams with legit post players have given NW some trouble the last couple years since we don't have a true post player. We play more position-less style basketball so Daemen and Sischo could have given us some issues. Losses or really close games in the last couple years include Missouri Southern (Cam Martin- post player who averages 25pts/game), Washburn (Clausing- post player who only averaged 10/game but was hurt in the regular season right after playing us and never was the same player the rest of the year) and Northern St (Fox- D2 player of the year candidate who plays on the post).

[Columbuseer]

[QUOTE=NWFanatic;n570835]Should wlu be fortunate enough to go to the finals, no one can say that we got there by avoiding the best team in the tourney in NWMSU.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's clear that this was a year, if any, that the #1 seed really mattered. No offense to Daemen--and the Sischo kid is legit for sure--but their track record suggests they are the far weaker opponent than any of the other 7. In most years, the difference between the 1 & 2 seed is marginal. The fact that NW got the stiffest test of its 2019 title run from #8 Mercyhurst bears that out. But this was a year in which drawing Daemen was a real "prize" for the #1 seed, because there appeared to be a reasonably steep drop-off from #7 (regardless of who got it) to #8 in this Elite 8 field.

I wouldn't sleep on Daemen. Remember they played several games this year with major Covid issues and players out.

Sure, they are a major dog. But, they are certainly better than their record.

[Scrub]

It's clear that this was a year, if any, that the #1 seed really mattered. No offense to Daemen--and the Sischo kid is legit for sure--but their track record suggests they are the far weaker opponent than any of the other 7. In most years, the difference between the 1 & 2 seed is marginal. The fact that NW got the stiffest test of its 2019 title run from #8 Mercyhurst bears that out. But this was a year in which drawing Daemen was a real "prize" for the #1 seed, because there appeared to be a reasonably steep drop-off from #7 (regardless of who got it) to #8 in this Elite 8 field.

[NWFanatic]

[QUOTE=BuffaloChip;n570828]

I guess NW deserved them. Ha!

It really makes little difference as long as WT and NW are in different brackets

[BuffaloChip]

[QUOTE=NWFanatic;n570751]

I agree about WT vs WL. I think WT should be the 1, but we all know how the NCAA kisses NW's butt till it's raw. Haha!

If so, why did NW get the #2 seed in the Central Region and #2 in Elite 8?

I guess NW deserved them. Ha!

It really makes little difference as long as WT and NW are in different brackets. Hopefully, both make the finals. If they do, it should make for a great championship game.

[boatcapt]

When Hill tells the story in 10 years, that stat line will swell to 13.3 PPG and will include how he single handedly carried Cleveland State to the NCAA Tourney!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

You need d1 body, not just d1 skill. Had a shot at overseas at wlu. Nice guy. Hope he is OK with choice.

Last I saw he was playing about 11 mpg.

[Columbuseer]

You need d1 body, not just d1 skill. Had a shot at overseas at wlu. Nice guy. Hope he is OK with choice.

[Layton]