Guards play key role in ASU lineup
by Steve Behr Sports Editor
Appalachian State men's basketball coach Jason Capel wanted more energy on the court than what his players were providing. For much of the season, Capel has pulled players from the starting lineup because of a lack of effort.
Another lineup change was done to simply get the ball up the court quicker. It's why the Mountaineers (11-15, 7-9) have used three point guards — freshman Mike Neal and sophomores Mitch Woods and G.J. Vilarino — in the starting lineup.
The Mountaineers close out the regular season at The Citadel tonight and Saturday at Western Carolina.
They'll likely do it with either Neal and Vilarino in the starting lineup — or possibly both.
“We kind of switched the lineup a bit because those guys attack mentally,” Capel said. “We don't want to be a 3-point shooting team. We want to attack the middle and Neal and Vilarino do a good job of that. They're in attack mode on both sides of the ball.”
Neal has been in the starting lineup since Dec. 17 when the Mountaineers played at North Carolina. Neal averages 6.9 points per game, has 70 assists and 31 steals.
Neal led the Mountaineers in scoring with 15 points in a 66-64 loss to Wofford and 23 points in a 79-70 win over Chattanooga.
Vilarino is a recent addition to the starting lineup. His first start was against Furman on Feb. 9.
Vilarino's strength offensively is to drive to the basket and either shoot, dish the ball off to a teammate or go to the foul line.
Vilarino, who started five games earlier in the season, was 7-of-8 from the line in a win over Furman. Woods scored eight points and passed out four assists in his start against Chattanooga.
“We want to put the onus on the officials to make the calls on whether there are fouls or not,” Capel said. “Mentally, that is something we've worked on all year. Against Furman, we were 30-of-38 from the foul line. We did not shoot a great percentage in our last game, but we were in attack mode and I think we're doing a good job of that right now.”
Capel said good guard play is important be it at the college level, or at any level of basketball.
“Basketball in general, whether it's in high school, college or the pros — the teams that are really good have great guards,” Capel said. “You look at Wofford the past two years, they have great guards. They have good guys in front, as well. Davidson has been the top team in the SoCon all year because they have a balance of both.”
The Mountaineers play a Citadel team Wednesday that is struggling. The Bulldogs limp into the showdown with a 4-22 overall record, 1-14 in the SoCon.
The Citadel is 11th out of 12 SoCon teams in scoring defense by giving up 74.5 points per game. Ironically, UNC Greensboro, which leads the SoCon's North Division, is last in the conference at 76.9 per game.
Mike Groselle, who is second in the SoCon in scoring at 16.9 points per game, leads The Citadel's offense. The Bulldogs do not have another player in the league's top 30 in scoring.
Groselle also leads the conference in rebounding with 9.3 per game. He is also second in field goal percentage by making 58.4 percent of his shots.
Omar Carter continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring with 11.9 points per game, but his production has slowed recently. Carter was limited to six points in a 79-70 win over Chattanooga and a season low two points on 1-of-7 shooting in a 66-64 loss to Wofford.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Another lineup change was done to simply get the ball up the court quicker. It's why the Mountaineers (11-15, 7-9) have used three point guards — freshman Mike Neal and sophomores Mitch Woods and G.J. Vilarino — in the starting lineup.
The Mountaineers close out the regular season at The Citadel tonight and Saturday at Western Carolina.
They'll likely do it with either Neal and Vilarino in the starting lineup — or possibly both.
“We kind of switched the lineup a bit because those guys attack mentally,” Capel said. “We don't want to be a 3-point shooting team. We want to attack the middle and Neal and Vilarino do a good job of that. They're in attack mode on both sides of the ball.”
Neal has been in the starting lineup since Dec. 17 when the Mountaineers played at North Carolina. Neal averages 6.9 points per game, has 70 assists and 31 steals.
Neal led the Mountaineers in scoring with 15 points in a 66-64 loss to Wofford and 23 points in a 79-70 win over Chattanooga.
Vilarino is a recent addition to the starting lineup. His first start was against Furman on Feb. 9.
Vilarino's strength offensively is to drive to the basket and either shoot, dish the ball off to a teammate or go to the foul line.
Vilarino, who started five games earlier in the season, was 7-of-8 from the line in a win over Furman. Woods scored eight points and passed out four assists in his start against Chattanooga.
“We want to put the onus on the officials to make the calls on whether there are fouls or not,” Capel said. “Mentally, that is something we've worked on all year. Against Furman, we were 30-of-38 from the foul line. We did not shoot a great percentage in our last game, but we were in attack mode and I think we're doing a good job of that right now.”
Capel said good guard play is important be it at the college level, or at any level of basketball.
“Basketball in general, whether it's in high school, college or the pros — the teams that are really good have great guards,” Capel said. “You look at Wofford the past two years, they have great guards. They have good guys in front, as well. Davidson has been the top team in the SoCon all year because they have a balance of both.”
The Mountaineers play a Citadel team Wednesday that is struggling. The Bulldogs limp into the showdown with a 4-22 overall record, 1-14 in the SoCon.
The Citadel is 11th out of 12 SoCon teams in scoring defense by giving up 74.5 points per game. Ironically, UNC Greensboro, which leads the SoCon's North Division, is last in the conference at 76.9 per game.
Mike Groselle, who is second in the SoCon in scoring at 16.9 points per game, leads The Citadel's offense. The Bulldogs do not have another player in the league's top 30 in scoring.
Groselle also leads the conference in rebounding with 9.3 per game. He is also second in field goal percentage by making 58.4 percent of his shots.
Omar Carter continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring with 11.9 points per game, but his production has slowed recently. Carter was limited to six points in a 79-70 win over Chattanooga and a season low two points on 1-of-7 shooting in a 66-64 loss to Wofford.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m.