318 replies to this topic

[Dave Stapleton]

First game is tonight against St. Francis.

There is a lot of excitement around Coach D and his energy. Excitement always rules the day before the season starts but it will be interesting to see how/if things change. Donahue is clearly trying to set a tone -- no names on the jersey, no headbands allowed and everyone out for warm-ups together.

They will be chucking up the 3s for sure and the offensive system couldn't be more different from Al's

I am going to the game tonight and, while I am not sure we will learn a whole lot, I will post some thoughts following the game.

[scottyno]

I don't think I realized until today how little depth this years team has, first players off the bench are elmore and dunn once southern gets healthy, and then its freshman and walk ons, yikes

[Dave Stapleton]

38-15 at the half.

[SoxScout]

2-14 shooting 3's in the first half. I think they hit 15 in the exhibition game.

http://goo.gl/db8yb

Edited by SoxScout, 12 November 2010 - 08:08 PM.

[scottyno]

2-14 shooting 3's in the first half. I think they hit 15 in the exhibition game.

http://goo.gl/db8yb

you can watch it here too, its just the radio guys with a single camera at center court

http://atdhe.net/276...-boston-college

[SoxScout]

One of the few problems for BC was its 3-point shooting, as the Eagles hit just 4-of-21 on the night.

“I thought they were rushed,” Donahue said. “I thought we were maybe open but we just didn’t give it a chance. … A lot of times, 3s success is based on passing. And I thought we didn’t do a great job of moving the basketball — it was one pass and then he’s open. I don’t think we were in rhythm. We didn’t make the defense guard us as much as I would like. Hence, I thought we rushed a few.”

Said Donahue: “I thought the overall effort was terrific. thought we brought great energy throughout the 40 minutes. I thought [St. Francis] never really made a run, which can happen when you’re up by a lot. I thought our mental toughness was great. We did a lot of good things that if we do it every game I think we’ll be very successful.”

Donahue had high praise for his team’s performance in the 1-3-1 press, noting, “They’re further ahead than I could imagine.”

“I didn’t see any kind of goofing off or whatever, like, ‘Hey this is a game we have in hand.’ I thought we brought the intensity the whole 40 minutes,” he said. “Little things like that are important. I thought we guarded, I think guys were very enthusiastic on the bench, especially like Dallas [Elmore] gets a charge at the end. All those things, I thought we were very businesslike, yet having fun, playing confident and playing 40 minutes. I thought we did that.

“That’s a big step. I was concerned with that early on, when I got here. Because we would have a good practice for 20 minutes, then guys would lose their concentration. I thought they did a very good job of it tonight.”

http://goo.gl/D8xjs

Edited by SoxScout, 13 November 2010 - 12:19 AM.

[Dave Stapleton]

So here are my thoughts from game 1. First of all, nothing substantive to learn from this game as far as where the team will go this year. However, some interesting things:

1. Crowd was bad. Students get an F- but what else is new? I will leave it at that for now since I harped on it all of last year. Late arriving crowd that was sparse at best.

2. A couple of environmental changes at Conte. First, they now cover the hockey boards with some type of black covering. This makes a bigger difference than you'd expect. Also, for those of you who don't know, a "shading" system was put in so that they can now darken the lighting for affect. The intros were done with the lights off and a spotlight.

3. I know it means nothing but I really enjoyed seeing a coach that was visibly into the game from tip off to the final buzzer. I am not taking too much away from it, just as a fan it was fun to see a coach so engaged at every point. Coach D is very smooth. At one point while arguing a call he actually had the ref laughing when he finally backed off his argument. Really engaging personality for sure.

4. Jackson is the leader without question. Donahue has clearly bestowed the role on Reggie and he seems to have embraced it fully. He is the QB on the floor calling out defenses and being the principal ball carrier. Played really well and in control.

5. Trapani looked solid and comfortable in the system. Outside shot wasn't there but his rebounding is going to be key for this team given the overall lack of size.

