VC Transfers

[Columbuseer]

I wouldn't be shocked if Hazelbaker lands in the PSAC.

I'll leave it at that.

Whoever gets him is getting an incredbily intelligent student and a very hard worker. He was coming in early every morning before class to work out with Dalton, according to the game broadcast analyst guy (actually the AD and former women's coach).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Anyone heard what teams are considering conley or hazelbaker?
I know it is way early.

Thing is it's not that early. It's April -- and the market is completely flooded. Rosters at most of the better programs are full by now -- or real close.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Anyone heard what teams are considering conley or hazelbaker?
I know it is way early.

I wouldn't be shocked if Hazelbaker lands in the PSAC.

I'll leave it at that.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Austin Butler (Bryce's older bro) has signed with Charlotte.

[Columbuseer]

Anyone heard what teams are considering conley or hazelbaker?
I know it is way early.

[boatcapt]

That is certainly one approach. The risk is that one wins the battle, but lose the war.
Almost every coach is probably facing this challenge. I have heard Huggins complain that they are not running the plays he calls or doing what they practice. He realizes that an autocratic approach could result in 6 guys in the portal.


The players had good intentions. I think it takes a while for elite players, who are driven to win, to resist the temptation to take matters into their own hands. What if you had gotten very high accolades, and had been successful playing against pro and D1 players in the summer, are now facing some flunkie who can't hold a candle to you? You might see that trying to split two defenders is no big deal. Except you go stumbling, bumbling as a result of a no-call and turn the ball over. Or you mistakenly believe that you can finish in the low post against 3 guys and it is a higher percentage shot than kicking it out for an open three. In a system that allows players the freedom to make decisions, they were making decisions that did not maximize the team's chances of winning.

In the 3 losses, the WLU PPP was between 1.00 and 1.09, which is very good for a D1 team, for WLU was playing D1 style ball. But it is not good enough to win a high % of games against hot-shooting D2 teams that present matchup issues for WLU. WLU needs to be in the 1.25 PPP range.

Sometimes experience is the best teacher. I think the Coach showed long-term thinking and great leadership in having a meeting to get buy in after the three losses. According to his interview (think it was on sportline on wvmetronews.com), he told them that if we revert to WLU basketball, we can win most of our remaining games. If we keep playing the way we have these last 3 games, we stand a good chance of not making the NCAA tournament. It worked.

Some great leaders have the same approach. Some quotes follow (google Eisenhower quotes and Patton Quotes and there are some gems).

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

Dwight D. Eisenhower



Gen. George Patton

Patton was also known for slapping a couple of soldiers for not living up to his expectations...sooooooo!!

Not saying Ben should have immediately sat the offending player(s) but there should have been an arc of correction that would/should end with "pine time." One of the things I like about WLU's style is the "everyone is held to the same standard" with the same expectation to identify when to shoot and when to pass. Allowing certain players to get away with hero ball, no matter how well intentioned those players may be, runs counter to that and could cause the rest of the team to wonder if the players on the team are really as equal as coach says.

I recall a WLU transfer player who came in with great credentials but just refused to play the WLU style. As I recall, when he played he scored quite a bit. Buuuuttttt...His minutes kept going down and down and down and he ultimately transfered out.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That is certainly one approach. The risk is that one wins the battle, but lose the war.
Almost every coach is probably facing this challenge. I have heard Huggins complain that they are not running the plays he calls or doing what they practice. He realizes that an autocratic approach could result in 6 guys in the portal.


The players had good intentions. I think it takes a while for elite players, who are driven to win, to resist the temptation to take matters into their own hands. What if you had gotten very high accolades, and had been successful playing against pro and D1 players in the summer, are now facing some flunkie who can't hold a candle to you? You might see that trying to split two defenders is no big deal. Except you go stumbling, bumbling as a result of a no-call and turn the ball over. Or you mistakenly believe that you can finish in the low post against 3 guys and it is a higher percentage shot than kicking it out for an open three. In a system that allows players the freedom to make decisions, they were making decisions that did not maximize the team's chances of winning.

In the 3 losses, the WLU PPP was between 1.00 and 1.09, which is very good for a D1 team, for WLU was playing D1 style ball. But it is not good enough to win a high % of games against hot-shooting D2 teams that present matchup issues for WLU. WLU needs to be in the 1.25 PPP range.

Sometimes experience is the best teacher. I think the Coach showed long-term thinking and great leadership in having a meeting to get buy in after the three losses. According to his interview (think it was on sportline on wvmetronews.com), he told them that if we revert to WLU basketball, we can win most of our remaining games. If we keep playing the way we have these last 3 games, we stand a good chance of not making the NCAA tournament. It worked.

Some great leaders have the same approach. Some quotes follow (google Eisenhower quotes and Patton Quotes and there are some gems).

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

Dwight D. Eisenhower



Gen. George Patton

Great point. The "my way or the highway" days are over. As you say ... coaches get too overbearing and half the team is in the portal. That's 2021.

[Columbuseer]

We probably need to take the WLU style discussion to the WLU hilltopper thread, as it is not really germane to VC transfers.

[Columbuseer]

WOW...If I were the coach and I had players that weren't following my instructions, they would be getting a large amount of game time sitting next to me while I "explained" the importance of playing the way I wanted them to play and how further inability to grasp the importance of team play might result in them playing on another team.

