West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anything official from the school on Collin's commit other than Layton's post? (Not that I don't trust you Layton, just like to get this confirmed. I think this will be a home run!)

Collin's "retweeted" a post that said he had signed with WLU so I'd say that is as good as the school posting it!

Some quick hits on Collins:

Collin's was a first team All-WV performer this past year.

Most of the "services" and "showcases" say that he is a D1 level player (that's not surprising...seems like almost every player these "service" review are "D1 players!!").

Collin's was listed as a 5'11", 130 pounder as a freshman at Chapmanville HS.

Collins has apparently grown 4+ inches in the last year.

Collins posted about a Dr visit he had just had where the doc said he should top out at about 6'11".

His HS video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No8-swvxWac

IF he reaches 6'11" and adds about 30 pounds, he could be a DII unicorn! IF he JUST get's to 6'9" and ONLY adds 15 pounds, he could be the WLU version of a unicorn!!

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anything official from the school on Collin's commit other than Layton's post? (Not that I don't trust you Layton, just like to get this confirmed. I think this will be a home run!)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Take this for what it's worth as I am by no means an expert evaluator of basketball talent, but here was my assessment right after he transferred to WLU:

Is McKinney a "1 for 1" replacement for Hill. In some ways yes and other ways no. From looking at his HS tape and reading the "scouting" reports on him, he is certainly a gifted ball handler who can slash and distribute the ball equally well...looks like he can jump out of the gym which is a plus for a slasher. Left hander which is a bit unique. His focus has (had?) been on the defensive end of the court where his cat quick speed is impressive. He has a quick release on his jumper but he doesn't take, or make, many 3's. I wouldn't call him a 1 for 1 for Hill because of his lack of 3 point production but in every other aspect, he seems to be equal to Hill. He will need to spend many hours in the gym working on his 3 but he seems to have the stroke to get much better at it. I think 6'4" is a bit of roster padding on the part of Seton Hill but he is every bit of 6'2" which would be a step up for WLU if he plays the PG position. A starter from game one as a freshman at Seton Hill...but we're talking about Seton Hill so that doesn't carry the same weight as if he was freshman starter at WLU or IUP or... Mercyhurst!

The consensus from some PSAC posters who saw him play this year is that he is an outstanding defender and ball handler while his offense is less developed.

Keep in mind he played in an offense that was completely focused on two players doing about (what seemed) 80 percent of the scoring. I saw him in person twice this past off-season. The 6'4" is definitely not correct but he's a nice player. I wouldn't have pegged him as a 'WL type' but we'll see. Offensively he was a total non-factor in both IUP/SH games. He got in foul trouble pretty quickly in both games.

But, he was a true freshman and wasn't exactly surrounded by a strong supporting cast minus Blondin and Davis. He has a little 'playground' in him that they'll need to work out of him this summer. But, he should thrive in the chaos press. The deep shot is certainly going to be a work in progress.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

Take this for what it's worth as I am by no means an expert evaluator of basketball talent, but here was my assessment right after he transferred to WLU:

Is McKinney a "1 for 1" replacement for Hill. In some ways yes and other ways no. From looking at his HS tape and reading the "scouting" reports on him, he is certainly a gifted ball handler who can slash and distribute the ball equally well...looks like he can jump out of the gym which is a plus for a slasher. Left hander which is a bit unique. His focus has (had?) been on the defensive end of the court where his cat quick speed is impressive. He has a quick release on his jumper but he doesn't take, or make, many 3's. I wouldn't call him a 1 for 1 for Hill because of his lack of 3 point production but in every other aspect, he seems to be equal to Hill. He will need to spend many hours in the gym working on his 3 but he seems to have the stroke to get much better at it. I think 6'4" is a bit of roster padding on the part of Seton Hill but he is every bit of 6'2" which would be a step up for WLU if he plays the PG position. A starter from game one as a freshman at Seton Hill...but we're talking about Seton Hill so that doesn't carry the same weight as if he was freshman starter at WLU or IUP or... Mercyhurst!

The consensus from some PSAC posters who saw him play this year is that he is an outstanding defender and ball handler while his offense is less developed.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

Based on search of internet:
My guess is sg position. Shut down defender. Great speed and quickness. 3.2 gpa end of jr year of high school. Averaged double figures as a frosh at shu. May be shorter than 6-4.
Here is review of him after jr. Year of high school.

https://www.prephoops.com/2017/10/re...alik-mckinney/

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anybody know anything about Malik McKinney, 6' 4" guard from MD that is listed as a commit? OK, he is the transfer from Seton Hill.

