SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN? (DDSCB22)

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 9, 2029: Missouri Tigers (3-2) vs #12 ranked Boston College Eagles (6-0) in 1^st Round of the Emerald Coast Classic at Niceville, FL

1^st Assistant Coach Darrell Montgomery

The Tigers have 4 of their starters averaging in double figures, but have not been shooting the lights out….only hitting 38.5% of their shots.  Their defense has been good, but the level of their opponents thus far has been low. 

Mizzou blocks 3 of our shots and scores 5 points on that in the first 2 minutes.  But we rally to score the next 8 points as part of a 14-3 run that gives us the lead.  We had trouble with their 1-3-1 zone defense which allowed the Tigers to take a 19-18 lead.  But we then went on a 12-0 run.  We exit the half with a 32-23 lead. 

We held a reasonably solid lead through the first 10 minutes of the 2^nd half, but then Missouri struck back to take a one point lead with 6 minutes to go.  They went up by 3 with 4 minutes remaining.  With 2-1/2 minutes left the game was tied 58-58.  Glen Robinson hit a 3 with 2 minutes on the clock but we then turned the ball over on our next 2 possessions and the Tigers cut our lead to 61-60.  We decided to run out the clock, but Missouri fouled intentionally.  Bobby Grannum hit both ends of a 1-and-1.  The Tigers missed a 3 point shot but grabbed an offensive rebound.  Then Danny Toliver blocked their final attempt and we escaped with a 63-60 edging of a team we should have handled better.  We shot just enough better than Missouri (39% to 34%) and held a 36-32 rebounding advantage that was just enough for us to prevail.  Overall though, a weak effort on our part.

PG Bobby Grannum had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and 2 blocks.  SG Corey Graham scored 13 and C Courtland Reese had a double-double (11 points and 11 boards).  Again our bench was unproductive, scoring just 5 points.

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 10, 2029: #12 ranked Boston College Eagles (7-0) vs Michigan Wolverines (5-1) in 2^nd Round of the Emerald Coast Classic at Niceville, FL

2^nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans

Michigan beat Tulane 92-72 in their opening game of this tournament.  The Wolverines are a good scoring team that shoots a little better than us, but we are the better rebounding team and our defense has been stronger thus far this season.  We need to bounce back from the low-energy play of our last game. 

Even though we were hitting a high percentage of our shots, the Wolverines simply destroyed our defense, hitting nearly all their shots.  We slipped behind gradually.  With 12 minutes to go in the first half, we trailed 24-16.  Some sloppy play resulting in a series of turnovers definitely was adding to our woes.  Michigan sliced thought both our m-2-m or 2-3 zone like a warm knife through butter…either scoring or getting fouled on every possession.  We fell behind by as much as 17 points and trailed at the end of the half by a score of 49-36.  Michigan hit 67% of their FG’s.  Five of our players has 2 or more fouls.  SG Corey Graham pumped in 16 points, but he couldn’t solely carry the team.  Somehow we needed to clamp down defensively on the Wolverines in the 2^nd half.

Coach Aura made some adjustments to our defensive schemes that stymied Michigan when the 2^nd half began.  And we hit shots that cut their lead to 52-47 just 4 minutes into the half.  Even though the Wolverines began hitting some shots, 3 minutes later we’d crept to within 1 point at 59-58.  Then with 12:26 on the clock, Corey Graham drilled in a 16 footer that put us ahead by a point.  Courtland Reese picked up his 4^th foul on Michigan’s next possession.  With 10 minutes left we led 66-63.  A 4^th foul was called on PG Bobby Grannum with 8-1/2 minutes remaining.  Coach Aura was called for a technical foul.  A combination of free throws and 3’s put Michigan on top 77-68.  We fought back to narrow the gap to 81-79 with 3:37 to go.  Then Courtland Reese cut into the lane and hit a turn-around 10 footer that tied the game.  Corey Graham was fouled and hit both free throws to put us ahead 83-81 with 2:43 left.  Corey Graham then got called for his 4^th foul, but Michigan failed to connect on the first of a 1-and-1.   We were up by 2 and Michigan fouled…Graham knocked down both shots to make the score 87-83 with a minute to play.  The Wolverines forced up a shot that was off the rim…we rebounded and were fouled.  Bobby Grannum sunk both free throws.  The Wolverines scored and fouled.  2 more points for Grannum.  Graham fouled out.  Michigan hit both foul shots and immediately fouled.  Grannum hit one of two free throws putting the game out of reach.  Our second half effort yielded a come-from-behind 92-87 victory sending us the championship game.  We hit 60% of our shots in the 2^nd half and held the Wolverines shooting to just above 40% in the final half. 

SG Corey Graham poured in 27 points plus had 2 steals and 4 blocks, PG Bobby Grannum scored 21 points, and C Courtland Reese added 10.

Our wins shot us up to #6 in the Media Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll.

[PointGuard 70]

December 11, 2029: #15 ranked Oregon Ducks (7-2) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (8-0) in Championship Game of the Emerald Coast Classic at Niceville, FL

Coach Fred Aura

After two straight hair breadth wins, I’m hoping our team can get a big lead and hold it.  I’m not sure I can withstand another exceptionally close game.  While we haven’t played particularly well in either of or games in this tournament, I’ve liked how our guys got tough when it was needed.

Oregon has scored as well as we have this season, but has held opponents to just 62 ppg.  Four of their starters are averaging in double figures.  The Ducks roster is loaded with talent.  Just before this tournament they had a big win over Texas which was ranked 6^th in the polls at that point.  Oregon is a 7-1/2 point favorite to beat us.  We need to play solid defense and to stay out of foul trouble.

Our guys seemed pretty tight during the pre-game warm up.  But then in our huddle just before the game started, Adrian Moss did a humorous rapping psych-up routine with rags about each of us coaches that loosened up the entire team.  Adrian’s a good guy with a great personality.  He wants starter minutes, though.  So while he has a lot of potential, he’s still developing the skills to be consistently productive. With Corey Graham and Glen Robinson playing well, I’m having a tough time giving him much playing time which I know is frustrating him.

Well, here we go.

I’m on the refs early as they rack up fouls on our guys.  SG Corey Graham is charged with 2 quick fouls so is riding the bench.  Oregon is sinking free throws but we’re hitting FG’s to keep up with the Ducks. In the first 7 minutes the refs have called 3 fouls on us on Oregon’s 3-point attempts and Oregon converts 8 of those 9 shots.  Calling the game so close is making a mockery of the championship game.  Late in the half, I decide to try to force the Ducks’ big men to get into foul trouble and instruct my guys to continually work the ball inside to see if we either score in the paint or they foul us.  It works as their starting center is called for his 3^rd foul with 3:15 to go in the half.  But we still trail 34-31 when the half ends even though we held Oregon’s shooting to just 31%.  But they hit 15 of 17 free throws. 

In the locker room I tell my guys even though the refs are whistle happy to continue to play up tight on Oregon’s players.  The refs just seem to look at Corey Graham and call fouls on him.  I get a technical early in the 2^nd half meaning I have to be careful not to get another T and get banished from the game.  Our guys are doing the best they can, but Oregon’s shooting improves in the 2^nd half and they have great quickness that results in some fast break scores on our turnovers.  The Ducks’ lead grows to 61-45 with 11 minutes to go.  We fight hard to narrow the gap, but then our shooting goes ice cold and we end up getting thumped by a final score of 77-58.  Oregon’s defense and quickness were just too much for us, showing we have a lot of work to do before conference play begins.

