To most students in
Boone, supporting the basketball team is not of any interest, and
it falls low on the list of things to do on a free night.
But for the few hundred or so that do don their black and gold in
support of the Mountaineers, they are given the opportunity to see
some talent rivaled only by a select few squads in Appalachian history.
The 1999-2000 season marks the last season for a few things: Varsity
Gymnasium, head coach Buzz Peterson, a Southern Conference tournament
victory and, of course, a birth to the NCAA tournament.
This season the Mountaineers have finally gotten comfortable in
the three-year-old George M. Holmes Convocation Center. Head coach
Houston Fancher (Peterson’s assistant before his departure)
has set in his own methods of play; the black and gold are 11-3
for the first time since the 1988-89 season, and they are yet to
be beaten at home.
This could be the year for the Mountaineers to get back to the plateau
set in Peterson’s final season, to make it back to the promised
land of all basketball, the round of 64 (or now 65, since the addition
of the play-in game).
Since the inaugural game at the Holmes Center, the Mountaineers
have not faired too well in Boone. In the first season a record
of 6-8 was obtained on home court, while last year a mediocre 7-6
was accrued.
This year Appalachian has opened up with an 8-0 home court stand
with huge overtime victories over the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte and Gardner-Webb University. A special energy is in
the air that has not been there in years past; the Mountaineers
appear to finally have a home court advantage.
A lot of the Mountaineer’s success is due to the home court,
obviously, because eight of the 11 victories have been in Boone.
Although one cannot give all the credit to the venue in which the
team plays.
“These guys can hoop,” I heard from a fan at the last
home game.
Standing at 5 feet 10 inches, Shawn Hall leads the Mountaineers
in shot attempts, but because of such a willingness to shoot the
ball he is averaging 21.9 points per game this season. Sometimes
the shot selection is not what coach Fancher would prefer from his
senior leader; nonetheless, his abilities have allowed him to post
33 points against UNCC, 37 to East Tennessee State University and
34 on the shoulders of Gardner-Webb.
Complimenting Hall is another great backcourt player and senior
leader, Graham Bunn. Bunn is the second-leading scorer on the squad
with 13 points a game and the leading assist man with 5.9 per outing.
He truly has proven himself to be the court leader the Mountaineers
needed this year and have been missing in the last two seasons.
Down low, Appalachian has two guys that come to play day in and
day out: Josh Shehan and Nate Carson. While Shehan and Carson have
not proven to be the high-rise flashy types of players, they are
averaging 10.4 and 9.2 points respectively. Add in 8.1 rebounds
from Shehan and 5.9 from Carson and you have two guys on your team
that can get a double-double any time they step on the court.
Add Chris McFarland for the high-rise antics that any crowd loves
and you have got yourself a basketball team. McFarland has proven
himself to be a reliable swing man this season averaging 11.8 a
game, but it is more than his points that add to the game. McFarland
has the ability to spark the crowd with his above the rim game play,
a much needed facet to the Mountaineer attack.
Yes, the Mountaineers can score, we know that, but Fancher’s
squad plays both sides of the floor—offense and defense.
Matt Jones returns as the team’s best ball thief, and he has
already stolen 33 this season. With the addition of Jonathon Mitchell’s
26 blocks on the season, Appalachian is averaging just over four
turnovers a game from just these two players.
You will find no Cedrick Holmes, Tyson Patterson or Rufus Leach
on the sidelines this year if the Mountaineers do make it to the
NCAA tournament.
But you will find a team that knows how to play together and win
ball games.
Plus, you have to remember this year’s team has done something
Peterson’s teams never could do, start a season at 11-3.
Coach Fancher has now stepped out of Peterson’s shadow and
will lead Appalachian to many victories in his career as head coach.
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