[Columbuseer]

[Sportsnut]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Should be a really good pickup. That has been the best AA program in the state for the last several years. Chapmanville has a junior that will be a D1 recruit next year and Collins would have gone up against him everyday in practice.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

http://www.hudl.com/profile/12440841/Devin-Collins

6'8" SG??? Are you kidding me? Hahahaha! Ben should list him on the roster as a Center!!

Can anyone remember when the last time was that WLU had a player even listed as a C?

[Layton]

http://www.hudl.com/profile/12440841/Devin-Collins

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Size comes in many packages and being an effective inside presence can take many forms. But I think there are some absolutes you need to be effective. At the DII level, you need to be at least 6'5" and weigh at least 220...those are the lower ends of the spectrum. From that base, a player generally will become more effective as an inside force the more he exceeds those numbers. An inside player has to look at how he matches up with his counterpart and vary his game to exploit his strengths while magnifying the other players weaknesses...If your opposite number has a distinct weight advantage on you, you probably don't want to try and mussel him around...If you are a shade quicker than he is, you should do things that magnify your strength.

It also takes a player that want's to play inside for them to be effective at it in anything more than short spurts. As good as Meini was this year and across his whole WLU career, he was not mistake his game as one built on playing inside. Now he could do it for short spurts against most players, but when faced with a player who was really focused on playing inside, he couldn't compete.

WLU, as a team focuses on players "outside-in"...in other words, the outside game and then work in...3 point shooting and ability to play full court D are priorities #1 and by a pretty fair distance. Next priority in the middle game...dribble drive, mid-range jumpers, half court D...long range rebounds. Lowest priority is the inside game...taking the ball all the way to the hole/inside passes, inside rebounding, short put backs, in your face man defense. On a typical 14 man roster, we'll probably have 12 that excel in the first, two who's strong suit is the second and hear lately, none that you would say that the last is the strongest part of their game.

Will be interesting to watch long term development of hazelbaker. He likes mixing it up inside but also hit 38% of threes.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

WLU, at least for the last couple of years, has been a single strength team that was based on pressure and shooting 3's. Most nights, that is enough to win games with ease. But every now and then when they weren't quite as hot as usual from the outside and the other team had an inside player that could exploit our team weakness, we became very vulnerable. And the better the team was, the greater the chance they would have a player capable of beating us up inside.

Here's is the comparison between our "big" and his opposite number in the last game over the last three seasons:

2017 WJU's Highsmith, 23 points and 16 rebounds - WLU's Gross, 3 points and 6 rebounds
2018 Ship's Sleva, 20 points and 12 rebounds - WLU's Meini, 10 points and 4 rebounds
2019 Hurst's Smith, 16 points and 17 rebounds - WLU's Meini, 4 points and 3 rebounds

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

The Euro players don't solve your muscle issue.

Size comes in many packages and being an effective inside presence can take many forms. But I think there are some absolutes you need to be effective. At the DII level, you need to be at least 6'5" and weigh at least 220...those are the lower ends of the spectrum. From that base, a player generally will become more effective as an inside force the more he exceeds those numbers. An inside player has to look at how he matches up with his counterpart and vary his game to exploit his strengths while magnifying the other players weaknesses...If your opposite number has a distinct weight advantage on you, you probably don't want to try and mussel him around...If you are a shade quicker than he is, you should do things that magnify your strength.

It also takes a player that want's to play inside for them to be effective at it in anything more than short spurts. As good as Meini was this year and across his whole WLU career, he was not mistake his game as one built on playing inside. Now he could do it for short spurts against most players, but when faced with a player who was really focused on playing inside, he couldn't compete.

WLU, as a team focuses on players "outside-in"...in other words, the outside game and then work in...3 point shooting and ability to play full court D are priorities #1 and by a pretty fair distance. Next priority in the middle game...dribble drive, mid-range jumpers, half court D...long range rebounds. Lowest priority is the inside game...taking the ball all the way to the hole/inside passes, inside rebounding, short put backs, in your face man defense. On a typical 14 man roster, we'll probably have 12 that excel in the first, two who's strong suit is the second and hear lately, none that you would say that the last is the strongest part of their game.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

The Euro players don't solve your muscle issue.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

The Euro players don't solve your muscle issue.