SG/SF Glen Robinson tops our scoring with 16 points and also hauls down 8 boards.  SF Darius Hein has another strong game, hitting for 14 points and PF Danny Toliver adds 10 points.  SG Corey Graham has the worst game of his collegiate career, nearly fouling out which limits him to just 16 minutes of play during which he is held scoreless.  Oregon’s SG Ashante Harmon hits 9 of 13 FG’s, 4 of 8 three-pointers, and 4 for 4 at the foul like to drop 26 points on us.

[PointGuard 70]

ACCSports.com

The ACC dominance in basketball is again on display.  The latest Media Poll has ACC teams in the 2^nd (Duke), 3^rd (Notre Dame), 4^th (Florida State), 5^th (Virginia), 6^th (Boston College), and 9^th (North Carolina) spots in the Top 25.  Although the rankings vary slightly, all those teams are within the Top 10 in the Coaches Poll.  Those six teams have a combined record of 54 wins and just 4 losses and four of the teams are in the Top 10 within the NET Rankings, an indication that their strength of schedules are robust.  None of the other nine ACC teams have losing records.  Those nine teams have won 50 games and lost 23.

Boston College is the #1 team in the NET Rankings listing.  Coach Fred Aura said, “We definitely want a tough pre-conference record.  That’s because we know that the ACC schedule will not just be demanding, but tortuous.  Any ACC team can beat any other one on a given night.  So preparing for the ACC grind by playing strong teams helps challenge our players and ensure that they won’t be surprised when they go up against the many great ACC teams.  So we don’t schedule weak competition for pre-conference play.  Oregon proved that against us in our last game and Providence will be just as tough in our next game this week.  Our guys realize they need to be up for each and every opponent.  We take pride in that we’ve been up at the top or very near the top of the NET Rankings the past three seasons.  To be honest I’m more focused on the NET Rankings than the Polls.”

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 13, 2029: #10 ranked Providence Friars (6-0) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (6-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

3^rd Assistant Coach Jeremy Anderson (scouting)              

Another very tough opponent and again we’re the underdog.  Hopefully our home court advantage will give us a chance against the Friars who are led by freshman phenom SG Zack Watkins who is averaging a formidable 35.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg.  Another freshman, PG Moses Adams is averaging 21.7 ppg and 6.7 apg.  Watkins was the #2 ranked recruit and Adams wasn’t far behind as the #9 ranked recruit last season.  An amazing recruiting class.  Providence is averaging 89.5 ppg (best in the country) and only giving up 61.7 ppg (30^th best) while pulling down 36.3 rpg (12^th best), dishing out 21.0 apg (7^th best), and getting 6.7 bpg (6^th best).  Because Watkins and Adams are scoring so prolifically and combine to shoot 60% of the Friars FG’s, no one else on the team has a high scoring average, including Omari Aura, Coach Aura’s son. He’s started every game at SF but is averaging just 5.5 ppg.

But…we’re a better team than the Friars have thus far faced this season.  We can’t expect to stop Watkins and Adams, but hopefully can keep them from breaking out while avoiding our starting guards getting into deep foul trouble and focus on dominating inside.  Glen Robinson is a top-flight defender.  We typically have him subbing in at SF and SG.   But against Providence we’re not going to play Glen at SF as we usually do, so that we can dedicate him to subbing at both  SG and PG in relief of Corey Graham and Bobby Grannum to try to limit Watkins and Adams.  We’ll also start the game playing man-to-man defense 100% of the time since playing zone might let Watkins and Adams get free too much.  If we execute all that, I believe we’ll have a good chance of winning this tough non-conference rival game.  Of course it would definitely help if we can get Watkins and Adams into foul trouble.

Damn!  Adams hits a jumper on Providence first possession and even while double-teamed, Watkins sinks a 3 on their next possession.  The Friars hit just 5 of 15 FG’s, but 4 of those from beyond the arc while we made just 1 of 12 FG’s and we fall behind 16-4 after 8 minutes of play.  Watkins picks up his 2^nd foul with 11:20 to go so fortunately goes to the bench, but not before scoring 8 points.  Hitting just 2 of 14 FG’s and 4 of 10 FT’s, we fall behind 26-9.  Our offense finally comes out its slumber and led by SG Corey Graham and PF Danny Toliver we cut the Friars’ lead to 6 points before fading in the final few minutes of the half to trail 39-30 at the break.  Adams and Watkins scored 26 of the Friars’ 39 points.  We hit just 30% of our FG’s and 25% of our 3’s.  Providence dominated the boards 23-15.  We had no points in the paint, no 2^nd chance points, and no fast break points.  Coach Aura blisters the guys in the locker room. 

Midway through the 2^nd half we’re still only hitting about 30% of our shots and we trail 61-43.  Miss after miss and miss.  Bad shooting is a disease infecting our entire team.  We get trounced 76-55.  We were outshot 43% to 32%, we hit just 13% of our 3’s, we were out-rebounded 39-31.  We were called for 19 fouls while Providence was called for just 12.  That resulted in the Friars going to the line 11 more times than us. 

We “held” Zack Watkins to 25 points and Moses Adams to 18 points.  Out only player to score in double figures was SG Corey Graham and he had just 12 points and he hit just 3 of 10 FGA’s and missed all 5 of his 3PA’s.

Providence now has won both games against us since they became our non-conference rival.  Grumble, grumble, grumble.

[PointGuard 70]

Fred Aura

After our loss to Providence, walk-on PG Ramond Keep was complaining to several teammates saying he should be playing rather than Bobby Grannum and that was because I disliked him.  I called him into my office and told him his attitude was lousy and that he needed to shape up.  He took that poorly and came back at me.  That earned him a suspension.  That upset him further with me…he seems to have quite a big chip on his shoulder.

Ramond is a pretty good player for a walk-on, but there’s no way he’s going to get much playing time since I’m having a tough time splitting the playing time at PG up amongst Bobby Grannum, Rashon Thorn, and Glen Robinson.  If Ramond’s poor attitude continues, I’ll just cut him.  Tough enough putting up with attitude problems with a scholarship player, but absolutely no need to have to deal with it with a walk-on.

[PointGuard 70]

Ramond Keep

In June a friend let me know that the Eagles had a vacant walk-on slot on their basketball team this season.  I played high school and JC ball before coming to Boston College.  I decided that I might as well try out for the spot.  I knew it would only be for a year since I’m a senior.  But hey, since the Eagles are now a good team, it would be a way for me to be part of March Madness and tell my kids and grandkids that I was in the NCAA Tournament.

So Coach Fed and his staff selected me to be on the team and in October I began practicing with the team.  I was a good high school and JC player and got right back into it.  Not to pat myself on the back, but I can keep up with the other PG’s on this team.  When the starting lineups were set, I wasn’t surprised that Bobby Grannum was the Guy.  Hell, he came to BC with all kind of recruiting hoopla.  So, OK, I wasn’t uptight about not being a starter.  But I tell ya, I’m every bit the player Rashon Thorn is.  Let’s just be honest about things, I’m better.  So I figured I would be subbing in for Grannum.  Well, I soon found out that wasn’t happening.  Coach Fed kept throwing Rashon (and sometimes Glen Robinson or Corey Graham) in at the point when Grannum got fatigued or into foul trouble.  What’s up with that?  We’ve now played 10 games and I’ve played in just one blowout and for all of 2 freakin’ minutes!

