West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[boatcapt]

And Bolon! Don’t forget our guy Yahel Hill was still playing and Sincere Carry

Hill is the example that proves the point about playing in the system. No doubt that even at WLU, he could SCORE...but equally true that when the ball hit his hands, it rarely went anywhere else except to the basket! Ben gave him about 1/2 a season to realize that that wasn't how WLU played until he was asked to leave the team! Two fundimental truths at WLU, first if you're a "big" you have to be able to shoot the 3 or you won't get on the court and second if you hog the ball, you won't be around long.

[Layton]

Sincere Carry would have been the best player to ever wear the black and gold. Worked out for him I guess

[Ship69]

And Bolon! Don’t forget our guy Yahel Hill was still playing and Sincere Carry

Well, in our league California if Phil Alston had stayed and IUP if Armoni Foster has stayed certainly might have been better.

[Layton]

I would imagine that they are friend(ly) with each other due to their long relationship. But I would also imagine that Ben has to be quietly miffed a little at Crutch. I mane, on his way out of the WLU door Crutch took WLU's All-American PG Dave Dennis and convinced First Team All-State and WLU comitted SG Nick Smith to flip to Nova. Then this year All-Potential SG Will Yoakum transfers from WLU to Nova and procedes to have an injury free season were he starts all 35 games, leads the team in scoring and shoots over 500 from 3. Ben probably will never admit it, but I would bet at least once he had to think...DAMB Crutch, get your OWN players and stop taking mine!!!

Quick aside...Imagine this years team with Butler, Yoakum and Robinson (who could have staid for his graduate season).

And Bolon! Don’t forget our guy Yahel Hill was still playing and Sincere Carry

[Layton]

Kobe Mitchell of Akron is in the portal. Ohio Valley kid that went to Harrison Central. Would be a great add

[boatcapt]

Been forever since I posted...I've always been lurking...

I know the story about crutch leaving, ben taking over etc, etc...

but what I want to know is--- Does anyone know if Ben and Crutch are true friends? Should be bc of the time spent playing for him and on staff...but I wonder if the fact that some WL fellas transfer to Nova SE, and Ben doesn't like it or considers it tampering? Crutch still recruits Ohio it looks like....I know they are both competitiors, but are they "civil" to each other? I want to know the dyamic if they do play each other....PLease shed some light on it...Really interesting story line if they both make the final....but my guess is they don't...upsets happen...

I would imagine that they are friend(ly) with each other due to their long relationship. But I would also imagine that Ben has to be quietly miffed a little at Crutch. I mane, on his way out of the WLU door Crutch took WLU's All-American PG Dave Dennis and convinced First Team All-State and WLU comitted SG Nick Smith to flip to Nova. Then this year All-Potential SG Will Yoakum transfers from WLU to Nova and procedes to have an injury free season were he starts all 35 games, leads the team in scoring and shoots over 500 from 3. Ben probably will never admit it, but I would bet at least once he had to think...DAMB Crutch, get your OWN players and stop taking mine!!!

Quick aside...Imagine this years team with Butler, Yoakum and Robinson (who could have staid for his graduate season).

[boatcapt]

To be clear, wlu advancing is anything but a given. However I think Nova has a tougher road in terms of matchups.
As great as those past teams were, i like the fact we have 5 shutdown guards on this team and everyone is unselfish. Many opposing teams' offense is built on outstanding guard play. We now have the guards to stay in front of them, which is a critical factor, especially if we are not shooting well. IUP had only 0.89 points per possession, amazing for such a talented team.

We do have the ability to lay an egg this season. We didn't shoot particularly well from 3 point range and nor were we particularly strong on the boards against IUP

[TopperNation]

To be clear, wlu advancing is anything but a given. However I think Nova has a tougher road in terms of matchups.
As great as those past teams were, i like the fact we have 5 shutdown guards on this team and everyone is unselfish. Many opposing teams' offense is built on outstanding guard play. We now have the guards to stay in front of them, which is a critical factor, especially if we are not shooting well. IUP had only 0.89 points per possession, amazing for such a talented team.

I'm going to say that this WL team is the best defensive team that they have put out in over a decade.

[Columbuseer]

To be clear, wlu advancing is anything but a given. However I think Nova has a tougher road in terms of matchups.
As great as those past teams were, i like the fact we have 5 shutdown guards on this team and everyone is unselfish. Many opposing teams' offense is built on outstanding guard play. We now have the guards to stay in front of them, which is a critical factor, especially if we are not shooting well. IUP had only 0.89 points per possession, amazing for such a talented team.

[Layton]

I’m partial to the Bonifant final four his senior year

[boatcapt]

I agree with you Boat, from top to bottom that 20-21 team might be the most talented team I've seen since I first attempted to transfer there and started tracking the team in 2003. That 2014 WLU team can go toe to toe with anyone.