6. Paris looked like a completely different person shape wise. I wasn't really all that impressed with his play on Friday. Seemed like much of the same but given Donahue's praise of him in the pre-season I will give him some time to get comfortable with the system.

7. Dunn was ok but got into earlier foul trouble. Elmore also picked up two fouls early so he wasn't really a factor. Southern was out recovering from minor surgery.

8. I think Raji is going to be very important for this team (a glue guy). He was able to manage 4 offensive rebounds even in the spread offense. He seems to be fully healthy for the first time in a few years and if he stays healthy he will be an immense presence in this system.

9. The freshmen looked ok. Rubin and Moton are both going to have to play about 10-12 minutes a game this year so it was good to see them play in control. Moton actually impressed me athletically, particularly on defense. He has a ways to go but I think he has some raw skills that project well. Rubin is a pure jump shooter with good range. The question will be whether he can he get his shot off against ACC competition.

Overall, it was interesting to watch. BC played match-up zone as their base D and for much of the game used the 1-3-1 half court trap. It seems this will be a key part of their defensive scheme this year given D's comments following the game. Also, Donahue is very liberal with his substitution pattern. I think BC will go about 9 deep every game with even Kowalski getting minutes.

While BC also beat St. Francis handily last year, it was nice to see a BC team go up early and never let it get close. Lots of energy all around, lots of diving to the floor and only 9 turnovers. As Scout points out, the one concern was the 3 point shooting.

Yale on Thursday and then Holy Cross before the Old Spice Classic. The Orlando tournament will tell us a lot about where this team is and what they may be able to do this season.

Edited by Dave Stapleton, 15 November 2010 - 10:49 AM.

[doldmoose34]

I was wondering if you'd gone Lou since you were posting during the game, as I was watching it on the computer

agree about finaly seeing life from the Staff, led by Donaghue, he looks like the dead opposite of Al

[SoxScout]

Video: http://atdhe.net/104...-boston-college

Yale up early

[scottyno]

getting the ivy league loss out of the way early I see, maybe this means they won't lose to harvard

they might want to try guarding the 3 point line

[jsinger121]

Makes Quinnipiac look good since they beat Yale by 9 in their opener.

[BigSoxFan]

Everybody sees the "Boston College" on the uniform and assumes that we should kill all of the crappy teams. Well, we ARE the crappy team. Looking at our roster objectively, you have a legit ACC player in Jackson, a legit ACC player in Trapani, a legit ACC player in Raji.

....


and that's it. The rest of the roster is pure garbage. Coach D's recruiting for next year has been solid. And he's going to need a few more of those classes to get BC back to respectability.

[mikcou]

To be fair, Ellmore is an ACC level 6th/7th guy. Unfortunately hes probably the 4th best player on the roster

[BigSoxFan]

<BR>To be fair, Ellmore is an ACC level 6th/7th guy. Unfortunately hes probably the 4th best player on the roster<BR>

<BR><BR>Dallas Elmore would not see any meaningful minutes for most ACC teams. His only plus skill is his defense, which is solid but unspectacular. Offensively, he's awful. I stand by my previous&nbsp;statement that Jackson, Trapani, and Raji are the only ACC-calibre players we have. As we saw last night, you could replace the rest with guys straight off an Ivy League squad and not lose a beat.<BR><BR>I really, really, REALLLLLLY can't wait for Southern, Paris, and Dunn to graduate. They're all talentless hacks who haven't added jack squat to this program in their 4 years at BC. Nice recruiting, Al.<BR>

[BigMike]

<BR><BR>Dallas Elmore would not see any meaningful minutes for most ACC teams. His only plus skill is his defense, which is solid but unspectacular. Offensively, he's awful. I stand by my previous&nbsp;statement that Jackson, Trapani, and Raji are the only ACC-calibre players we have. As we saw last night, you could replace the rest with guys straight off an Ivy League squad and not lose a beat.<BR><BR>I really, really, REALLLLLLY can't wait for Southern, Paris, and Dunn to graduate. They're all talentless hacks who haven't added jack squat to this program in their 4 years at BC. Nice recruiting, Al.<BR>

