# 2022–23 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team represented Appalachian State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers, led by fourth-year head coach Dustin Kerns, played their home games at the Holmes Center in Boone, North Carolina as members in the Sun Belt Conference.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2021–22 season 19–15, 12–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place. They defeated Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament before losing to Georgia State in the semifinals. The Mountaineers received an invitation to The Basketball Classic postseason tournament, formerly known as the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. There they lost in the first round to USC Upstate.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Justin Forrest | 1 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Decatur, GA | Graduated |
| RJ Duhart | 4 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Junior | Boynton Beach, FL | Transferred to Charleston Southern |
| Michael Almonacy | 5 | G | 6'0" | 180 | GS Senior | Brentwood, NY | Graduated |
| Adrian Delph | 20 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Gastonia, NC | Graduated/went undrafted in 2022 NBA draft |
| Michael Moore | 24 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | Bear Creek, NC | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| James Lewis Jr. | 25 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Senior | Mount Holly, NC | Graduated |
| Sasha Glushkov | 33 | C | 6'11" | 205 | Sophomore | Vladivostok, Russia | Transferred to Southwest Baptist |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tamell Pearson | 3 | F | 6'10" | 223 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Western Illinois |
| Carvell Teasett | 12 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Sophomore | Baton Rouge, LA | Northwestern State |
| Tyree Boykin | 30 | G | 6'1" | 190 | GS Senior | Clarksville, TN | Union (TN) |
| Dibaji Walker | 35 | F | 6'9" | 200 | GS Senior | Columbus, OH | UMass |

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Zocko Littleton #37 SG | Albany, GA | Osborne High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 29, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Justin Abson PF | Pompano Beach, FL | North Broward Prep | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jan 24, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joshua Hayes PF | Gainesville, FL | The Rock School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 19, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Etienne Strothers PG | Newport News, VA | Menchville High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Aug 23, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Mountaineers were picked to finish in seventh place in the conference's preseason poll. Senior forward Donovan Gregory was named preseason All-SBC Second Team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place Votes) |
| 1 | Louisiana - 190 (10) |
| 2 | Texas State - 162 (1) |
| 3 | South Alabama - 150 (1) |
| 4 | James Madison - 149 (1) |
| 5 | Georgia State - 127 (1) |
| 6 | Marshall - 122 |
| 7 | App State - 120 |
| 8 | Coastal Carolina - 100 |
| 9 | Old Dominion - 93 |
| 10 | Troy - 76 |
| 11 | Georgia Southern - 69 |
| 12 | Arkansas State - 48 |
| 13 | Southern Miss - 34 |
| 14 | ULM - 30 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Warren Wilson | W 142–74 | 1–0 | 22 – Mantis | 7 – Walker | 5 – Gregory | Holmes Center (1,944) Boone, NC |
| November 10, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina Central | W 79–74 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 20 – Boykin | 9 – Huntley | 5 – Gregory | Holmes Center (2,145) Boone, NC |
| November 15, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Louisville | W 61–60 | 3–0 | 16 – Gregory | 9 – Pearson | 2 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (11,919) Louisville, KY |
| November 18, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Campbell Appalachian State Multi-Team Event | L 58–63 | 3–1 | 21 – Gregory | 7 – Tied | 4 – Gregory | Holmes Center (2,856) Boone, NC |
| November 19, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State Appalachian State Multi-Team Event | L 67–71 | 3–2 | 13 – Tied | 8 – Abson | 6 – Gregory | Holmes Center (2,603) Boone, NC |
| November 20, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana Appalachian State Multi-Team Event | W 83–74 | 4–2 | 17 – Walker | 8 – Tied | 7 – Walker | Holmes Center (1,553) Boone, NC |
| November 23, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | | at East Tennessee State | W 74–70 | 5–2 | 14 – Gregory | 7 – Abson | 3 – Tied | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,825) Johnson City, TN |