The 13-14 team is an excellent choice as well. It certainly was the most well rounded team we've had in quite a while. We seemed to have a bit of evrything on that team from a dynamic penetrating PG (Harris) 3 point snipers (lead by Bonifant), shot blocker (Cockburn) to more inside rebounders/defenders (Kirkbride/Lamberti). Nine players averaged double digit minutes and seven players averaged 10+ PPG. I think that team was the epitome of what the "WLU Style" could be...Not many high-flying athletes but everyone knew their role and played at 100%.

If I were looking to build a team to play the true "WLU Style," I'd look at that team.

[TopperNation]

I agree...Not the most talented Topper team but they are peaking at the right time. As the saying goes in tourney play..It's not as important to be the "best" team as it is to be the best team "right now." Seeding is equally important in a tourney. We learned that in the 20-21 Elite 8 when we drew NWMSU. I like how the seeding is breaking for the Toppers this year.

Concerning the "most talented" Topper team, a great case can be made for the 20-21 team that had current D1 players Dalton Bolon, Pat Robinson, current Nova SE leader Will Yoakum, current WLU star Bryce Butler and WAY underrated PG Luke Dyer. Bench that included McKinney, Moore and Rasile, etc wasn't half bad either!!

I agree with you Boat, from top to bottom that 20-21 team might be the most talented team I've seen since I first attempted to transfer there and started tracking the team in 2003. That 2014 WLU team can go toe to toe with anyone.

[boatcapt]

This is not the most talented WL squad, but man this is lining up for my guys to at least reach the finals! I just got my hotel and tickets to the elite 8, now let's just hope that they get a good seeding and good playing time. I'm going to lose my sh..t if Ben starts pressing and it doesn't work and he continues to do it until WL is down 15, I have flashbacks of 2 years ago vs NWMS!!!!

I agree...Not the most talented Topper team but they are peaking at the right time. As the saying goes in tourney play..It's not as important to be the "best" team as it is to be the best team "right now." Seeding is equally important in a tourney. We learned that in the 20-21 Elite 8 when we drew NWMSU. I like how the seeding is breaking for the Toppers this year.

Concerning the "most talented" Topper team, a great case can be made for the 20-21 team that had current D1 players Dalton Bolon, Pat Robinson, current Nova SE leader Will Yoakum, current WLU star Bryce Butler and WAY underrated PG Luke Dyer. Bench that included McKinney, Moore and Rasile, etc wasn't half bad either!!

[TopperNation]

2 West Liberty vs 7 New Haven March 21 3:30 pm

Couldn't ask for a better tip off time and opponent. There is no doubt that playing at 1:00 pm on a Tuesday afternoon after being off for a week hurts teams, I've been to 6 elite 8's and I see it all the time, early start after a long layoff is a recipe for disaster. 3:30 isn't the greatest either but at least you get a chance to warm up and watch another game while preparing for your own. These guys are creatures of habit so WL having some experience being here before could help a little. As far as New Haven they have 5 players that seem to log most of the minutes with 1 or maybe 2 (that's being generous) that may come in for a few minutes per game, this has the makings of WL running them into the ground, which is why New Haven will try and slow it down. West Liberty in recent years has gotten much better playing teams who want to slow it down (see Mercyhurst and IUP), so I'd rather see New Haven pace then Nova pace.

[Columbuseer]

FYI - Season Stat comparison WLU vs New Haven

New Haven has good shooters, who can create their shot off a high ball screen or drive to basket.
Their 7-1 center has good timing for rebounding and shot blocking. He can disrupt interior offense for opponent.
It will be interesting to see if he guards Butler or just provides help defense.

Note: Offensive Rating is independent of whether a team plays fast or slow.

Statistic	West Liberty Season	New Haven Season
FGM	1237	836
FGA	2495	1815
FTA	679	454
Three Point FGM	423	237
three Point FGA	1110	712
OFF REB	433	240
Assists	753	396
Turnovers	390	348
Steals	367	170
Turnovers Forced	651	314
Points	3404	2254
Games Played	34	33
Number of Possessions	2751	2123
Avg. Possessions per Game	81	64
Pts per Possession	1.24	1.06
Offensive Rating - pts/100 possessions	124	106
Shooting Efficiency (FGM +0.5*3ptFGM)/FGA	58.1%	52.6%
Turnover %	14.2%	16.4%
Forced Turnovers per Game	19.1	9.5
Percent Forced Live Ball Turnovers	56.4%	54.1%
Assists % of Possessions	27.4%	18.7%
Assist to Turnover Ratio	1.93	1.14