KIEHNE SAVES BEST FOR LAST AT ASU

Mark Kiehne was not very happy with his junior basketball season at Arkansas State University.

But the former Jackson High all-stater has certainly made amends during his senior campaign.

Kiehne, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward, leads ASU in scoring and rebounding as the Indians prepare for their final two games of the regular season later this week. They'll compete in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week.

After averaging 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a junior, Kiehne is scoring 17.7 points and grabbing 6.9 rebounds per contest for the Indians, who have improved from 9-18 last year to 13-11 so far this season.

"Last year wasn't one of my better years," said Kiehne during a recent telephone interview from Jonesboro, Ark. "I was disappointed in myself. But I worked hard to try and do a lot better and I've been really happy with the way things have gone this year.

"I knew I was a much better player than what I showed last year. I've tried to come in and be focused every night."

That focus has been evident by Kiehne's consistency this season. He's scored in double figures in 22 out of 24 games.

Kiehne, a bullish inside player who also has a soft shooting touch from the outside, gives plenty of credit for his success to his teammates and second-year ASU coach Dickey Nutt.

"My teammates are really getting me the ball well. That's probably the whole success to the thing. They believe in me. I owe them a lot of credit," he said. "And I owe coach Nutt a lot of credit. He's believed in me."

ASU started the season on a big-time roll, winning eight of its first nine games, including a victory over Oklahoma State. The Indians have struggled since then -- their Sun Belt Conference record is just 6-10 -- but they have still made a dramatic improvement from last year.

"We're averaging close to 6,000 in attendance, which leads the league," Kiehne said. "I'm one of only two seniors, so I think the program is really on the rise."

After earning all-state honors at Jackson, Kiehne spent two seasons at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, where he played basketball and baseball. Kiehne averaged 13 points per game as TRCC finished fifth in the 1994-95 national junior-college tournament. With Kiehne also playing a key role, the Raiders were second in the 1993-94 juco nationals.

Kiehne received recruiting interest from a number of Division I schools -- including Southeast Missouri State University -- but wanted to go a little further away. He's been happy with his decision.

"I've really liked it here, especially since I've bounced back from the way I played last year," he said.

An elementary education major, Kiehne wants to coach some day -- hopefully with his brother Mike, also a former Jackson all-stater who is an assistant coach at Bloomfield High. Mike is the all-time scoring leader for NAIA Columbia College.

"It's always been a dream of ours to coach together," Mark said. "Hopefully we'll get to do that some day, and we'd really like to do it at Jackson."

Another dream of Kiehne's is to play professional basketball, which he has a shot at doing overseas.

"I don't care what level it is, I'd love to play pro," he said. "But if it doesn't happen, I'll still be happy with what I've done here."

* Two other former Jackson High standouts are making contributions on the collegiate level.

Kory Thoma, a 6-3 guard, is one of the top players for Columbia College, a highly successful NAIA team.

Ben Ressel, a 6-8 forward, is a key performer for the strong Three Rivers Community College team in Poplar Bluff.