I think Elmore could play 10-15 a game at a lot of ACC programs. The problems is, I'm not sure anyone on the roster starts on all ACC teams. Even the best players are flawed. Jackson is a superior athlete and has skills, but plays best at PG, yet he doesn't have the skills for PG. Raji would be a solid rol player at most teams because he works so hard, but he is a 6'6 player with skills best set for a 6'9" player. Trapani can be instant offense on the floor, but does completely dissappear at times, and his passing is inconsistent at best

This team wasn't good last year, and look what they have lost since
Sanders. Maddening in his own right, but when healthy and playing well arguably the best player we had
Evenal. Annoying, and unwilling to put in the effort needed, but at the same time easily the most talented big man we had
Heslip. questions about his game, but a big time shooter, and might have been our starting point this year had he stayes
Noreen (recruit). Didn't get any run in the first WVU game because of their depth, but probably would have played 25 minutes a game here as he is far more skilled than Dunn or Southerm'

This is just a bad basketball team at the moment, and I don't care who is coaching them. They are going to be at a disadvantage at 2 positions against possibly every team they play this year, and they have no depth

[mikcou]

I think Elmore could play 10-15 a game at a lot of ACC programs. The problems is, I'm not sure anyone on the roster starts on all ACC teams. Even the best players are flawed. Jackson is a superior athlete and has skills, but plays best at PG, yet he doesn't have the skills for PG. Raji would be a solid rol player at most teams because he works so hard, but he is a 6'6 player with skills best set for a 6'9" player. Trapani can be instant offense on the floor, but does completely dissappear at times, and his passing is inconsistent at best

This team wasn't good last year, and look what they have lost since
Sanders. Maddening in his own right, but when healthy and playing well arguably the best player we had
Evenal. Annoying, and unwilling to put in the effort needed, but at the same time easily the most talented big man we had
Heslip. questions about his game, but a big time shooter, and might have been our starting point this year had he stayes
Noreen (recruit). Didn't get any run in the first WVU game because of their depth, but probably would have played 25 minutes a game here as he is far more skilled than Dunn or Southerm'

This is just a bad basketball team at the moment, and I don't care who is coaching them. They are going to be at a disadvantage at 2 positions against possibly every team they play this year, and they have no depth

Elmore would probably be able to pull 15 minutes a game for all ACC teams save Duke and UNC. Agree on everything else. Raji doesnt really have the handle or the range to play either the 2/3 and hes too short and small to really play the 4. They only have 2 ACC level starters and only one thats really much above average. Theyre going to have a lot of trouble this year and the walkons are going to end up playing a decent amount due to the lack of depth

[Dave Stapleton]

Nice win against A&M today. Work in progress but Nice!!!!!!!

[scottyno]

total defensive collapse on the last play but got bailed out by the missed layup

it was fun to watch them draining 3s early on, followed by infuriating to see very little movement on offense and settling for bad shots

[scottyno]

bc runs off a 15-0 run after giving up something like a 26-2 run in the mid 2nd half that turned what looked like a very winnable game into a blowout, I guess they play sunday in the 3rd place game now against the loser of cal/notre dame

[Dave Stapleton]

BC responds to the Wisconsin loss with an absolute drubbing of Cal to finish the tourney at 2-1. Real good trip for BC. This was a textbook case of what BC wants to do this year on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Still don't know what to expect from ACC slate but so far I really like what I am seeing from Coach D.

[kenneycb]

Is Cal supposed to be any good? I saw they beat a ranked Temple team but they followed it up by scoring 5 first-half points against ND. Yes, that is 5 as in five or V for you Romans out there.

