In terms of strength and quickness and defensive ability, Austin Alecxih probably isn't yet ready for Division I basketball.

But Alecxih, a former Penn Manor star, has one very marketable skill.

Dude can shoot the rock.

"I've been around the game a long time," said Eddie Biedenbach, Alecxih's coach at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. "I don't know that I've seen many competitive shooters better than him."

By "competitive" shooter, he means in games, under the gun, with hands in the face. And from in front of or behind the three-point arc.

Alecxih, who's from the Columbia area, played his sophomore and junior seasons at Penn Manor. The sophomore-year team, led by Jordan Gibbs and Brandon Widener, reached the Class AAAA District Three final and the second round of the state tournament.

Alecxih left home to spend his senior season at Oak Hill Academy, the private school in tiny Mouth of Wilson, Va., that has probably had the country's top high-school program the past 15 years or so.

"It was tough, leaving home one year early and kind of giving up your senior year at home with family and friends," Alecxih said.

"But for basketball it was unbelievable. It improved me so much. Just playing against that kind of competition every day. … Overall it was a great experience."

Alecxih visited Bucknell and has inquiries from Davidson and some other mid-major Division I schools. But UNC Asheville jumped in after its coaches saw Alecxih score 18 points in Oak Hill's game at Veritas Christian in nearby Fletcher, N.C.

It helped that Brett Carey, an assistant to Biedenbach, played and coached at Oak Hill. Carey and Alecxih developed a good relationship, and when the scholarship offer came, it wasn't a tough call.

"I loved the place, the players, the coaches," Alecxih said.

He's joining a program in pretty good shape. The Bulldogs went 15-16 last year, 10-8 in the Big South Conference, with four freshmen and two sophomores among the top eight players.

They're being picked second to defending-champ Radford in the conference. The year didn't start grandly; Asheville lost at home to Division II Brevard in an exhibition game Monday.

"This is kind of an odd year in our league," Riedenbach said. "Radford has everything back. There are five teams that could be second.

"I'm excited and optimistic, but we have a long way to go."

Alecxih played less than a minute, with no stats, in the Bravard game.

The season started for real at Charlotte Friday. Charlotte won 86-70, and Alecxih played the last minute.

"I know I have to get in the weight room and get stronger," Alecxih said. "I can get better defensively, too. I'm working on it."

"At this point he's the 10th or 11th man on our squad," Biedenbach said of Alecxih, a 6-5, 190-pound shooting guard.

"He has a ways to go in terms of physical play and skill work, but he has a great work ethic. I have high hopes for him, because he's such a great young man."