And in the past two games (which we lost badly), Grannum pretty much sucked.  So after we got our butts kicked the second time, I have to admit, I lost it.  I let it be known that I should have been out there on the court instead of Grannum and it was because Coach Fed didn’t like me that I wasn’t out there helping the team.  Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have been so vocal, but it’s the truth.

Then some teammate or teammates let the coaching staff know about what I said.  That earned me a trip into Coach Fed’s inner sanctum.  He kicked my butt…and that just was totally unfair.  I have a right to my own freakin’ opinions and that’s what I told him.  Rather than hearing me out, he just took the easy route and laid a suspension on me.  Let me tell ya, my opinion of him went way down.  I mean having a suspension is really not even a penalty.  Without the suspension all I’m doing is working my butt off every day at practice and then sitting on my butt for the entire 40 minutes of every freakin’ game and supposed to be a cheerleader from the bench.  So now I can play video games during all that time this week.  I guess Coach Fed figures a suspension will shut me up.  Well I’m not wired that way…if I got something to say, I’ll damn well say it.  And let me tell you, I’m not happy with the teammates who went tattling to the coaches after hearing me the other night.  Don’t go crying to daddy for God’s sake. When I find out who it was, you better believe that I’ll be giving them an earful.  Don’t go selling your teammates out, buddy-boys.  And if they don’t like that, we can take it outside.  I’ve never backed down from getting into scraps.

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 20, 2029: Louisiana State Tigers (6-4) vs #11 ranked Boston College Eagles (8-2) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

WEEI Radio Game Broadcast (excerpts)

*After winning their first 8 games this season, the Eagles have looked terrible in the last 2 games.  They’ve dropped from 6^th to 11^th in the polls.  They need to rally their spirits and get back on track as conference play nears.

*While it’s true that both losses were to very good ranked teams, a 21 point loss at home is cause for concern.

*LSU’s losses have been to Louisville, #16 ranked Wisconsin, Saint Louis, and Georgetown.

*Starting tonight for the hometown Boston College Eagles are: Bobby Grannum at PG, Corey Graham at SG, Darius Hein at SF, Danny Toliver at PF, and Courtland Reese at C.

*Corey Graham drills a 3 to put the Eagles on top 18-11 with 12:40 remaining in the half.  Graham has hit 4 of 5 shot and has 10 points.

*Grannum whips the ball over to Minahan.  Minaham passes across the lane to Glen Robinson.  Robinson drives and pulls up to the left of the foul line.  His 16 footer jumper drops through to make it 24-11 in favor of the Eagles.  LSU calls a time out with 11:26 to go in the half.  BC has now hit 11 of their 16 shots.

*Bobby Grannum called for a reach in foul.  That’s 2 on Grannum.  That’ll bring in Rashon Thorn to replace Grannum.

*The fouls are mounting up on BC.  That’s 2 apiece on BC’s PG’s Grannum, Robinson, and Thorn.

*Good pass by Moss into Tim Cotton. Cotton’s 14 footer on the right edge of the lane and Cottom puts up a contested shot that rolls around and falls through.  Its good making it 43-28. 

*The half ends.  Boston College in charge with a 48-30 lead.  The Eagles knocked down 59% of their shots while holding the Tigers’ shooting to just 25%.  BC’s offense was led by Corey Graham’s 12 points and C Courtland Reese who scored 10.

*The Eagles inbound the ball to start the 2^nd half.  Grannum shoots the ball over to Graham who pops in another shot to give BC a 20 point lead.

*BC’s reserves playing some solid defense.  LSU is having a difficult time scoring.

*Grannum drives then kicks the ball back to Gardner who’s free at the line…his shot settles cleanly through the hoop to make it 69-44 with 5 minutes left in the game.

*That’s the end of the game.  The final score is Boston College-81, LSU-59.  The Eagles dominated all aspects of the game.

*C Courtland Reese was high point man with 22 points.  SG Corey Graham tossed in 14 points.  C Tim Cotton dropped in 12 points.

[PointGuard 70]

Boston College Chronicle

ACC PLAY BEGINS

By Kinsey Ramsey

This Wednesday Boston College will travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange to kick off their 2029-2030 ACC schedule.  The Eagles will be defending the ACC crown they won last season.

The 15 ACC teams were very successful during the pre-conference part of this season with 124 wins compared to 33 losses.  That has resulted in 3 ACC teams in the Top 5 in both polls (Duke is #2, Notre Dame is 3^rd, and Virginia is 4^th) with Florida State at #9, Virginia at #13, and Boston College at #14 in the Media Poll and #17 in the Coaches Poll.  4 ACC teams are in the Top 10 in the NET Rankings (Duke is 4^th, Boston College is 6^th, North Carolina is 7^th, and Notre Dame is 9^th).

Here’s the pre-conference records for each ACC team:

Notre Dame: 11-0, 1.000

Florida State: 11-0, 1.000

Duke: 11-1, .917

North Carolina St.: 10-1, .909

North Carolina: 10-1, .909

Virginia: 10-2, .833

Boston College: 9-2, .818

Virginia: 7-2, .778

Pittsburgh: 7-2, .778

Clemson, 8-3, .727

Miami (FL): 8-3, .727

Georgia Tech: 6-3, .667

Wake Forest: 6-3, .667

Syracuse: 5-5, .500

Louisville: 4-5, .444

When asked about BC’s chances this season, Coach Aura replied, “I believe that overall the quality of the teams in the ACC is even better this season than it’s been previously.  We’re going to be challenged every time we go out onto the court.  I really think that at least half the teams have the talent to intensely challenge for the conference title.  So all we can do is prepare as best we can for every game and then never take any other team for granted.  Our losses to Oregon and Providence have shown our players that they need to step up their games to contend in our upcoming games against ACC teams.”

The top scorers within the ACC thus far this season are: Duke’s Trent Coleman-22.3 ppg; Pittsburgh’s Marques Mohr-19.3 ppg; Virginia Tech’s Tony Harrington-18.1 ppg; Notre Dame’s Jay Butler-17.4 ppg; and Syracuse’s George Plowman-16.2 ppg.  The top two are freshmen.  BC’s Corey Graham is 12^th with 13.0 ppg.

Leading ACC rebounders are: Duke’s Brian Taylor-10.4 rpg; Syracuse’s George Plowman-10.1 rpg; Virginia’s Seth Wallac-9.9 rpg; Virginia Tech’s Merv Hunter-9.4 rpg; and Pittsburgh’s Marques Mohr-8.9.  BC’s Courtland Reese is 10^th with 7.5 rpg.

Boston College’s Bobby Grannum is the 2^nd best within the ACC in assists with 6.5 apg.  Virginia Tech’s Darius Rose is just ahead of him with 6.8 apg.

Aura said, “During pre-conference play we were able to stabilize our starting 5 with Bobby Grannum at PG, Corey Graham at SG, Darius Hein at SF, Danny Toliver at PF, and Courtland Reese at C.  Glen Robinson has developed into a very good 6^th man by performing strongly at SF, SG, and PG.  Darius (Hein) had a slow start but has steadily become very proficient as we’ve worked our way through the season.”

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 28, 2029: #14 ranked Boston College (9-2, 0-0) vs Syracuse Orange (6-5, 1-0) at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY

Father Benedict Perry

This is the second straight year that I’ve accompanied the team to Syracuse.  The Syracuse area is deep in snow right now.  Fortunately they’ve done a pretty good job of clearing the main roads, but they’re well-prepared for snow removal throughout upper New York state. 