[Dave Stapleton]

Cal lost a ton of players from a team that won the PAC 10 last year. They may improve as the year goes on. Not sure where they end up but BC played their game today and but for one half of basketball played great during the tourney.

[4 6 3 DP]

Don't know how to be anything but thrilled with what they've put out there so far. The Yale loss was terrible but two really good efforts against BCS teams - Sagarin has TA+M at 60th overall, Cal at 22 (yes, its early and won't stick), better than I would have imagined. The Don is coaching his ass off - I can't imagine they will run the more talented team on the floor out very often this season.

[SoxScout]

12 point win over Indiana. Pounded them the 1st half, let them tie it and take the lead I think, then sucked it up and pulled away. Impressive.

[Dave Stapleton]

12 point win over Indiana. Pounded them the 1st half, let them tie it and take the lead I think, then sucked it up and pulled away. Impressive.

Yeah ... a few good things from the game. Rubin showing some real range and a cool demeanor. Reggie took over for a period in the second half. Southern with some nice passing and rebounding.

Looked like Raji banged his head in the first half and was held out of the second half. He was missed but it was good to see them suck it up.

Finally, interesting to hear McDonough explain how Donahue took the blame for the Yale loss saying he tried to simply play them straight up with a thin line-up and no adjustments (man to man).

[scottyno]

Rubin is easily this teams best outside shooter already, I don't know much about him, but he certainly can shoot

[Dave Stapleton]

Rubin is easily this teams best outside shooter already, I don't know much about him, but he certainly can shoot

I think he was a Cornell recruit who Donahue brought over as a "preferred walk on". He is paying his own way this year but will likely be on scholarship next year.

[Rasputin]

So what you're telling me is, this team might not be as awful as thought?

[Dave Stapleton]

So what you're telling me is, this team might not be as awful as thought?

I never thought they'd be awful but they've started the season a lot better than I anticipated. The next two games (UMass and Providence) will be important to see if they can maintain the momentum.

Also, some great quotes from Crean about Reggie from last night.

"Reggie Jackson played like a true playmaker. That's an NBA guard,'' Crean said. "I had a strong appreciation for him going into the game, but even a greater one now leaving the game.''

“Reggie Jackson is the toughest matchup that we’ve seen thus far,” Crean said. “One of the tougher guys we’ve faced going into my third year in Indiana. Incredible in the ball screen.”

Edited by Dave Stapleton, 02 December 2010 - 10:50 AM.

[Dave Stapleton]

Tonight against Providence is one of those games that the team needs if they have any aspirations of being at least on the tournament bubble. Their OOC schedule has been very good putting them at 19 in the RPI (very early I know). A win tonight would mean wins against Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10 and Big East. They also play South Carolina from the SEC.

However, bad news as Raji is still out tonight.

[pdaj]

Tonight against Providence is one of those games that the team needs if they have any aspirations of being at least on the tournament bubble. Their OOC schedule has been very good putting them at 19 in the RPI (very early I know). A win tonight would mean wins against Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10 and Big East. They also play South Carolina from the SEC.

However, bad news as Raji is still out tonight.

I'm heading up to Boston soon to see my Friars play. PC caught a break with Raji's absence, but I have no clue how this young team's going to react on the road. I wouldn't be shocked if the Friars pulled it out, but I'd be pleasantly surprised. I'm excited for the Jackson-Council matchup.

[BigSoxFan]

Cortney Dunn suspended 3 games for "violation of team rules". I bet the team rule was "don't suck".

[mikcou]

BC made interesting by almost blowing the second half lead there but a win against Providence is huge for their tourney chances and I like where theyre sitting heading into the ACC schedule. Hopefully Raji can get back because the bench is short enough with him.

While Dunn isnt very good, this suspension hurts. Hes the only backup C they have and now have to run Trap at the 5 at times. Also as much as Southern seems to be getting it together this year (Im sure it has a lot to do with the weight he lost), Dunn is still the more athletic defender.

