West Virginia has arguably the most recognizable jump shooting wing in the country who has perfect form (almost emblematic) and incredible charisma.  As much as Jerry West defines this program has their own jump shooting wing who ‘is’ App State!  Senior Belus Smawley has been the man since he walked on the Boone campus. He is probably the only player on the team with next level talent.  At least of the returning players.  Smawley is a terrific jump shooter (he was seriously one of the first to implement the new shot way back when) who seemingly can score at will.  How important has Smawley been to this program?  Back in the NAIA days, App State lost their coach due to monetary restrictions.  No problem! Smawley took them over and did not lose a conference game the rest of the year and led App State to the final four of the NAIA. Really! Coming from just up the road in tiny Ellenboro where he learned to shoot his patented jump shot at an abandoned train depot, Smawley chose to come and play in Boone.  He led the team in scoring, like he has for all three years, and was without question the best player on the team.  At six one he is big enough to get the job done at the two especially with his great touch that he is trying to expand out beyond the arc. He is also a good passer and helps on the boards though as he is a solidly built young man.  He has a future but must become a little more athletic and less brittle (he missed four games with minor injuries) if he is to match up with some of the bigger guards This team plays a three-guard set which means Smawley guards some true small forwards and he is just not big enough for that but he has no problem with two guards. Legend is a word that they bandy around way too much especially in this state but if anybody ever fit that definition the kid with the name that sounds it came from a word jumble of a John Hughes movie sure fits the description! 

The favorite to start next to Smawley is junior Walter Anderson.  Anderson platooned with fellow junior Stan Davis for the first part of last year at point guard.  He took over then and showed tremendous leadership ability.  This kid is undersized at five ten but is a little spark plug on the court. Anderson is a tremendous on the ball defender who understands the importance of pressuring the ball constantly and being that little gnat that messes up the other team’s offense structure.  He easily led the team in steals and by the middle of the season was starting a playing a majority of the minutes at the point the rest of the way. Not a great scorer, Anderson will score when needed.  He is best getting to the hoop and either converting or more likely hitting an open teammate.  He is not a great shooter especially from behind the arc but he seemed to get better in big situations taking the bull by the horns and wanting the ball and Peterson loves that mentality.  Davis is a solid combo guard that was playing point to get into the starting lineup but is better suited for the two and that spot was filled by the great Smawley.  He scored a bit more than Anderson (ok a lot more) but is one of the guys that is stuck behind a stud.  At 6’2 he will get some minutes but probably not at point again as Peterson is bringing in not one but two more mighty mites to compete for the job. These are two solid point guards who will do what Peterson wants from that position (distributing and playing defense).  Anderson will have to pick it up offensively and especially improve his range if he will fend off the hand-chosen point guards of the new coach.  

Perhaps the most athletically talented player on the roster is Junior wing Daryll Robinson.  And for sure he is the most capable of doing a little bit of everything on the court.  Robinson was one of former Coach’s Bobby Cremins primary recruits who joined him when he came down from the Big Apple to help build this program.  Robinson jumped on the aptly named ‘Bronx to Boone Express’ which Cremins helped develop though he came from Brooklyn but you get the gest.  Two other recruits on this roster came from the Big Apple but neither as important as Robinson.  Cremins most definitely put this program on the map in their fledgling first few years of D-1 basketball after Light had been the mainstay for the NAIA years.  The bounce back and forth seems to be quite customary for App State.  Now back to Robinson, this kid is as smart and relaxed as you will find.  He is six four and understands how to play the game.  Cremins even had him playing point guard for his teams and he did a fine job there.  Light moved to the three as he went with that three guard set but he knew this kid could handle guarding bigger guys and he was right.  Smawley gets most of the hype but Robinson is just as good and doesn’t mind hiding in the background doing all of the little things well.  He is the best defender on the team and is a solid rebounder.  He can score though he acquiesces too much to Smawley and others.  He did average over 10 points a game but showed what he can do in the four games Smawley missed averaged almost 17 a game.  He is also a terrific passer and if he keeps improving like he has his first two years this kid could join the legend at the next level. There is much depth on the wings but none were near as good as Smawley or Robinson. Senior Don ‘the Hairdo’ King was once a prominent part of this team but got surpassed last year and has been stuck on the deep bench though he can score.  He is nowhere near quick enough to guard D-1 guards but he did get some obligatory minutes early and late.  Point guard Kemp Phillips led the JV and is ready for varsity minutes and can shoot and pass.  Fellow Sophomores John Fitch and Wade Capehart were two of these with completely different results and roles.  Fitch is another combo guard who played on JV early on but got some minutes later on.  He goes 6’2 and can pass though he is not a point guard but he can shoot.  Capehart is a 6’6 wing who can defend and needs to get on the court more.  Junior Alvin Gentry is another who never really played at all but his importance to this team was immeasurable.  You see when Cremins set up his Express he needed somebody to host the kids when they come down to visit Boone.  When Cremins started this railroad Boone did not even have a McDonald’s yet so most of these kids were not planning on staying long.  That is where Gentry came in with his unique ability to entertain these kids and convince them that Boone was the place for them to play college basketball.  This kid has the magic touch and somehow convinced the likes of Robinson and a few others to play for App State which was no small feat.  Playing basketball might not be in Gentry’s future but he definitely has a bright one as a recruiter of young men and who knows coaching someday because we all know that coaching about talent to come and play for you and we are just not talking about college basketball anymore.  

