Appalachian State men’s basketball coach Houston Fancher knows there will be no sneaking up on anybody this year.

Last year’s 25-8 edition ruined that. Appalachian State made sure that it will be taken seriously this year after knocking off Virginia, Central Florida and Vanderbilt in winning the San Juan Shootout.

The Mountaineers also know they’ll be taken seriously in the Southern Conference. Just ask Davidson, the SoCon Tournament champion. The Wildcats lost one conference game last year, which was an 84-77 setback to Appalachian State.

Toss in impressive mid-major victories over Virginia Commonwealth and a road BracketBusters win at Wichita State, and it’s no wonder the Mountaineers felt slighted when they were not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

This year, the Mountaineers have high hopes of finally pushing through the Southern Conference Tournament semifinal barrier. Appalachian State has been to the last three semifinal rounds, but has not reached the finals.
It’s an obvious goal for Fancher and his players. If they don’t reach the conference finals, there’s no way the Mountaineers can win the conference tournament championship and the NCAA berth that goes with it.

“It was sort of a two-fold experience,” Fancher said. “With the NIT, we had to lower our expectation level a little. We didn’t get an NCAA bid, so we had to do some rebuilding of our emotions to get ready for the game.”

The Mountaineers begin the season Nov. 12 at Charlotte and play four other games on the road before their home opener Nov. 26 against arch-rival Davidson. Three days later, they host Wichita State.

Appalachian State does not play any ACC foes this year, mostly because all 11 of the Southern Conference teams will play home-and-home games for the first time since the teams were divided into two divisions. The Mountaineers travel to Arkansas Dec. 22 and at former SoCon rival East Tennessee State Dec. 30.

Appalachian State returns an experienced group of frontcourt players, but will need to replace four seniors — point guards D.J. Thompson and Jeremy Harper, and shooting guards Demetrius Scott and Nate Cranford.
Thompson, a three-year starter, led the team in scoring last year, hitting 15.5 points per game. But there was much more that he takes with him — leadership.

Thompson was the go-to guy in the backcourt. Scott was the defensive stopper and Cranford was the gunner.
But things aren’t completely empty at the Holmes Center. Sophomore Kellen Brand had a solid freshman season and is poised to take over the role of defensive stopper. Eduardo Bermudes, a junior, and redshirt freshman Jeremi Booth are also pushing for playing time at the off-guard position.

The point guard position is more complicated. Redshirt sophomore Ryann Abraham is battling freshman sharpshooter Donald Sims for the starting position, though it is likely that both will see their share of playing time. Freshman Dontarious Hughes is also trying to find playing time in the Mountaineers’ backcourt.

“Ryann Abraham has had a couple of years in the system, so he understands the system,” Fancher said. “He is shooting the ball extremely well.”

While Appalachian State tries to settle its guard situation, the Mountaineers’ frontcourt is deep and experienced. Senior power forward Donte Minter (6-foot-9), who came off the bench to average 11 points per game, is a potential SoCon player of the year.

Another senior forward, 6-7 Jeremy Clayton, led the SoCon in field goal percentage and also developed into an effective shot blocker and defensive player. Senior center Davis Bowne (6-9) was a starter last year, providing rebounding and points when he was open.

The fourth senior returning is 6-8 Doug McLaughlin-Williams, who scores from both outside and provides possible matchup problems with small forwards. A fifth senior, Jay McMillan, adds depth to the lineup.

The interesting addition to the Mountaineers’ front line is 6-10, 295-pound freshman Isaac Butts. An offensive tackle in high school, Butts averaged 26 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots for Georgia Military College Prep School last year. In his junior season, he scored 19 points and 12 rebounds per game.