[Dave Stapleton]

BC made interesting by almost blowing the second half lead there but a win against Providence is huge for their tourney chances and I like where theyre sitting heading into the ACC schedule. Hopefully Raji can get back because the bench is short enough with him.

While Dunn isnt very good, this suspension hurts. Hes the only backup C they have and now have to run Trap at the 5 at times. Also as much as Southern seems to be getting it together this year (Im sure it has a lot to do with the weight he lost), Dunn is still the more athletic defender.

Really looking forward to this weekend's game against MD so we can really see what we have here. I was at the game last night and for 3/4 of the game they put on a clinic of D's offense. Opened up the floor with outside shooting giving room to Reggie and Josh to work wherever they wanted. Also played a solid zone and forced PC to play the perimeter game. The issue last night was part depth and part mindset I think. Trapani was forced to play 36 minutes and fell apart in the end. I also think they seemed to back off when they got a big lead. I think this team is going to have to continue to play its game for 40 minutes and not change things up when they have a lead.

This team needs Raji back. They were forced to play some really small lineups at times and just got creamed on the boards. Believe it or not they also miss Dunn because he is a decent low minute player who can defend ok and get rebounds.

Oh ... and Reggie is just at another level. Watching him last night was a treat. He could do whatever he wanted all night (except shoot free throws).

Edited by Dave Stapleton, 09 December 2010 - 04:47 PM.

[BigMike]

Big win today. Not the sharpest game, but a huge performance from Biko Paris, and then just a monster finish from Corey Raji who did absolutely everything in the last 2 minutes. Big drive to tie the game at 75, followed by a 3 with 50 seconds or so to play to put BC up, then a big rebound, and makes the FT to ice it at 79-75

[BigSoxFan]

I. Love. Steve. Donahue.

This BC team just may be able to sneak into the tournament.

[Dave Stapleton]

For all those who bash my piasano it's time to give him some props for the Coach D hire. Some wanted the crook from TN or the self promoter Mooney but Gene picked the right guy for BC.

That was a fantastically entertaining game and our guys game out on top.

[BS_SoxFan]

I. Love. Steve. Donahue.

This BC team just may be able to sneak into the tournament.

Seriously. Could not agree more. This team has already exceeded my expectations for this season. So, anyway, at what point do these early successes become a indictment on how Skinner absolutely quit on this team? Outside of Rubin, Donahue is essentially accomplishing all of this with Al's guys, and EVERYONE (even Josh Southern!) looks markedly better this season. I hope Al is enjoying cashing his checks because I sure as hell don't miss the Flex and everything that came with the last couple seasons of his tenure at the school.

[Dave Stapleton]

BSSF ... I appreciate all that Al did but I can't help but agree at this point. Biko and Josh have shown more improvement in three months than they did in the prior three years. It's pretty remarkable.

Joe scares the hell out of me right now though.

[Dave Stapleton]

Biko Paris just continues to be a revelation on this team. Yesterday he shoots 6-9 from 3 pt range to bring his season percentage to 43% after scoring 22 pts against Maryland last week. Beginning with the Cal game he is shooting an amazing 20-37 from 3 pt range. He seems to be the biggest beneficiary of Donahue's system.

The other surprise has been Josh Southern. He scored 18 points on 8-9 shooting in only 20 minutes. He is now shooting 73% from the field and 80% from the line. He has really stepped up following the Dunn suspension.

Reggie has just been Reggie ... averaging 18.9 pts, 4.5 rebounds and just under 5 assists per game. All while shooting 52% from the field, 49% from 3 pt range and less than 2 TOs per game.

Raji has played extremely well. Trapani is the only player that is still trying to find his game. Fortunately, he is the one player that doesn't need to score to contribute. His defense and rebounding continue to be key for this undersized team.

Interesting non-conference games upcoming at home against Harvard and then on the road against URI and South Carolina before continuing with the ACC slate.

