West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Boys can play. I told you they were good.

No size. That's what is killing them.

You could see the lack of size play out in the first half in particular. That first half was dominated by WLU's "big" guys--Meininger and Yoakum--getting to the rack without fear of a rim protector there.

And if there's such a thing as a "quiet" 40 point night, this was it. For the first 35 minutes of that game, Bolte was downright off. He absolutely took over the game in the final 5 of regulation and in OT, but it's good to get a W against Concord when Bolte has an off-ish night. If you don't beat them when he's not feeling it, you have no prayer when he's lighting it up (like he did starting at the 35 minute mark). Really was a tale of two games for Bolte.

What impressed me most, though, was Concord's perimeter defense. WLU really struggled to get into an offensive rhythm, and I credit Concord's (bone crushing?) defense for that.

Good to escape with a W any way you can at this point in the season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Wow...Took 2 OTs but WLU prevails over a game Concord squad 109-108!!

Boys can play. I told you they were good.

No size. That's what is killing them.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Wow...Took 2 OTs but WLU prevails over a game Concord squad 109-108!!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Would you say his defense was bone crushing or suffocating?

Lol! To paraphrase a movie quote, His defense "ate his opponent's liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti!"

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Good points about Moore. He played a critical role with his defense and work on glass.

Would you say his defense was bone crushing or suffocating?

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It was the bone crushing defense WLU plays that got them the W. Limited Tiffin to 39% from the field and 23% from three range!

Good to see Hill and Yokum can carry the team when Bolon is having an off night. At 8 points, it's only the second time all season he's been held below 20 so it doesn't happen very often, but it is good to see that Hill and Yokum are capable of picking up the slack when it does.

Also a shout out to Marlon Moore...When he get's minutes, he scores. He's not a 3 point shooter and that is fine on this team.

Good points about Moore. He played a critical role with his defense and work on glass.

[PSAC76]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

You forgot to use the newly trademarked "bone crushing" when describing the defensive effort. Boat had to come up with a new trademark since "suffocating" has now been appropriated by the PSAC posters. ; )

Ha, my apologies. I'll leave the "bone crushing" part for when you do it against a team with a winning record. I cannot just throw that term out at any point. It deserves special treatment!

[Scrub]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

This was probably your best defensive outing of the season, to date

You forgot to use the newly trademarked "bone crushing" when describing the defensive effort. Boat had to come up with a new trademark since "suffocating" has now been appropriated by the PSAC posters. ; )

[PSAC76]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

It was the bone crushing defense WLU plays that got them the W. Limited Tiffin to 39% from the field and 23% from three range!

Good to see Hill and Yokum can carry the team when Bolon is having an off night. At 8 points, it's only the second time all season he's been held below 20 so it doesn't happen very often, but it is good to see that Hill and Yokum are capable of picking up the slack when it does.

Also a shout out to Marlon Moore...When he get's minutes, he scores. He's not a 3 point shooter and that is fine on this team.

This was probably your best defensive outing of the season, to date

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Saw tiffin game. Wl was really out of sync especially in 1st half. Coach thought was worst first half ever.
Some silver linings:
1) had more turnovers, few assists and 16 % from three and still won. They had a strong will to win.
2) two freshman are starting to become dominant go to players at crunch time. Both hill and yoakum had over 20 points.
3) veteran guards are having trouble guarding hill as he beats them off dribble for layups. He and yoakum are deadly from three too.

Only bodes well for March.

It was the bone crushing defense WLU plays that got them the W. Limited Tiffin to 39% from the field and 23% from three range!

Good to see Hill and Yokum can carry the team when Bolon is having an off night. At 8 points, it's only the second time all season he's been held below 20 so it doesn't happen very often, but it is good to see that Hill and Yokum are capable of picking up the slack when it does.

Also a shout out to Marlon Moore...When he get's minutes, he scores. He's not a 3 point shooter and that is fine on this team.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Saw tiffin game. Wl was really out of sync especially in 1st half. Coach thought was worst first half ever.
Some silver linings:
1) had more turnovers, few assists and 16 % from three and still won. They had a strong will to win.
2) two freshman are starting to become dominant go to players at crunch time. Both hill and yoakum had over 20 points.
3) veteran guards are having trouble guarding hill as he beats them off dribble for layups. He and yoakum are deadly from three too.

