#11 - Appalachian State

Someone has to be last. But there are reasons to think that App State might struggle this season.

WHAT I LIKE:
They return all five starters, including 5th year senior Tommy Spagnolo. They also will have Purdue transfer Jacob Lawson. Even though this group of starters lost 21 games last year, they will be a year older and presumably stronger and wiser. You never know what a new coach can do for a team, but Jim Fox appears to have hit the ground running with enthusiasm. This team was plus on rebounding last season. And then, one thing always to like about App State is that they come from a state where basketball actually matters.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
This group of starters did not get the job done last year, so obviously there is a talent upgrade needed. They shot poorly last year, especially from the arc (30.2). Their defense did not slow down opponents much (36.8% from the arc). When you give up a 6.6 percentage point differential from 3-point range, that is hard to make up in other areas. Their shooting discipline was terrible: players taking most of the shots weren't making many.This team does not have a true big man, even though that is not necessarily a problem in the Belt. One intangible negative this team will carry is that they are ineligible for post season due to APR.

We can watch Appalachian St at the Jack on Sat Jan 10th in a double Header.

Tough to argue with App finishing at or near the bottom of the SBC, given the recent results. However, I do think the coaching change will do a world of good. Jason Capel, although he was a very nice guy, was not ready to be a DI coach and his teams were unorganized which led to big-time underachievement.

A couple guys that were signed late, Milos Kostic and Griffin Kinney, are very versatile 'stretch fours' who should compete for playing time as freshmen and as you mentioned, Jacob Lawson is a great addition to the rotation.

Based on what I saw last year, I would have the Mountaineers ahead of Georgia Southern but it may be splitting hairs. Overall, very fair analysis. There will be progress in year one under Fox but with a tougher conference and no sub-DI cupcakes on the schedule, may not translate to many more wins.

Just for the record, I am thrilled to have App in the conference, and they could easily finish higher. But until we know how Fox is going to do and how the APR will affect them, I sort of by default put them last.

Can certainly understand us being last, but am hyped big time for Coach
Fox. He is the type guy you would follow into battle, even though he
doesn't look like it. Have no doubt will be at the middle or higher of the
SBC by next year. Good things coming for App State in basketball.
Has to get better than this:

That video is funny