Again I’m able to attend the game with two priests I knew when I was at the diocese in Syracuse several years ago.  Father Brad is a Syracuse fan while Father Eric grew up in Boston, so he’s a BC fan.  The game will go quickly since there is a lot of ribbing and some occasional good-natured taunting of the opposing teams.

Coach Aura told me that Syracuse has two players who are scoring well, PF George Plowman and SG Kevin Edmond so they will try shutting them down.

BC gets first blood when PF Danny Toliver intercepts a Syracuse pass and upcourts the ball quickly to a streaking Bobby Grannum for a dunk.  On the Eagles’ next possession, Grannum sinks a beautiful 3-pointer to make it 5-0.  A few minutes later Toliver and Grannum team up for twice again for steals and breakaway buckets.  Grannum hits another 3 to make it 14-6 and Grannum has scored all 14 of BC’s points.  The Eagles use some hot shooting, control of the boards, and a steady defense to take a commanding 46-26 halftime lead. 

Syracuse came out in the 2^nd half and trimmed the lead to 11 points after 5 minutes of play.  BC just could not hit any shots and their lead was down to just 9 points with 5 minutes left.  The Eagles finally figured out where the basket was and scored 6 points in the next minute which was the beginning of a 20-4 run to conclude the game.  The final score was 80-55 in favor of the Eagles.

PG Bobby Grannum had a big game with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks.  SF/SG Glen Robinson hit 7 of 10 FG’s including 6 of 9 from 3-point range and scored 23 points.  C Courtland Reese had a double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling down 10 boards.

[Vinnstr 0]

epic gamer moment

 

[Vinnstr 0]

not an epic gamer moment

 

[PointGuard 70]

Janeka Aura

Malik is in his senior year at Boston College High School.  After his father talked with him back in March, his attitude gradually improved.  His grades still aren’t stellar, but he’s brought them up to a 3.1.  He’s the star of his high school basketball team.  He’s their top scorer and also is a good rebounder and gets a lot of assists.  He’s always been a very good player but has grown to 6’5” in height and developed the past 2 years into what the scouting reports term a 5-star recruit.  So he’s been heavily recruited.  He made a decision a few months ago but held off signing an Letter of Intent until Christmas day.  He said that was his Christmas present to himself.  So, while he wanted it all to be hush-hush before signing an LOI, now he’s said we can talk to others about his decision.

He's selected Georgetown.  Their starting PG and SG are graduating after this season, so he feels he has a good chance to start as a freshman.  Fred has confirmed to me that he’s pretty certain Malik will be an immediate starter.  Malik also chose Georgetown because the Hoyas are having a good year this season. Presently they are 9 and 3 with 2 of those losses being to highly ranked teams in the polls.  The team has a long history of NCAA appearances, but has only been able to go to the NIT and CBI the past 3 seasons.  Malik and Fred both agree that the Hoyas are likely to return to the NCAA tournament this season and their future looks bright.  But I think another reason Malik chose Georgetown is that he will then be able to go up against his brother since both Georgetown and Providence are in the Big East Conference.  Malik also likes the Washington, DC area and really enjoyed his visit to the campus this past summer and felt he’d fit in well with the players on the team and liked the coaches.

One of the colleges that was working the hardest to land Malik was Notre Dame.  Their head coach seemed to be making weekly calls to Malik and their recruiting coach came to a lot of Malik’s games.  While Fred stayed completely out of Malik’s decision-making, I think Fred was happy Malik didn’t pick the Fighting Irish and make Notre Dame an even stronger opponent for Boston College in the ACC.

Omari’s been giving Malik a hard time, saying Georgetown will not only be behind Providence in the Big East but also Creighton.  But Omari is also is actually supportive of his brother’s choice.

While I understood Malik wanted to be out on his own and away from Boston and the family, I was hoping he’d pick a school that was closer so we could get to more of his games.  Since I’m not a big fan of flying and going through airports, I’ll just get used to taking Amtrak’s Acela train between Boston and DC.  Devany, who is a 6^th grader now, said she’s going to enjoy being an “only child” at home, but I think she’ll be sorry to have both of her brothers away at college.

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 30, 2029: #4 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (11-1, 1-0) vs #14 ranked Boston College Eagles (10-2, 1-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Andrea Thorsen, WHDH sports reporter (Notes taken to create 11 pm sports report about game)                                                                                                                                       

North Carolina’s back as one of the strongest members of the ACC after landing two of the top recruits last season.  And the two have lived up to the hype.  PF Morris Blackmon is averaging 11.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 spg and 2.8 bpg.  C Willie Knight leads the team in scoring with 13.2 ppg and is pulling down 8.6 rpg while averaging 1.9 apg, 1.7 spg, and 1.6 bpg.  The Tar Heels also have 2 seniors scoring in double figures (PG Jamie Lane with 10.4 ppg and SG Matt Goff with 10.8 ppg).

1^st Half:

14:34—BC-10, NC-7—Courtland Reese tagged for 2^nd foul.  NC’s Blackmon and Knight already have combined for 4 blocks.

12:53—BC-15, NC-12—NC’s Knight picks up 2^nd foul.

10:31—BC-17, NC-12—Defense predominating on both ends of court.  Both teams shooting in low 30%’s and NC is 0 for 5 from beyond the arc.

7:37—BC-26, NC-15—BC’s Glen Robinson hits a 3 giving him 8 points.

4:42—BC-33, NC-18—BC’s Bobby Grannun sinks a 3...10 points for him.  BC has hit 5 of 6 of their 3’s.

0:00—BC-42, NC-27—BC outshot NC 52% to 38% and hit 86% of their 3’s while NC hit just 27% of theirs.  BC +6 in rebounding.  BC top scorers—Grannum-13, Robinson-8; NC top scorers—Phillips-7, Blackmon-6.

2^nd Half:

16:27—BC-46, NC-39—NC’s Knight already has scored 8 points in 2^nd half.  3 fouls on BC’s Reese.

13:40—BC-55, NC-39—9-0 run by BC.

0:37—BC-75, NC-59—BC’s Rashon Thorn knocks ball loose, scoops it up and feeds it to Darius Hein for a jam.  He was fouled on shot and sinks free throw for 3 point play.

0:00—BC-80, NC-62—BC hit 55% of their FG’s and 9 of 12 of their 3’s and was +10 in rebounding.  Players scoring in double figures: BC-Grannum-19 points and also had 9 assists, Reese-13 with 9 rebounds, Robinson-10 points; NC- Knight-16, Phillips-11.

Coach Aura: “Great team effort throughout the entire game.  Good offense but defense was the key to our winning the game.”

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 2, 2030: #11 ranked Boston College Eagles (11-2, 2-0) vs #21 ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack (12-1, 2-0) at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

Hal Fogarty, fan

My family and I came down to North Carolina to celebrate the New Year with family and also get some warmer weather.   My wife and I grew up down here and many of our family members still live down this way.  We had a big New Year’s Eve celebration and a big dinner on New Year’s Day after watching all the football games. 

But my wife and I met while attending Boston College and then got jobs and stayed in Boston after graduating.  So we’re Boston College fans.  Since we’re down south we decided to attend the Eagles’ game against the Wolfpack.

