If there was a year when expectations were high for Appalachian State, it was last year.

The Mountaineers, deep in the backcourt, fully expected to reach the NCAA tournament. It’s not difficult to understand why. Winning the San Juan Shootout with victories over Virginia, Central Florida and Vanderbilt put the Mountaineers on the NCAA basketball map.

Wins over lesser known, but still tough teams, boosted Appalachian State’s resume. One of those teams, Wichita State, invades Boone Nov. 29 to try to avenge one of those ASU wins, a 60-58 victory in the Mountaineers’ first BracketBuster game. Appalachian State hosts another BracketBuster game later in the season.

Still, the Mountaineers found themselves outside of the NCAA tournament despite a 25-8 record. They accepted their first NIT bid, but fell to Ole Miss in the first round.

The last time Appalachian State reached the postseason was in 2000 when the Tyson Patterson-led Mountaineers won the SoCon Tournament and went to the NCAAs, where they fell to Ohio State.

The following season did not go so well for the Mountaineers or their new coach, Houston Fancher. It started on a high note when Appalachian State opened the Holmes Center against North Carolina, but the team’s record slumped to 11-20.

Don’t look for that to happen this year. Not even close.

This Mountaineers edition has as good of a chance to get back to the NCAA tournament as any that Fancher has brought together. It has depth, size and explosion up front, though there are question marks in the backcourt.

Still, a talented core of frontcourt players return for the 2007-08 season, led by SoCon Player of the Year candidate Donte Minter. Jeremy Clayton evolved into one of the top defensive stoppers in the conference and Davis Bowne turned out to be a viable option in the Mountaineers’ option.

Doug McLaughlin-Williams returns and 6-foot-10, 295-pound Isaac Butts may be impossible to move off the low post this year. The interesting thing about all of the frontcourt players is that they can move. They can run the court and they can score — maybe not 25 points per game, but 8-12 ppg — if asked.

It’s a very good start for a team that lost point guard D.J. Thompson and shooting guards Nate Cranford and Demetrius Scott. It’s a team that will lean on the big guys in the middle until the guys on the perimeter can mature.

They’ll need to find a point guard to replace Thompson, who did everything last year for the Mountaineers. He led the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game and was the leader of the team.

They’ll need to find a defensive stopper like Demetrius Scott, who wouldn’t back down from a young George Foreman if the two were fighting for a cheeseburger. And they’ll have to find a shooter from the outside like Cranford, who, when he was on, could shoot the Mountaineers to a victory.

The point guard is still in debate. Ryann Abraham is the incumbent, but sharpshooting Donald Sims could replace both Thompson and Cranford. Kellen Brand is tough like Scott and could emerge as a defensive stopper.

Eduardo Bermudez will be the driver of the bunch, the guy who will look to go to the foul line 10-15 times per game. He also can hit from the outside if he gets warmed up.

But make no mistake about it. Until those guys catch up, the Mountaineers frontcourt is the strength of the team. Minter averaged just 11.5 points per game off the bench, but is capable of a 30-point night. He’ll draw plenty of attention.

Clayton scored 10.1 per game last year and will be another target up front. Bowne is also capable of taking on scoring responsibilities, especially on the low post. And there are few players in the SoCon big enough to guard Butts one-on-one. For a big player, he’s got good quickness and will be a handful for any defense.

Even in a guard’s league, like the Southern Conference, it always helps to have the big guys up front to do the dirty work.

At least for now, the Mountaineers are in good hands.