West Liberty will attempt to extend Division II’s longest postseason qualifying streak this winter when the Hilltoppers shoot for another MEC title and a 13th-straight NCAA tournament appearance.
The Hilltoppers under head coach Ben Howlett play an impressive, high-scoring brand of positionless basketball. Every player can shoot, handle the rock, and play defense. Most importantly, every player gives it his all from tip to buzzer, without fail.
It’s an entertaining and somewhat unique brand of basketball, one that has talented players across the region and beyond seeking out West Liberty.
“When we say to recruits, we are from West Liberty, they know about us, they know where we are, our style of play.
“We call it our brand, the West Liberty brand. The kids know it, and that’s what makes it fun. We get a reputation of being a run-and-gun team, but we value the defensive side of the floor. Ideally, we’re trying to create more possessions.
There will be a few more opportunities for touches this winter as All-American and MEC Player of the Year Dalton Bolon transferred to the College of Charleston in Division I for his final season.
Bolon takes with him 21.3 points per game along with the team lead in 3-point shooting and rebounding. Howlett wished Bolon well as he has been an integral part of both Howlett’s and West Liberty’s success for five seasons.
Shooters the Hilltoppers have. Shooters they’ve brought in. That’s not Howlett’s concern. But it’s Bolon’s leadership and tenacity working the boards that will be sorely missed.
Also gone is Luke Dyer and Owen Hazelbaker. Dyer got his fifth season in and is focused on finishing his master’s degree. Hazelbaker, meanwhile, entered the transfer portal and signed on with Walsh University of the GMAC.
West Liberty receives back a two-year starter from Walsh who is a 3-point sharpshooter among his talents in Christian Montague.
Montague has made more than 80 3-pointers and scored more than 600 points during his tenure. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining.
“It’s kind of weird how it worked,” Howlett said. “We’ve been on Christian for a while. We were in the tournament and Walsh was done, but we worked on him for a while, and it just so happened that Owen transferred to Walsh.”
The Transfers
Joining Montague in transferring to the hilltop are Viktor Kovacevic from Quincy and former Charleston Golden Eagle Garrett Denbow.
Kovacevic is a 6-8 wing capable of scoring at multiple levels. The Belgrade, Serbia native has one season of eligibility remaining after two at Quincy and two at Manhattan Community College in New York.
“He’s got great size, but he’s had success at our level already and is accustomed to playing at the D-II level in the GLVC,” Howlett said. “He’s multi-skilled and can play a variety of different positions.”
The same can be said for Denbow, who took a different path to get to WLU.
The Ashland, Ohio native was recruited heavily by West Liberty out of high school, but opted to attend conference rival UC. He showed flashes early despite battling injuries, but opted to sit out last season and attend classes at a community college from home.
Now, with a full year, the unwritten rule about transferring in-conference wasn’t a thing and Denbow and the Hilltoppers finally connected.
“He sat out but continued to work on his game and, one thing led to another, and he was back on campus for a visit,” Howlett said. “His AAU coach contacted us and asked if we’d still have interest in him.”
Denbow gives the Hilltoppers another shooter from the perimeter who canned better than 44 percent of his attempts at UC.
The Rookies
Rounding out the Hilltoppers’ class of 2021 is a trio of incoming freshman, one apiece from Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Boxing fans will recognize the name of one of the recruits as 6-1 point guard Dante Spadafora of Our Lady of Sacred Heart in Coraopolis is the nephew of Paul Spadafora.
Never one to pick up the gloves, Dante Spadafora wages his battles on the hardwood. Spadafora averaged better than 20 points in helping lead Sacred Heart to an unbeaten season and state championship.
“We’ve known about him for a couple years,” Howlett said. “He’s a really competitive kid and has a great high school career.
“I know his scoring went up, but what makes him special is his intensity level, how hard he plays. That’s what will get him on the floor. He’s ultra-fiery and his ability to get others involved is crucial for us.”
West Liberty doesn’t utilize a true ball-dominant point guard in the traditional sense, but both Spadafora and Montague give them two dangerous and capable ball handlers.
The final two are no slouches either in Charleston Catholic’s Aiden Satterfield (6-7) and 6-3 shooting guard Austin Webb from South Point, Ohio.
Satterfield averaged 21.4 and 8.3 rebounds last season for the Fighting Irish and is a two-time all-W.Va. performer.
He can play above the rim with his athleticism and leaping ability, but Satterfield can also make it rain from the perimeter, as evident by his 46-point, 10 3-pointer outing this season.
Webb, meanwhile, battled through injuries his senior season but is a two-time all-conference guard that averaged 21.1 as a junior for South Point. He, like Satterfield, also led the team in rebounding at 7.5 points per game.