NC State is surprising everyone this season.  They’re presently on a 9-game win streak that includes winning the championship at the Diamond Head Classic.  The Wolfpack have accomplished all this with an awesome defense that has allowed just 61.2 ppg.  When you look at the talent level and depth for NC State, it becomes clear that they’re a team that can definitely present problems for Boston College.  What’s more, with all the victories the Wolfpack have already achieved, they’re playing with a lot of confidence. 

The national anthem just finished and it’s time for the tip off:

SG Corey Graham got things going with 2 quick baskets and the Eagles went on to score the first 11 points of the game to silence the crowd.  After falling behind 17-2, NC State finally got their offense flowing and cut the lead to 20-12.  But then the Eagles went on a 15 point run to expand their lead to 23 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the half.  BC’s alternating man-to-man and zone defenses stymied the Wolfpack.  When the half ended, the Eagles held a 47-29 lead.  SF/SG/PG Glen Robinson’s sizzling shooting contributed 13 points and SG Corey Graham had 10 points.

During halftime we got North Carolina pulled BBQ sandwiches and sweet tea.  We still have North Carolina roots.

The Eagles had a tough time reigniting their offense while the Wolfpack caught fire in the first 5 minutes of the 2^nd half, and NC State closed to within 51-43.  But by the midpoint of the half, BC had re-established their dominance and held a substantial double digit lead.  With 5 minutes remaining, the Eagles led 74-54.  NC State didn’t roll over and die though.  They rallied to whittle away at the lead.  There was too little time left though and Boston College came away with an 80-71 road win.  So, unlike almost everyone else leaving PNC Arena, we were happy as we exited and returned to our car.

Both Glen Robinson and Corey Graham finished the game with 18 points apiece.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 9, 2030: Miami (FL) Hurricanes (11-4, 3-1) vs #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (12-2, 3-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Malik Aura

I haven’t been able to get to many of my Dad’s basketball games this season.  Often my high school team has games on the same nights but even when that hasn’t been the case, my parents haven’t let up on me about getting my homework finished.  So my grades are OK this year and things are going well with my basketball team.  No bragging, but I’m doing pretty darned good.  I got actively recruited and had a hard time narrowing the field.  I finally provided a verbal acceptance to a college, but then wanted to hold off signing an LOI until my SAT scores are revealed in case I don’t qualify.  My good friend, Travis Buchanan, who graduated last year and is now playing for Georgia Tech has started every game for the Yellow Jackets and has played fairly well.  Travis strongly encouraged me to come to Georgia Tech.  My Mom was really against that.  I can’t deny that sort of made me consider going there, but even though Georgia Tech recruited me, as you now know from my mom telling you a couple weeks ago,, I chose to go to Georgetown.  Travis isn’t happy.  But I’m excited.

Meanwhile Omari has been starting every game this season for Providence in his junior year there.  He’s not been hitting a high percentage of his FG’s yet, but has had 4 double digit scoring games thus far out of the 15 games the team has played.  He’s averaging 6.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.9 apg.  Since Zack Watkins is averaging 29.1 ppg, the Friars aren’t expecting a lot of scoring from Omari.  Providence at 15-0, is the only unbeaten team in Division I and is presently ranked #3 in the polls (behind Kansas and Duke).

Anyway, I guess you probably want to know more about tonight’s Boston College game against Miami, so here’s what happened:

Miami came out firing from beyond the arc.  7 of their first 10 shots were from out there and they hit 3 of them to stay close at 11-9 at the first media timeout.  Led by SG Corey Graham as well as a staunch defense that is likely making my Dad happy, the Eagles slowly crept to a 22-13 lead midway through the half.  BC’s defense was solid for the entire half, holding Miami’s shooting to just 29% which allowed the Eagles to roll to a 47-28 halftime advantage.  BC dominated the boards also to the tune of 27-13.  C Courtland Reese played just 10 minutes but scored 9 and hauled in 7 boards.

The Eagles scored the first 7 points of the 2^nd half to expand their lead to 25, but Miami then went on a 12-2 run.  I had to laugh when my Dad got called for a T as he complained about the fouls being called on BC.  The lead swung between 12 and 22 points with the Eagles vanquishing the Hurricanes by a final score of 77-63.  BC dominated all aspects of the game.

PF Danny Toliver was BC’s top scorer with 16 points and C Courtland Reese had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 11, 2030: #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (13-2, 4-0) vs #9 ranked Florida State Seminoles (13-2, 2-2) at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, FL

Rob Cavanaugh, Student Manager

The game’s about to start.  I’m a freshman at BC and so get most of the scut jobs amongst the basketball team’s student managers.  I’ve already hauled in the bags from the hotel to the bus and then from the bus to the locker room, set things up for the players in the locker room, filled the Gatorade tubs, run numerous errands, made sure the chairs for players and coaches were set up just right, readied the timeout chairs so they can be brought out quickly, made sure the whiteboards and felt pens are right between Coach Fed’s and Asst. Coach Montgonery’s chairs, got the towels and water bottles readied and placed where they need to be.  I’ll be doing support work for the players throughout the game (kind of whatever is needed…don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all that), so I don’t get to chart hustle plays and whatever other obscure stats the coaches want for the game.  Most of the players are great guys, but a few are a bit demanding.  Since I’ll be busy, I won’t be able to give you a blow-by-blow about the game, but hopefully some of the highlights.  I do know we’re 3-1/2 point underdogs for this game, but I think our guys will pull it out.

We got the ball on the tip-off, Grannum got the ball into Reese on the left side of the key, Reese used a great cross-over dribble to get past his man and hammer down a huge dunk…nice way to start.  Got busy but next thing I knew we’re up 10-2 and they’re calling the first media timeout..gotta run.  6 minutes into the game and C.J. (another student manager) tells me Florida State has already made 6 turnovers…Coach Fed’s gonna be happy with our guys about that and the overall defense so far…just 4 points by the Seminoles.  3 subs going in a couple minutes later…gotta pass out drinks and towels to players coming off the court.  Second media timeout…we’re ahead 18-6…athletic trainer worked on charley horse on Graham…Coach replaced Graham with Moss.  Coach Fed’s getting on the refs about fouls even though we have a 22-6 lead at midpoint of half.  Oh-oh, Coach not happy that Moss let his man hit back-to-back 3’s.  Whoa!  Great 3 by Glen Robinson making it 27-12.  Reese back on the court and really working down low…hits a shot on which he was fouled, made the free throw to put us ahead by 20 at 34-14.  Last media time out with us ahead 40-16…Hein spilled entire drink…cleanup time for me.  Halftime and we lead 48-21.  Stat’s look great…We outshot the Seminoles 60% to 23%, out-rebounded them 19-15, made just 6 turnovers to their 12, and scored 20 points in the paint to their 6.  14 points by Graham, 13 by Reese (plus 6 rebounds).  Coach Fed has already put  12 guys into the game.

Some of my friends think I’m crazy to be a gopher and do all this work for nothing, but others understand I get to travel, get to hang with the team, see what’s going on in practices…and what’s more I’m making contacts for sports management jobs in the future.

Second half: Our shots aren’t falling, theirs are.  Coach Fed unhappy with our sloppy play…gets on the guys during 2^nd media timeout.  That got the guys playing better.  Coach Fed empties the bench.  We  blow out the Seminoles 79-55.  We’re tied for 1^st in the ACC with Duke.

SG Corey Graham tossed in 26 points, C Courtland Reese had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block, PF Danny Toliver had 8 points and 8 boards, PG Bobby Grannum only scored 4 points but had 8 assists.