| November 29, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Furman | L 61–65 | 5–3 | 12 – Gregory | 7 – Tied | 2 – Gregory | Holmes Center (1,976) Boone, NC |
| December 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 62–71 | 5–4 | 25 – Mantis | 9 – Gregory | 7 – Gregory | Dale F. Halton Arena (5,148) Charlotte, NC |
| December 6, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Carlow | W 103–43 | 6–4 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Huntley | 5 – Tied | Holmes Center (1,622) Boone, NC |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Wake Forest | L 66–67 | 6–5 | 18 – Mantis | 10 – Huntley | 10 – Walker | LJVM Coliseum (7,781) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 17, 2022* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Regent | W 100–32 | 7–5 | 17 – Mantis | 12 – Pearson | 3 – Brown | Holmes Center (1,394) Boone, NC |
| December 21, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. UC Santa Barbara Jerry Colangelo Classic | L 50–61 | 7–6 | 14 – Boykin | 9 – Huntley | 4 – Gregory | Footprint Center (2,870) Phoenix, AZ |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Marshall | L 53–79 | 7–7 (0–1) | 20 – Boykin | 6 – Huntley | 2 – Gregory | Cam Henderson Center (4,816) Huntington, WV |
| December 31, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | L 70–76 | 7–8 (0–2) | 13 – Mantis | 7 – Huntley | 4 – Brown | Reed Green Coliseum (3,192) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 5, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 63–62 | 8–8 (1–2) | 16 – Boykin | 6 – Harcum | 9 – Gregory | Holmes Center (1,819) Boone, NC |
| January 7, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at James Madison | W 71–62 | 9–8 (2–2) | 16 – Harcum | 8 – Huntley | 9 – Gregory | Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,540) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 12, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | L 65–67 | 9–9 (2–3) | 21 – Gregory | 7 – Huntley | 4 – Tied | Holmes Center (1,651) Boone, NC |
| January 14, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Troy | W 58–45 | 10–9 (3–3) | 15 – Harcum | 8 – Abson | 3 – Brown | Holmes Center (2,377) Boone, NC |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | L 84–93 $^{OT}$ | 10–10 (3–4) | 27 – Walker | 9 – Huntley | 9 – Gregory | HTC Center (2,143) Conway, SC |
| January 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Old Dominion | W 72–58 | 11–10 (4–4) | 28 – Harcum | 7 – Harcum | 6 – Brown | Chartway Arena (5,954) Norfolk, VA |
| January 26, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 71–59 | 12–10 (5–4) | 21 – Harcum | 8 – Brown | 4 – Harcum | Holmes Center (2,559) Boone, NC |
| January 28, 2023 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 63–51 | 13–10 (6—4) | 15 – Harcum | 9 – Huntley | 4 – Tied | Holmes Center (3,487) Boone, NC |
| February 2, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | L 58–66 | 13–11 (6–5) | 14 – Harcum | 7 – Huntley | 6 – Gregory | Holmes Center (2,685) Boone, NC |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | James Madison | L 57–63 | 13–12 (6–6) | 21 – Gregory | 11 – Abson | 5 – Brown | Holmes Center (3,870) Boone, NC |
| February 9, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 52–45 | 14–12 (7–6) | 11 – Huntley | 10 – Abson | 6 – Gregory | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,558) Monroe, LA |
| February 11, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | L 57–74 | 14–13 (7–7) | 14 – Gregory | 5 – Pearson | 4 – Gregory | Mitchell Center (1,955) Mobile, AL |
| February 16, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 82–75 | 15–13 (8–7) | 21 – Gregory | 6 – Tied | 5 – Brown | Holmes Center (2,205) Boone, NC |
| February 18, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Old Dominion | L 63–74 | 15–14 (8–8) | 14 – Gregory | 7 – Abson | 4 – Gregory | Holmes Center (3,651) Boone, NC |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | W 78–52 | 16–14 (9–8) | 22 – Mantis | 6 – Tied | 6 – Brown | GSU Conovcation Center (1,850) Atlanta, GA |
| February 24, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 64–73 | 16–15 (9–9) | 14 – Huntley | 7 – Abson | 5 – Gregory | Hanner Fieldhouse (2,445) Statesboro, GA |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 2023 12:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (8) South Alabama Second Round | L 61–68 | 16–16 | 17 – Harcum | 13 – Abson | 5 – Brown | Pensacola Bay Center (718) Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
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