To say that expectations have changed for this team this season would be quite an understatement.

Edited by Dave Stapleton, 20 December 2010 - 09:48 AM.

[gingerbreadmann]

Great article on Reggie, it has a ton of stuff I never knew about his past. I am loving him (and the team) more and more as an embarrassing loss to Yale has turned into 10-2. Which in itself is an awesome accomplishment, given the total uselessness and irrelevance of this team a year ago.

[Bleedred]

BC is a 2 point underdog tonight against an 8-4 URI team with losses to Quinnipiac, PC, Univ-ILL @ Chicago. I know their at home, but am I missing something?

Edit: They do have a solid home win against Drexel.

Edited by Bleedred, 29 December 2010 - 02:45 PM.

[BoSoxFink]

BC is a 2 point underdog tonight against an 8-4 URI team with losses to Quinnipiac, PC, Univ-ILL @ Chicago. I know their at home, but am I missing something?

Edit: They do have a solid home win against Drexel.

As usual the oddsmakers are smarter than us and URI wins by exactly 2 points.

[URI]

BC is a 2 point underdog tonight against an 8-4 URI team with losses to Quinnipiac, PC, Univ-ILL @ Chicago. I know their at home, but am I missing something?

Edit: They do have a solid home win against Drexel.

Yes. We were missing our most athletic player for the first semester, and the Ryan Center is a really hard place to play.

[jsinger121]

Well that Quinnipiac win over URI looks better and better now after they just beat BC.

Edited by jsinger121, 29 December 2010 - 09:08 PM.

[scottyno]

nice bounce back from the uri game with a beatdown of south carolina, and very nice to see trapani looking a lot better than he did to start the year

[Dave Stapleton]

After yesterday's victory BC has now beaten teams from the following conferences:

SEC
A-10
Big Ten
Big East
Big XII
Pac 10

The loss against URI wasn't a bad one. Top 50 RPI on the road after losing Paris early in the game. Would have been nice however.

The best news from the last two games has been Trapani. It really seems like he is starting to get into the flow of D's offense. If this team can defend they could have a very nice year.

[floocher]

The team is very limited in post defense. Southern has NO lateral quickness or jump - Trap is too light, and foul prone - everyone else is way to small. Also, they only have 7 players, and they wear out. But they do hustle and shoot well, and the ACC is way down this year. So there is hope for a good season despite the defensive weaknesses. Let's hope none of the big 4 get hurt . Harvard game Wednesday night should tell us something. Harvard has a real tough inside game.

After yesterday's victory BC has now beaten teams from the following conferences:

SEC
A-10
Big Ten
Big East
Big XII
Pac 10

The loss against URI wasn't a bad one. Top 50 RPI on the road after losing Paris early in the game. Would have been nice however.

The best news from the last two games has been Trapani. It really seems like he is starting to get into the flow of D's offense. If this team can defend they could have a very nice year.

Edited by floocher, 03 January 2011 - 04:26 PM.

[Dave Stapleton]

The team is very limited in post defense. Southern has NO lateral quickness or jump - Trap is too light, and foul prone - everyone else is way to small. Also, they only have 7 players, and they wear out. But they do hustle and shoot well, and the ACC is way down this year. So there is hope for a good season despite the defensive weaknesses. Let's hope none of the big 4 get hurt . Harvard game Wednesday night should tell us something. Harvard has a real tough inside game.

Knowing is half the battle and that's what I like about Donahue. A quote from a recent article.

"We have one really good player and a bunch of other pretty solid offensive basketball players," Donahue said. "We've got to mask it a little bit on defense. There's not a real understanding or passion for that side of the ball. We're a very good offensive team."

Utah Article Really?

I think this team will go as far as the offense (and Reggie) can carry them.

[BoSoxFink]

At this point can BC please just take Harvard off their schedule. 3 friggin years in a row they have lost to them. What is with BC and not being able to beat the damn IVY league teams?