Time for me to collect all the dirty uniforms and towels and get them washed.

[PointGuard 70]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Best’s and Worst’s

Let’s take a look at the Eagles principal players’ best and worst games:

PG Bobby Grannum: Best is tough…he had 26 and 25 points against Syracuse and Oklahoma and 12 assists vs UCLA, but I think his best overall game was when playing North Carolina: 19 points on 7 out of 10 from the field with 9 assists.  Worst was in the game against Oregon when he played 40 minutes, hit 0 of 10 FG’s and scored just 2 points but he did have 4 rebounds and 6 assists to offset 5 turnovers.

SG Corey Graham: He scored 27 vs Michigan and 26 vs Florida State, but didn’t do that much elsewise in those games.  But I am picking his play in game against LSU when he only scored 14 points but hit 6 of 10 FG’s and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc (and would have scored more had he gotten to the foul line) and had 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.  Worst was against Oregon…no points, 1 rebound, 1 block (only played 15 minutes though).

SF Darius Hein: Best was against Creighton when he hit 7 of 9 FG’s and scored 16 points plus had 5 rebounds, a steal and a block. Worst: In the first 2 games of the season he scored a total of 1 points, but that was offset by 6 rebounds and 6 assists in a total of 32 minutes of play in the 2 games…so I believe worst was his 20 minutes of play vs Syracuse (2 points, 2 rebounds).

PF Danny Toliver: Best was Eagles’ game against Miami in which he scored 14 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.  Worst offensively was vs Syracuse with just 2 points but he did get 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks so very good defensively.  That just shows that Danny is a solid player who produces pretty well every game…no huge highs but no terrible games either.

C Courtland Reese: He has 4 double-double games and 2 games in which he scored 20 points, but the game I’m picking was against UCLA when he scored 16 on 8 of 10 shooting, pulled down 9 boards, and had 2 blocks.  Worst?  North Carolina State: scored just 6 points and had only 5 rebounds…actually hit 3 of 4 FG’s but the Wolfpack’s defense sort of neutralized him.

SF/SG/PG Glen Robinson: His top game was against Syracuse when he dropped in 7 of 10 FG’s including 6 of 9 from 3 point range, scored 23.  The worst was one of his three starts…this one against Butler…19 minutes, 0 points, just 3 rebounds.

C Tim Cotton: Best game was against Arkansas…15 points on 7 of 9 shooting plus 5 rebounds.  Worst: Just 1 rebound and nothing else in 10 minutes of play against Missouri.

PF Winston Minahan: In the game against North Carolina, he played just 13 minutes but had 7 points and 6 rebounds.  Worst was the first game of the season against Colorado when he played 14 minutes and scored just 2 points but recorded no other positive stats.

The rest of the subs get into most games, but don’t get enough playing time to record a lot of positive stats.  I think both SG Adrian Moss and SF Maynard Gardner have the potential to have a breakout game sometime this season if they get enough time on the court to do so.  I’d also like to see the two walkons, PG Ramond Keep and SF Andy Dawson, both of whom are pretty talented, each get a chance to prove what they can do at some point.  But I imagine that won’t happen just because Coach Aura is struggling to provide his non-starting scholarship players enough playing time to keep them from becoming disgruntled.

On another note:  Here’s who has the top stats in the ACC thus far:

PPG: SG Trent Coleman, Duke—23.1 ppg

RPG: C Brian Taylor, Duke—10.2 rpg

APG: PG Darius Rose, Virginia Tech—6.7 apg

BPG: PF Morris Blackmon, North Carolina—2.6 bpg

SPG: C Marv Hunter, Virginia Tech—3.5 spg

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 13, 2030: Pittsburgh Panthers (9-6, 2-4) vs #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (14-2, 5-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

I’d like to say this is a game we should win with ease, but two players on the Panthers could make a statement like that look foolish: freshman C Marques Mohr is a beast inside, averaging 16.3 ppg and 9.7 rpg; and junior SF John Mahorn averages 11.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg and has knocked down 56% of his FGA’s.  I’d include junior PG Rodney Winston with them since he has hit 63% of his FGA’s, but he’s nursing an injury so his effectiveness is likely to be hampered.

Even though Pittsburgh isn’t a power in the ACC this season, the success of the Eagles the past few years and this season are keeping the Forum seats filled.  That’s a big plus, not only for us financially, but also as support for the team during our games here.

Coach Aura has been playing the bench more of late so our starters’ stats have suffered a bit, but it’s good to have the team’s depth improved in the event there is an injury and as readiness for next season.  Our 3 freshman are acquitting themselves well.  PG Bobby Grannum is a star.  He’s averaging 12.4 ppg, 6.4 apg, and 3.1 rpg.  C Tim Cotton has consistently improved as the season progresses and is now averaging 4.7 ppg and 3.2 rpg while playing just 11.9 mpg.  He needs to work hard on his defense, though.  SF Maynard Gardner, although yet very inconsistent, has shown glimpses of what will eventually be brilliance.  Coach Aura has been trying to find more time for him to gain game experience. If he develops the way we expect, he will solve the persistent weakness we’ve had over the past several years at SF.

Pitt scores the first 2 points on free throws, but then Danny Toliver takes Mohr to the hoop to score a dunk and be fouled.  Then on Bobby Grannum picks off a pass and drives for the basket. Mohr keeps him from scoring but picks up his 2^nd foul at the 18:56 mark…and to the bench he goes.  The refs even things up by calling a series of picky fouls on us and Bobby Grannum goes is whistled off with 2 fouls just 5-1/2 minutes into the game.  Lots of early turnovers by both teams.  Pittsburgh is burning up the nets and takes 5 point lead with 9 minutes to go in the half.  Two minutes later we recapture the lead.  But Pittsburgh hangs with us the entire half and we go to the locker room with just a 41-40 edge.  We hit 50% of our shots, but the Panthers chipped in 58% of theirs.  Courtland Reese leads our scoring with 11 points, but Pittsburgh’s C John Mahorn has 12 points.  Word is that Corey Graham has some sort of knee injury.

We have no success in cooling the Panthers shooting early in the 2^nd half and the game remains tightly contested.  But we go on a run midway through the half and finally gain a double digit lead at 67-55 with 8:47 to go.  We’re up by 20 with 7 minutes left.  Pittsburgh cuts into our lead with our bench on the floor but there is no serious threat.  We come away with an 87-74 victory due to our surge in the middle of the 2^nd half.  Pittsburgh kept the game interesting by hitting 60% of their FG’s. 

Four of our starters score in double figures: C Courtland Reese-19 points, PF Danny Toliver-12 points, SF/SG Glen Robinson-11 points, and PG Bobby Grannum-10 points.  All 7 of our reserves who played scored, and totaled 33 points.  Pittsburgh C John Mahorn topped all scorers with 20 points.

Follow up 2 days later:  We just found out that we’ve moved up to #5 in both polls after our 7^th straight victory.  The ACC is well-represented in the polls.  Duke remains #2, North Carolina is #4, Notre Daye is #8, Florida State is #11, and North Carolina State is #20.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 18, 2030: #5 ranked Boston College Eagles (15-2, 6-0) vs #4 ranked North Carolina (16-4, 4-3) at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

Biff Conroy, WRKO Radio Sports Talk Host

Hey sports maniacs, glad to have you listening in.  The focus for this hour is Boston College basketball.  And in particular, their game tonight against North Carolina.  It’s a contest pitting #4 against #5 in the polls.  The Tar Heels come into the game 2-1/2 games behind the Eagles in the ACC standings, but one place above the Eagles in the polls and a 9-1/2 point favorite by the sports books.

