The Blue Banner

UNC Asheville has two men's basketball teams this year.

One lost to Liberty University by 29 points, the other team upset South Carolina on the SEC rival's home court. The difference between the two squads hinges on the health of Kenny George and Bryan Smithson. Without the team's two leaders, the Bulldogs rely on Reid Augst, Vincent James or K.J. Garland for heavy scoring burdens and they inevitably fall short.

In Big South games with George and Smithson playing uninjured, the Bulldogs are 7-0. In games where the duo played limited minutes, the Bulldogs are 1-4.

Saturday's win over Charleston Southern marked the return of both Smithson and George. Beating the conference's worst ranked team by 12 points isn't grounds for celebration, but having the school's two stars contributing again is promising.

Smithson led the team with 21 points in 32 minutes of playing time after scoring just 17 points in his last three outings. He sat out for the High Point game on Feb. 13 because of an injury.

Despite his strong showing, Smithson still isn't 100 percent. His foot injury prevented the senior from making his normal blinding drives. Smithson's scoring comeback came from behind the arch where he made five 3-pointers in the first half.

George tied his season-high of 15 points in 18 minutes of playing time, his longest time on the court since Jan. 28.

Prior to Saturday's win, our reporters heard a considerable amount of bickering from both fans and athletes over George's choice to sit out for five straight games. It's painful to watch your team trail by 30 points while the nation's tallest player sits on the bench. Despite the fuss, Head Coach Eddie Biedenbach's decision to give George rest is his best coaching move all season.

The Bulldogs could have pulled off one or two more wins had Biedenbach forced George to play regular minutes during his five game hiatus, but the constant strain would have destroyed the 7-foot-7 center's knees. The Bulldogs would have entered the playoffs without their big man and lost in the first round.

George's postseason health is worth the sacrifices of four straight conference losses.

In addition to staying healthy, the Bulldogs have to smooth out their teamwork in order to get another shot at the NCAA tournament.

Against Charleston Southern, the Bulldogs looked like the promising team from the season opener against Furman. After playing as a different team for four straight games, UNCA made 12 turnovers while the Buccaneers had just seven.

In order to win against teams like Winthrop or Coastal Carolina, Augst and George can't make unforced turnovers. Garland has to play with consistency instead of juxtaposing his 26-point, eight-assists heroics against Winthrop with his two-point, five-turnover outing against VMI.

Most importantly, George and Smithson have to stay healthy.

As of Tuesday, the Big South remains up for grabs. Liberty, Coastal Carolina and High Point are locked in third with 6-6 records. High Point, the preseason favorite, has lost three straight games.

Winthrop leads UNCA in first place, but the Bulldogs dominated the Eagles earlier this season without George. Before the Feb. 2 win, the last time UNCA defeated Winthrop during the regular season came in 2000. The Eagles revenged the loss with a 40-point execution in the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles will look for this type of home-court retribution in the season closer on March 1.

Let's just hope the UNCA basketball team we've all grown to love makes the trip to Rock Hill.

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