West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Columbuseer]

Oh boy here we go. You've officially set the Boat trap . . . now let's see if he takes the bait! ; )

LOL

Finding decent, relatively nearby non conference opponents to agree to play WL is problematic. Kudos to Daemen. .

[Scrub]

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I admire Coach Howlett for scheduling challenging games eary. IMHO, playing against this All American big, and an NCAA tourney team that is experienced and well coached will pay big dividends in March.
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Oh boy here we go. You've officially set the Boat trap . . . now let's see if he takes the bait! ; )

[Columbuseer]

Excellent points. Flat on defense and offense..Some Huggins quotes seemed to fit us at Daemen.
On holding the ball:
"When you hold the ball you have 10 eyes on you. You want to move the ball so that there are only 2 eyes on you"
On the turnovers and ill-advised shots:
"you have shown us what you are NOT good at doing. Why don't you try doing what you ARE good at doing?"

[Dirtybird]

[Columbuseer]

I agree that a big does not have to hit 40% from three. But he better be complete in all other aspects of the game with a high basketball IQ.. The WL style requires real-time ability to see the court, analyze the situation and make the right decision very, very quickly. Hard to find on the AAU circuit.

I am just a dummy, but I think the other four guys on Daemen beat us , and not the big.. Look at the excessive turnovers we had and the walking calls on the initial dribble. We turned over Daemen enough to win the game.

On the bright side, we have 6 new players that are still getting used to playing together. I knew there would be some bumps in the road early. I thought the ball was sticking in our hands and we were not making Daemen work on defense and doing way too much dribble drive. WL also tires team out on offense by their motion (especially making the bigs move). We also need to get assists increased among all of our players, not just a few.
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I admire Coach Howlett for scheduling challenging games eary. IMHO, playing against this All American big, and an NCAA tourney team that is experienced and well coached will pay big dividends in March.
.

[Dirtybird]

[Columbuseer]

Seems like the reality is that WLU only brings in players that already can run, shoot and play agressive D. Can't do all three, you are going to fall off WLU's recruiting radar quickly. The volume of players with these traits coming out of HS increases the shorter a player gets so there is a bigger pool of potential recruits at say the 6' to 6'2" level than at the 6'8" to 6'10" level. Rhese same traits are highly prived at the D1 level which makes it almost impossible for a DII to find without specifically looking for and recruting them HARD. Just my opinion but I dont think WLU looks specifically for 6'8" + guys. If one stumbles onto their radar AND can that guy can already run, shoot and play D, we'd probably make an offer...but we aint going to take a big with even one hole in his game. Kind of interesting because we WILL take PG's who come in with shooting deficiencies.f

I think we will always be susceptable until we bring in a big to counter the problem. EVEN if ALL the guy can do is run and play D coming out of HS.

We may want to take a look at Shane Hunter of Nova SE who is a true freshman. Have not seen him play, but he is getting minutes. He is 6-10. Maybe St. Crutch found the purple squirrel in D2?

[boatcapt]

Seems like the reality is that WLU only brings in players that already can run, shoot and play agressive D. Can't do all three, you are going to fall off WLU's recruiting radar quickly. The volume of players with these traits coming out of HS increases the shorter a player gets so there is a bigger pool of potential recruits at say the 6' to 6'2" level than at the 6'8" to 6'10" level. Rhese same traits are highly prived at the D1 level which makes it almost impossible for a DII to find without specifically looking for and recruting them HARD. Just my opinion but I dont think WLU looks specifically for 6'8" + guys. If one stumbles onto their radar AND can that guy can already run, shoot and play D, we'd probably make an offer...but we aint going to take a big with even one hole in his game. Kind of interesting because we WILL take PG's who come in with shooting deficiencies.

I think we will always be susceptable until we bring in a big to counter the problem. EVEN if ALL the guy can do is run and play D coming out of HS.

[Columbuseer]

Wlu also signed a 6-3 guard who averaged 30 ppg and 15 rebounds. Purportedly a 4.0+ student and 28 ACT.

[Columbuseer]

One of six finalists for Ohio mr. basketball as a junior. 2000 pt scorer as a junior. steph curry range. Broke Ohio record for career 3 pointers. Great student and basketball iq is off the charts.

[Columbuseer]

Check the NBA. You'll find that guy there.

Maybe Oscar T. Of wvu Has a younger brother. I think Pitt knows about Oscar T. LOL

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I have doubts about the bigs you mentioned being able to press. Daemen slowed the game down in offense (unless there was a breakaway and did not press on defense to conserve energy. The big I am envisioning would have a soccer build, at least 6-8 with good hops who could play in front of the bigs.

Check the NBA. You'll find that guy there.

[Columbuseer]

I agree that those bigs are hard to find (as you said, Columbus). But, man, the Sischo kid from Daemen was running the floor really well up and down. Nearing halftime, I remember thinking to myself, "That kid will be gassed by 10 minutes into the second half and WLU will exploit him for a blackout burst." He never tired. He ran up and down all game making an impact on both ends. So, while those guys ARE really hard to find (especially stateside) . . . Daemen found one and kicked WLU's butt with him. Boat is right that with a Sischo or Voorhees or Patrick what's-his-name, WLU would be darn near unstoppable. But they just never seem to land that guy (even though other area teams DO seem to come up with those guys occasionally). I almost wonder if the reputation of WLU being a guard-oriented, fire-away-from-three team drives those talented bigs (even the ones who COULD fit into the WLU system) away. Not sure if that's the case or not, but it's interesting to think that WLU's own strength on the court might be a weakness in recruiting.

I have doubts about the bigs you mentioned being able to press. Daemen slowed the game down in offense (unless there was a breakaway and did not press on defense to conserve energy. The big I am envisioning would have a soccer build, at least 6-8 with good hops who could play in front of the bigs.

[Dirtybird]

[Scrub]

I agree that those bigs are hard to find (as you said, Columbus). But, man, the Sischo kid from Daemen was running the floor really well up and down. Nearing halftime, I remember thinking to myself, "That kid will be gassed by 10 minutes into the second half and WLU will exploit him for a blackout burst." He never tired. He ran up and down all game making an impact on both ends. So, while those guys ARE really hard to find (especially stateside) . . . Daemen found one and kicked WLU's butt with him. Boat is right that with a Sischo or Voorhees or Patrick what's-his-name, WLU would be darn near unstoppable. But they just never seem to land that guy (even though other area teams DO seem to come up with those guys occasionally). I almost wonder if the reputation of WLU being a guard-oriented, fire-away-from-three team drives those talented bigs (even the ones who COULD fit into the WLU system) away. Not sure if that's the case or not, but it's interesting to think that WLU's own strength on the court might be a weakness in recruiting.