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Addressing Problems - Mountaineers have firepower, but Peterson says they must cut down on turnovers and improve on defense
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Published: November 6, 2009
The first order of business for Buzz Peterson, who has returned for a second term as the head coach at Appalachian State, is an obvious one.
The main reason for the Mountaineers' fall from back-to-back winning seasons to a 13-18 finish last season was a grotesque number of turnovers -- an average of 17.5 a game. Only six of 330 NCAA Division I teams averaged more.
The Mountaineers will need to rectify that problem. Peterson plans to do so.
"That's been the big emphasis in practice," said senior Kellen Brand, the Mountaineers' top scorer last season.
"We've got a rule called ‘second lost ball.' If a guy gets a second turnover, the whole team has to run."
Is it working?
"We've been running a lot," said junior Donald Sims, the team's other returning double-figures scorer. "But it's a lot less with each day."
Turnovers led to a lot of points for opponents -- the Mountaineers gave up 76.8 a game, second-worst in the Southern Conference -- and Peterson is working toward a more physical, aggressive defense as a hedge.
"We're emphasizing taking pride and making it a priority to get defensive stops," he said. "A lot of people can go play offense, but can you stop somebody? That's the sign of a winning team.
"We've got to get more physical on the defensive end. I can't say we'll be one of the best defensive teams -- we have too far to go right now before I can say that -- but we will be in great shape, and we will make the other team work harder for points."
There are several positives for the Mountaineers.
For one, they return four starters, guards Brand and Sims and post players Ike Butts and Josh Hunter.
Also, the Mountaineers can score, and they can rebound. They were among the better teams in terms of shooting accuracy, and a plus-7.5 rebound margin was easily the best in the SoCon and ranked No. 8 in the nation.
The principal reason for the rebounding success was the strong inside presence of Butts (6-10, 285) and Hunter (6-6, 245). Both return, but their preseason work has been limited after offseason surgery for knee injuries.
Butts, a junior, averaged 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds last season. Hunter, a senior, averaged 8.9 points and 7.2 rebounds.
If they fully recover, the Mountaineers will have a large and proven post tandem -- a coveted commodity in the Southern Conference.
"Those were two dominant players in terms of rebounding and scoring, when we got the ball in there," Peterson said.
Sims, who averaged 13.7 points and hit 41 percent of his 3-point shots, will work mostly at point guard along with senior Ryann Abraham, who averaged 9.8 points and three assists.
Brand, a wing guard, led the team with 14.8 points a game. Sophomore Marcus Wright will shift away from point guard to play more shooting guard, and junior Jeremi Booth, a 6-5 guard who can be a matchup problem and rebounding factor, is seeing his stock rise with added consistency.
Peterson also likes the potential of 6-7 sophomore Andre Williamson to help inside.
"We had the pieces last year, we just couldn't put it all together," Peterson said. "This team does shoot the ball well. We just have to control mistakes."
Peterson said he's all for a fast-paced offense and pushing the ball on a fast break when it's there, but he noted that the emphasis now is more on "hitting singles" than "trying to hit home runs" too often.
"My thing is either to score early or score late in the shot clock," Peterson said.
"I won't hold back from pushing the ball, but if we don't have a great opportunity on a break, we want to make the opponent work more on defense and us take care of the ball and work for the shot we want.
"The one thing I'm trying to get these guys to understand is to value the ball. That's the biggest thing. We have turned it over too much. We can't have that. I think -- actually I know -- as the season goes on, we'll eliminate those and do a better job."
tbowman@wsjournal.com
727-7320
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