Only bodes well for March.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Horrific finger in the the eye injury. Has double vision without the patch. Hopefully it will heal eventually.

Fact that he can play at such a high level with one eye is incredible. So much of basketball is vision and being able to see the whole court. Fact that Bolon can do it at all is amazing...fact that he is leading a really good team is nothing short of a miracle!

Personally, I like the idea of having a "pirate" on our team!!!

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Fyi
Here is replay of king versus Wlu game. Some great passing and shooting. Think Bolon hit 4 threes in a row

https://conferencecarolinasdn.com/king/

Click on on demand then select wlu

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

The emergence of Hill and Yoacum has been a bit surprising. Maybe not as much with Hill as some had him penciled in for greatness even before the season. But Yoacum has been a bit of a pleasant surprise...I think most thought he'd be good but not AS good as he has been thus far.

Yea...I think this qualifies as a "down" year for WLU from an experience standpoint. Players are just now learning to really play with each other. King was a huge game for them. Tourney team last year picked to win their conf and sitting at 7-2 when we went to their house to play them. WLU certainly could have lost this game with a young inexperienced squad. Obviously that didn't happen. Hard to say that a 2 loss team will be better at the end of the season but I think you are right. As this young group plays together more and starts to instinctively understand how each other plays, they could be very dangerous come tourney time...of course, between now and then their could be additional head scratching losses as they continue to grow together.

French coming back could be a big boost (obviously depending on how he rounds into shape). More than legit shooter who is also an experienced veteran. Think he starts on the second platoon but it wouldn't be surprising if he finds his way into that starting lineup come conf and NCAA tourney time. If they are looking for minutes for him the likely place to look first is to Saben who is NOT having a good sophomore campaign.

So what's up with Bolon's eye?

Horrific finger in the the eye injury. Has double vision without the patch. Hopefully it will heal eventually.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Tough question. We lost Dennis, justice and guillozet. Monterosa masked the impact. Much of The inconsistency is due to their youth imho, starting 2 freshmen, 2 Sophomores And a senior. Inexperience Hurts them on team defense and makes them vulnerable to mismatches on switches. Losing Evan French hurt as he was the best shooter on the team and would make second platoon much stronger. He may be back by January.
Which is saying something as they were averaging about 45% from 3 as a team before FSU.
We also tend to stand around on offense sometimes when we have a lead. Coach yells for them to move.

Good news is that hill is amazing for a freshman and is getting better every game. He is starting to school veteran guards. So is yoakum. By end of year we will likely be a tough out.

Folks better get us this year. For next year Boswell hits the court.
Also I saw commit hazelbaker play wed and he is a man among boys. I believe he is taller than 6-6 and has a non stop motor and strong defensively. 35 pts and 14 rebounds hit 4 threes and he was not hogging the ball. He just keeps moving and gets open. They won 55-39. We need a physical guy like that.
What are your thoughts?

The emergence of Hill and Yoacum has been a bit surprising. Maybe not as much with Hill as some had him penciled in for greatness even before the season. But Yoacum has been a bit of a pleasant surprise...I think most thought he'd be good but not AS good as he has been thus far.

Yea...I think this qualifies as a "down" year for WLU from an experience standpoint. Players are just now learning to really play with each other. King was a huge game for them. Tourney team last year picked to win their conf and sitting at 7-2 when we went to their house to play them. WLU certainly could have lost this game with a young inexperienced squad. Obviously that didn't happen. Hard to say that a 2 loss team will be better at the end of the season but I think you are right. As this young group plays together more and starts to instinctively understand how each other plays, they could be very dangerous come tourney time...of course, between now and then their could be additional head scratching losses as they continue to grow together.

French coming back could be a big boost (obviously depending on how he rounds into shape). More than legit shooter who is also an experienced veteran. Think he starts on the second platoon but it wouldn't be surprising if he finds his way into that starting lineup come conf and NCAA tourney time. If they are looking for minutes for him the likely place to look first is to Saben who is NOT having a good sophomore campaign.

So what's up with Bolon's eye?