Commentary:

ASU guards

growing up just in time
By Steve Behr, sports editor
sports@wataugademocrat.com

This should be a good one Thursday night.

Chattanooga comes to town to take on Appalachian State in a game that has the potential to be one of the more entertaining ones the Mountaineers will play this season.

The Mocs are 12-5 overall, but more importantly, 7-0 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State counters with a 9-6, 4-2 in the conference. With a win over Chattanooga and another over Georgia Southern Saturday, combined with a Chattanooga loss to Davidson Saturday, the Mountaineers could find themselves a half-game out of first place in the North Division.

It’s a long way from the 11-point lead the Mountaineers gave up in a loss to Wichita State. It’s also a long way from leads, and then games, that were lost to Charlotte and San Jose State.

Then again, it’s because the Mountaineers are a long way from those games, which seem like they were played in 2007.

OK, so they were played in 2007, but this is 2008, the year that the Mountaineers are suddenly playing solid, entertaining basketball.

The guards have been the biggest reason. A young group that struggled against pressure defenses that Charlotte and Davidson provided has grown up considerably since then.

Few would dispute that Appalachian State’s frontcourt is experienced and deep. Donte Minter, Jeremy Clayton, Davis Bowne and Doug McLaughlin-Williams are all seniors and all have proven they can contribute when given a chance.

However, the backcourt is almost painfully young. Starting point guard Donald Sims is a true freshman. His backup, Ryann Abraham, is a redshirt sophomore.

Off-guard Kellen Brand is a sophomore and Jeremi Booth, who has only recently been included in the rotation, is a redshirt freshman.

They and the graybeard of the bunch, Eduardo Bermudez, are the reasons why the Mountaineers have had a surge in victories. They’ve been shooting the ball well from the perimeter, which not only scores points from the outside, but it also opens things up near the basket for Minter, who is not seeing nearly as many double teams from guards slacking off of ASU’s backcourt.

The Mountaineers’ backcourt is also getting better. They passed a big test last Thursday when they held Wofford’s sharpshooting trio of Shane Nichols, Drew Gibson and Junior Salters to 8-of-22 shooting and 25 total points.

Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher feels the entire team has improved considerably.

“You’ve got to give these kids a chance to grow.”