That is certainly one approach. The risk is that one wins the battle, but lose the war.
Almost every coach is probably facing this challenge. I have heard Huggins complain that they are not running the plays he calls or doing what they practice. He realizes that an autocratic approach could result in 6 guys in the portal.


The players had good intentions. I think it takes a while for elite players, who are driven to win, to resist the temptation to take matters into their own hands. What if you had gotten very high accolades, and had been successful playing against pro and D1 players in the summer, are now facing some flunkie who can't hold a candle to you? You might see that trying to split two defenders is no big deal. Except you go stumbling, bumbling as a result of a no-call and turn the ball over. Or you mistakenly believe that you can finish in the low post against 3 guys and it is a higher percentage shot than kicking it out for an open three. In a system that allows players the freedom to make decisions, they were making decisions that did not maximize the team's chances of winning.

In the 3 losses, the WLU PPP was between 1.00 and 1.09, which is very good for a D1 team, for WLU was playing D1 style ball. But it is not good enough to win a high % of games against hot-shooting D2 teams that present matchup issues for WLU. WLU needs to be in the 1.25 PPP range.

Sometimes experience is the best teacher. I think the Coach showed long-term thinking and great leadership in having a meeting to get buy in after the three losses. According to his interview (think it was on sportline on wvmetronews.com), he told them that if we revert to WLU basketball, we can win most of our remaining games. If we keep playing the way we have these last 3 games, we stand a good chance of not making the NCAA tournament. It worked.

Some great leaders have the same approach. Some quotes follow (google Eisenhower quotes and Patton Quotes and there are some gems).

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

Dwight D. Eisenhower



Gen. George Patton

[boatcapt]

You are right about costing us 3 games. Coach said that as painful as it was, the losses convinced players to return to playing the wlu brand of ball. Subsequently they starting kicking the ball out more on drives. The issue was not the wlu style, but elite players trying to do too much on their own, which is not the wlu style. Sometimes elite players consider difficult shots as routine, but unfortunately they aren't successful in a game and they often result in no offensive rebound.

WOW...If I were the coach and I had players that weren't following my instructions, they would be getting a large amount of game time sitting next to me while I "explained" the importance of playing the way I wanted them to play and how further inability to grasp the importance of team play might result in them playing on another team.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Cam Martin, D2 Missouri Southern, has signed with the Kansas Jayhawks. Huge.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Williams (Glenville export) got an offer from Charleston Southern (D1 mid-major).

[Columbuseer]

Yes WLU's players have a lot of freedom AND expectation to analyze and adjust on the fly. When it works, which is quite often, it is a beautiful thing to see! But this freedom, at least in the half court, does begin with a fundimental organizational structure (i.e. a play). Typically, this is some form of high weave which is an outside in offense...not surprizing given our typical ability to shoot from the outside and the "vertical challenge" of many of our players. It looks to me that the teams that gave us trouble, particularly this year, focused their D on defending the 3 point line and then collapsing hard inside should a WLU player decide to penetrate. Seemed to me that once a WLU player decided to drive, he was going to take it all the way no matter what. Cost us three games which ultimately probably cost us the ability to go to the final four or NC game (seeding).

Perhaps it's just a re-reeducation process because I know in years past the drive-kickout was a pretty major part of our offense. It seems that the players have forgotten that that option is there...particularly when the defense is collapsing around them.

You are right about costing us 3 games. Coach said that as painful as it was, the losses convinced players to return to playing the wlu brand of ball. Subsequently they starting kicking the ball out more on drives. The issue was not the wlu style, but elite players trying to do too much on their own, which is not the wlu style. Sometimes elite players consider difficult shots as routine, but unfortunately they aren't successful in a game and they often result in no offensive rebound.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Ross Young (WVW) has entered the portal.

He's a heck of an athlete at 6'5" and a solid player (who got lost on a bad team).

Looks like he'd be a one-year guy at G/F.


For the IUP crowd, recall WVW opened here two years ago and was actually up at halftime. He had about 3-4 dunks in the first half on us. IUP crushed them in the second half.

He'd be intriguing to many teams.

[boatcapt]

I think that you have touched on the beauty and advantage of the wlu style. Players have the freedom to make decisions and adjust in real time. St. Crutch explained it in an hour long podcast hosted by a basketball blogger. His goal is to get players to see the situation on the floor ( military calls it situational awareness), quickly analyze it, and then react appropriately. As a result, their basketball iq increases much faster than players running set plays all the time. Makes them harder to scout too. Wlu coaches would prefer that they never had to call a play. Of course, you still have to hit open looks, and execute fundamentals better than the opponents.

Yes WLU's players have a lot of freedom AND expectation to analyze and adjust on the fly. When it works, which is quite often, it is a beautiful thing to see! But this freedom, at least in the half court, does begin with a fundimental organizational structure (i.e. a play). Typically, this is some form of high weave which is an outside in offense...not surprizing given our typical ability to shoot from the outside and the "vertical challenge" of many of our players. It looks to me that the teams that gave us trouble, particularly this year, focused their D on defending the 3 point line and then collapsing hard inside should a WLU player decide to penetrate. Seemed to me that once a WLU player decided to drive, he was going to take it all the way no matter what. Cost us three games which ultimately probably cost us the ability to go to the final four or NC game (seeding).

Perhaps it's just a re-reeducation process because I know in years past the drive-kickout was a pretty major part of our offense. It seems that the players have forgotten that that option is there...particularly when the defense is collapsing around them.