I don’t often do this but I’m encouraging you to watch the game on TV and call into me to discuss the game as it proceeds.  Not much time before tipoff but let’s kick things off.  Jerry is on the line.

Jerry: Whats up with the polls…how could they rank North Carolina above BC since the Eagles had a better record and a higher NET Ranking…and BC ripped the Tar Heels when they played up here last month?

Biff: I agree it doesn’t make sense, but the polls are nothing more than the poll participants’ opinions and biases.  And you gotta know that a lot of them begins and ends in Durham and Chapel Hill.  Next we have Roger calling in.

Roger: I think BC is the better all-around team but they’re playing in Chapel Hill so I don’t think the Tar Heels being the favorites tonight is out of line.  And North Carolina has those two highly rated freshmen big guys who could give BC fits inside.

Jake: Aura needs to shake his guys up.  They’re just not protecting the ball at all.  At least when they DO hold onto the ball, they’re hitting some shots so they’re only behind 10-9.

Robert: Knight looks as good as they say he is.  He’s taking it to Reese inside.

Kenny: Nice 11-2 run by the Eagles.  Took them most of the hais clf to get untracked but they’re now up 29-25.

Biff: Yeah, and it all started when Reese came back into the game.

Jake: I think Aura took me up on my suggestion.  The Eagles seemed to finally realize they needed to play ball or they were going to go home with an “L” on their record.  And I agree that after Reese took a breather, he came back with a vengeance…made 5 of 5 didn’t he?

Biff: Yes, he finished the half with 11 points, all but one of those in the Eagles’ late run that took them to their 31-25 halftime lead.

Alex: Yeah, they got their offense of track alright, but really it was their defense that gave them their lead…holding the Tar Heels shooting to 37% and forcing 9 turnovers…too bad BC made one more than that though.  Otherwise they’d have a big lead.

Rebecca: If Graham, Robinson, and Toliver can begin scoring like they didn’t in the first half, I think BC will do alright.

Biff: Coach Aura definitely relied on his starters in the first half.  I think he’s going to have to get the bench more involved in the 2^nd half.  I also don’t think he can count on Knight carrying North Carolina.  I believe the Tar Heels will make some adjustments to get their other players doing some more scoring.  OK, let’s see if BC can hold on in the 2^nd half.

JJ: Damn, The Eagles come out stone cold and North Carolina ties up the score after BC is unable to score in the first 3 minutes of the half. 

Frankie: That’s what BC needed to do, keep working the ball inside to Reese and forcing Knight to defend.  Now he’s got 3 fouls on himself and is having to warm the bench.

Biff: That was a short rest for Knight.  I don’t think he was out of the game over a minute.  Maybe North Carolina is getting nervous now that they trail 37-31. 

Frankie: Hah!  That’ll teach the Tar Heels coaching staff.  They put Knight back in the game and quick as a wink he’s got 4 fouls.

Biff: Well this is one helluva defensive battle.  BC’s D is just a little better thus far and that accounts for their 48-38 lead.  But there’s 8 more minutes to go.

Carlos: Just when it looked like BC would take this one, North Carolina goes on a 19-0 run.  The Eagles are going to have a tough time making up the 8 point lead with 2-1/2 minutes to go.  The refs are making things really tough on BC right now.

Biff: But mainly it’s that North Carolina, after shooting poorly the entire game, now can not miss a shot.  The crowd’s really helping the Tar Heels.

Ray: The Eagles let that one get away.  Their defense completely evaporated in the final 7 minutes.  The Tar Heels scored 29 points during that short period of time. 

Biff: Yes, it was an extremely disappointing 72-66 loss.  But ultimately North Carolina won it at the line, scoring 13 more points than BC on foul shots.

Stan: Four North Carolina players scored in double figures.  Just two Eagles did…15 for Courtland Reese and 14 for Bobby Grannum.

Bri: 18 turnovers by Boston College certainly didn’t help either.  The Eagles are now 1-1/2 games behind Duke.

Biff: I still think Boston College is the better team.  The Eagles and Tar Heels may meet again in the conference tournament and on a neutral court, I think the Eagles will win.

[PointGuard 70]

JJ Conroy, BeanTownSports Blog

Ewww!  What’s that foul odor?  Seems it’s coming from Chapel Hill, NC.  Ohhh, it must be the Boston College Eagles late 2^nd half rancid play.  They simply were putrid while allowing North Carolina to score 19 unanswered points.  Yes, unanswered….as in scoring zero points while giving up 19.  Not only did the Eagles offense stink but their vaunted defense gave up 29 points in 7 short minutes at the end of the game.  During that time they surrendered an 8 point lead to fall to a bruising crash landing loss that was more ungainly than a gooney bird’s crash landing.

The strengths of the Boston College team (defense and rebounding) took a real beating.  And their inability to score points to a really serious deficiency of the Eagles team.  That’s their shooting.  Their FG% is only 131^st best in the country.  And their 3-point shooing percentage is 226^th best.  Those aren’t stats that point to consistent success this season.  So it’s no wonder their rebounding seems to be a strength…they pull down the 12^th most rebounds per game of any Division I team.  Well, that’s because their defense makes their opponents normally shoot poorly…and the Eagles themselves create even more possible rebounds by shooting poorly.

This isn’t a problem that can be fixed overnight.  If most of your team are low percentage shooters, you may HOPE for improvement, but the likelihood of actually accomplishing that is very low.

This spells out something most Eagles fans don’t want to accept.  This year’s team is going to have an extremely tough time going up against top-flight competition in the tournaments at the end of the season.  So if you’re the biggest Eagles supporter on your block, you may just have to hold your nose as you root for them and see them occasionally stink up the gym the rest of this season.

Meanwhile, the Duke Blue Devils are playing like real champs.  Their defense it tops in Division I basketball, giving up just 53.9 ppg.  The Blue Devils have won 17 straight games and now are a full 2 games ahead of 2^nd place Boston College in the ACC standings.  Their 9 wins in the ACC have been by margins of 16, 33, 30, 15, 10, 18, 23, 11, and 26 points.  So they’re making the rest of the ACC look like high school teams.  Duke and Boston College play each other next week.  I’m picking the Blue Devils, but since the game is at BC’s Conte Forum, the Eagles at least have a chance if they can avoid another complete collapse.  But BC plays in Durham 3 weeks later…and the Blue Devils will singe the tail feathers of the Eagles in that one.

Edited February 1, 2022 by PointGuard

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 20, 2030: #5 ranked Boston College Eagles (15-3, 6-1) vs Louisville Cardinals (5-10, 1-5) at KFC Yumi Center in Louisville, KY

C Courtland Reese

Following regular participation in the NCAA tournament over the years, last season the Cardinals could only qualify for the NIT and this season has thus far been a much further slip down the ladder of success.  Louisville’s offense has been anemic and they have hit a low percentage of their shots.  We need to clamp down defensively early to keep them from gaining confidence.  My primary responsibility is to not let Adam Crenshaw, who is their best scorer, from doing much damage.  He’s a freshman who came to the Cardinals as a highly touted recruit and has produced including a couple recent 20+ points games

Crenshaw scored Louisville’s first 4 points, but a little later I drew an offensive foul from him.  We shot well early and raced to a 21-7 lead after 8 minutes of play.  We built a 20 point lead with 6 minutes remaining in the half.  We had an extremely strong defense for the first 10 minutes of the game, but the Cardinals began hitting some shots after that.  The half ended with us on top 42-24.  PG Bobby Grannum led us offensively with 10 points.  I failed in controlling Crenshaw…he scored 13 of their 24 points by hitting all 6 of his shots.