On the blocks App State had some issues to say the least.  Peterson has a duo coming back that he will give the first shot at before he lets his recruits run amuck.  Senior Wayne Duncan and Sophomore Charles Payton earned their starting nods and really are the best of the lot of players the new coach has at his disposal.   Duncan is an old school post guy who loves performing on the blocks with a wide array of moves that help cover his lack of size and athleticism.  He has been the main low post option for the last three years and try as much as he could Peterson could not find a better option down low.  Duncan started all 29 games and though his minutes reduced as the season progressed the ‘old man’ still had a solid year that earned him honorable mention All SoCon recognition.  He would have averaged double digits in points (he was above 12 a game the first half) but was shuffled out for other big men to try to replace him the entire second half. Duncan is one of the most popular players who ever played on Boone and with little or no chance of playing at the next level will probably stay around here and continue to help his alma mater continue to progress. He does seemingly know everyone and he has that knack for being able to bring people together for worthy causes and is smart as a whip.  Payton is also vastly undersized (6’5) but still played most of the year at center.  This Camden New Jersey kid only started playing basketball his junior year of high school after getting hurt playing football but he has carried that attitude over the basketball court.  He is a tremendous athlete that Cremins had seen and saw the potential and got him on the express as quick as he could.  Peterson has no desire of trying to bench this kid.  At six five guarding guys much bigger than you is no easy task not even in this undersized conference but Payton loves every minute of the work down low.  Payton is not a great scorer yet though he did average double figures primarily on dunks and putbacks.  This kid is terrific on the boards as he can jump out of the gym and really helps out on the defensive end.  He has this presence in the paint though he is not a classic rim protector you will know he is there.  It would be nice if he could move to the four next year but then again this kid loves his role being the intimidator for this team and he relishes going to battle down low.  He is also a solid passer who seems to be improving by leaps and bounds in almost every game he plays and has a bright future in Boone and hopefully beyond.  

 John Pyecha is another senior big man who will be missed after he decided to pursue his career in baseball.  This six five 200 pound righty is one heck of a pitcher and realized after getting drafted by the Cubs his future was in baseball and left for spring training.  Too bad, because at one point during the NAIA years Pyecha was the main man down low for this team and teamed with Duncan and Dave Abernathy to form a formidable front line.  Abernathy’s minutes reduced quite rapidly as the season progressed but unlike his friend he rode out the second half of the season at the end of the bench trying to mentor his younger teammates.  This trio were all big time scorers (all averaged over 15 a game) but moving up to D-1 showed their deficiencies especially lack of size and athleticism. Fellow Seniors Rick Howe and Allan Price did not play as much as expected though both have a little more size up front.  Neither played much the second half though they both have had some great moments in Boone and were tremendous board men.  Junior Mel Hubbard did receive more PT last season.  Hubbard was Mr. Consistent up front for App State with solid defense coming off the bench for most of the year.  At six eight he has the size to hang with anybody in this league and is solid on the boards.  He never started a game and his minutes fluctuated but he was always there to do his thing down in the paint. Hubbardism is a term they developed for this kid in high school as he was Mr. Everything on the court and on the track (he is a terrific high jumper) and that carried over last year once he got moved up finally from JV.  Speaking of JV, Sam Gibson is a sophomore big man who has the size and tools to possibly be a starter next year.  At six nine he has a nice touch and can get the job done when he gets the ball down on the blocks.  The weird thing is that he is not much of a rebounder but his upside is huge and the fact that he has some size will give him every chance to play more often the next three years.  Fellow sophomore Rod Davis had a solid first year on JV and has some size at 6’7 but is more of a small forward.  He could push for minutes as Peterson has said he wants to get more athletic on the wings

Appalachian State tried to use everybody on their roster.  They did not have the talent to compete with the big boys from the southern conference so they tried everyone to find some D-1 talent.  This program has never really had much success even in the NAIA days and now that they are in D-1 they are finding how hard it is keeping up with the Joneses or the Davidsons.  They have a fresh young coach with Tar Heel ties but this is a stepping stone program especially this close to the ACC who is always on the prey for charismatic coaches. Bobby Cremins started the Bronx Express down here and got some talent to come to Boone but he soon got stung by the desire to Coach in the big time and is now in Atlanta at Georgia Tech.  New Coach (there is some weird connection to bees around these parts) Peterson is trying to turn some of these kids into players. Peterson has a long road in front of him and this program needs some kind of spark to create a ‘buzz’ in this small rural North Carolinian town to get them out of the shadow of a frustrating season.  And to maybe fill up the seats of that wonderful new arena they have built!  Hey, maybe they should schedule a game in the Big House to get this party rolling.