ASU men prepare for preseason trip

By Steve Behr
Appalachian State men’s basketball coach Buzz Peterson gets a chance to get a look at what he’s got a bit earlier than most Southern Conference coaches.

Peterson, who took over the program in late April, won’t have to wait until October to conduct practices with his new team. That’s because the Mountaineers will be playing two exhibition games in the Bahamas, one on Aug. 19 and another on Aug. 21.

So, the Mountaineers are allowed to prepare for those games by practicing early, beginning Friday. They’ll work out at the Holmes Center at 4 p.m. Friday, then twice more on Saturday.

Appalachian State has already been doing conditioning programs during the summer, but Peterson is anxious to see what his players can do in person.

“What I’ll try to do is get to know the personnel and which guys play well at which positions,” Peterson said. “Can we press with this lineup? Can I play zone with this lineup? Can these guys execute a screen and roll. We'll run them through several different scenarios.”

What Peterson won’t have to do is mix several newcomers into the lineup. Appalachian State, which finished 13-18 overall, 9-11 in the Southern Conference) lost one senior, Eduardo Bermudez, from last year's team. The Mountaineers return four seniors, four juniors and five sophomores from the 2008-09 edition.

Included are leading scorer Donald Sims (13.7 ppg), a junior and leading rebounder junior Isaac Butts (8.5 rpg).

“I was driving up the mountain with my son and he asked if I had any butterflies,” Peterson said. “I’m very anxious to get back on the floor. …What I missed more from being out of coaching was coaching the guys. If we could have 50-80 practices and scrimmages, I’d be happy.”

It’s not the first time in Peterson's career that he's taken a team out of the country. While at Coastal Carolina, he took the Chanticleers to Costa Rica and while in Tennessee, he took the Vols to the Dominican Republic.
Peterson also said that the trip to the Bahamas is a chance to the players to enjoy themselves in a different country.

“I want them to enjoy it,” he said. “Some of them probably have never been out of the country before. We’ll probably go on a tour and everything and let them see how people live in a different country.”