We had a horribly tough time getting the ball in the hoop for the first 7 minutes of the 2^nd half and Louisville cut our lead to 44-33.  Our shooting only improved slightly, and we slowly rebuilt a 20 point lead with 5 minutes to go.  We let the Cardinals eat away at our lead the rest of the way but still came away with a 67-57 win.  Both teams hit less than 40% of their FGA’s. 

SF/SG Glen Robinson, PG Bobby Grannum and I each scored 11 points.  I also had 13 rebounds , 3 steals and a block.  But Adam Crenshaw scored 21 points for Louisville.  He’s really good at working his way into the basket.

Now it’s time for us to prepare for Duke.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 25, 2030:  #2 ranked Duke Blue Devils (20-1, 9-0) vs #5 ranked Boston College Eagles (16-3, 7-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

2^nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans

Duke’s a game-and-a-half ahead of us in the standings.  Their defense (53.9 ppg) is awesome and has been responsible for them outscoring their opponents this season by an average of 21 points.  C Brian Taylor is back for the 3^rd year against us.  This season, though, freshman SG Trent Coleman has been the Blue Devils primary scorer, averaging 23.5 ppg.  In Duke’s 21 games, Coleman has scored 20+ points 14 times and in 7 of those 14 he scored 30+ points.  So while Taylor is still dominant on the boards (10.4 rpg) he’s now the secondary offensive weapon, averaging 11.7 ppg.  But we’ve beaten Duke 4 out of 5 times the past two years and intend to break their 17-game win streak tonight.  We’re starting Glen Robinson at SG rather than Corey Graham.  Robinson is stronger defensively so hopefully he will have some success against Coleman.  Graham will still get plenty of playing time, though, since we will need to keep fresh legs on the floor to combat Coleman’s aggressiveness.

The game’s about to begin.  Let’s see how it goes.

Two intercepted passes turn into easy breakaway scores for Duke, but C Courtland Reese counteracts the Blue Devils scoring as he scores on all 4 of his shots in the first 3 minutes.  Both teams hit a high percentage of their shots but Duke’s defense is causing us to make too many turnovers.  We trail 24-20 with 9 minutes to play in the half.  Both teams played tough the entire half.  We came away with a slim 38-37 halftime advantage.  Both teams hit 50% of their shots.  We turned the ball over 9 times but our defense forced Duke to make 8 turnovers.  We held a 14-11 rebounding advantage.  C Courtland Reese was our top scorer with 9 points.  Even though we double-teamed Duke’s Trent Coleman he still scored 14 points.

The lead shifted back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the 2^nd half.  We then hit a dry spell offensively and the Blue Devils took a 6 point lead with 6-1/2 minutes to go.  We battled back to cut Duke’s lead to just 2 at the last media time out.  We trailed by 4 with 1:35 to go and Glen Robinson was called for a technical, a major error on his part…that put us down by 6.  We then had to foul…but couldn’t catch up and lost 69-63.  The team stats were extremely close with the exception of free throws which favored Duke by 6 points, the difference in the final score.  There were 16 lead changes and 8 ties in the game.

SG Trent Coleman scored 22 and had 6 steals to lead Duke.  C Courtland Reese had 16 points and 8 rebounds, SG Corey Graham hit for 14, and PG Bobby Grannum scored 10 and pulled down 8 boards.

A disappointing loss, particularly at home, in a game we had a good chance of winning.  We’re now 2-1/2 games behind Duke with several teams breathing down our necks for 2^nd place in the ACC. 

[PointGuard 70]

Omari Aura

My team, the Providence Friars, is having a terrific season.  We’ve got a 18-1 season record and our 9-1 Big East record puts has us in a tie with Creighton for 1^st place in the conference.  We’re ranked #3 in the polls and our NET ranking is 4^th best in the nation.  We had very strong teams the first two years I was at Providence, but I think this is the strongest team we’ve had, and I believe we have a good chance to go much deeper in the NCAA Tournament than we did my first 2 years here.  Of course, a lot of the credit goes to SG Zack Watkins.  He’s so talented and in his freshman season he’s leading all Division I scorers by averaging 29.5 ppg.  He’s also pulling down 7.8 rpg and dishing out 2.5 apg while recording 1.5 bpg and 1.9 spg.  He should be the front-runner for the Norton Award, but his grades are low and that is keeping him from being considered.  I’m concerned that he’ll opt to declare early for the pro draft.  I’d sure like to have him playing for us next season when I’ll be a senior.  Pro scouts are checking out a lot of our games and I know they’re not looking at me.

Coach Parker has worked me more into the offense recently.  That’s allowed me to score in double figures in 5 of the last 7 games and score 9 points in one of the two other games.  My season averages are now 7.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg, and 0.5 bpg which isn’t too bad for a SF.  I’ve had a sore knee the past week which has cut down on my rebounds.  My dad has been on me to keep getting treatments from the athletic trainers…and it’s starting to feel much better so I think I’ll be back to 100% for our next game.  Gotta because 2 of my teammates are also nursing injuries.

My dad’s team has hit a bump in the road, losing 2 of their last 3 games.  But I’m sure he’ll relight the fire and get the Eagles knocking off their opponents again.  Who knows, maybe we’ll meet up with Boston College again in the NCAA Tourney.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 30, 2030; #7 Boston College Eagles (16-4, 7-2) vs Miami (FL) Hurricanes (14-7, 6-4) at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, FL

Boston College Chronicle

HURRICANES LEAVE EAGLES WINDED

Kinsey Ramsey

Following their disheartening loss to Duke last week, the Eagles got good news when they found out that their two recruits, Mike Williams and Ben Schau, received SAT scores well above the minimum requirements of this university.

Last night, the Eagles took on the Miami Hurricanes, a team came into the game with an 11-0 home record this season.  Balanced scoring throughout their lineup had been the primary reason for the Hurricane’s success.

The Eagles pounded the ball inside throughout the entire first half, outscoring the Hurricanes in the paint 18-8.  But Miami hit shots from shots from all over the court creating 9 lead changes and 3 ties during the first 20 minutes of play.  At the break, BC held a slim 41-38 lead.  C Courtland Reese scored 12 and his backup Winston Minahan added 6 in the first half.

The two teams continued to battle in the 2^nd half with neither team able to gain more than a 3 point advantage.  The refs helped Miami stay close by tagging BC with fouls.  Coach Aura loudly and aggressively contended the fouls, and he was assessed a technical midway through the half.  When the Eagles shooting went cold, Miami opened a 5 point lead with 6-1/2 minutes to go.  BC fought back to narrow the gap to a single point with 4 minutes remaining.  But the Eagles were unable to hit shots down the stretch when they needed to while Miami did.  The Hurricanes dropped BC 82-77, collaring the Eagles with their 3^rd loss in their last 4 games.  The Eagles are now tied with Florida State and Notre Dame for 2^nd place in the ACC.  They will host Florida State Wednesday.

C Courtland Reese led Boston College’s scoring with 21 points and SG Corey Graham tossed in 17 points.