SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

When catching up on my email after our return from Virginia I opened an email and read through it. I was totally confused by what it said…at first. Then I noticed it was signed “Renee”. She was appreciative I guess because we’d scouted her cousin’s son (which we had although we were looking much more closely at a player on the opposing team…her relative was ok, but not for Division I basketball…maybe he could play for a Division 3 team, but no need to get into that with her). But there was nothing specifically about him or basketball or scouting in the way she wrote the email. Since I knew what she was grateful for, I understood that’s what it was about. I re-read her email, though. While it expressed she was pleased for what I had done for her, it was written in a way that could have been interpreted as sexual undertones and connotations. As I said earlier, she’s weird. I let our a few explicit epithets to myself and immediately deleted the email since I sure didn’t want anyone else seeing it and misconstruing what she was saying. I made a mental note to myself to stay as far away from her as possible and to try not to be at Eagles Soar events that she might attend. I’ll just send one of my assistants in my place to most of their events. Since we need to get back on a winning track, I focused hard on our upcoming game and tried to totally forget all about Renee McEntire and her strange ways.

Then James Pratt and Mike Williams arrived in my office. They’d gotten into a heated argument earlier in the day and had to be separated by other players. I decided to talk to them together and let them know we needed them pulling together. They both took it well and said they’d work harder. With Williams being so new to the team, I’m going to have to try to improve his relationship with his teammates.

Next to arrive was Rashon Thorn. As he’d done last season, he’d again been mouthing off again about not playing enough and my favoring Bobby Grannum over him. I tried the soft approach but he came back at me about even that. I warned him more sternly and he was combative. That ended up earning him a two-week suspension. So it won’t be a matter of him playing too little…it will be not playing at all. He’ll miss our next 4 games including our game against Duke.

This was turning out to be a pretty lousy day for me in the office.

Later than night I watched Notre Dame win on the road by a single point to drop us 1-1/2 games back. My bad day was continuing.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 11, 2031: Clemson Tigers (11-4, 3-2) at Boston College (9-5, 3-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

PF Darius Hein

We’re short one player tonight (and for the following 3 games as well), since Rashon Thorn got himself suspended. Rashon is a good friend of mine. We got to BC the same year. Like him I want to be out on the court and trying to get a win for the Eagles. But it’s stupid to act the way he does at times and make a scene. Not only is it foolish but it makes everyone on the team uncomfortable and knocks him down in a lot of the guys’ eyes. But when he gets that way, there’s really nothing I can say to him that will help. He just gets out of control. Coach Fed is hard to rile up, so Rashon musta said something that was waaaayyy out of line. This week Rashon’s just disappeared…not going to classes, not in his room. I’m hoping none of our players get injured, particularly one of our guards, because if they do we’ll be really short-handed.

Clemson’s played us tough. Coach Fed let us know he wasn’t happy that the Tigers had taken their measure of us by winning 4 of the 7 times they’ve played us since he got to Boston College. He told us we need to stop their inside game of C Samuel Lewis and PF Marvin Clayton.

We went up 10-1 but then let them score the next 6 points to get back into the game. Then midway through the half the Tigers out-hustled us to take a 5 point lead. We had to claw our way back. Our starters carried us to a 37-33 halftime advantage as C Ben Schau led the way with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

After 5 minutes of the 2nd half we were up by 12 and I FINALLY got into the game. 30 seconds later I got a bucket on a tip in. I got to play for 8 minutes and did pretty well (3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and left the game with us ahead 64-48. We went on to take down the Tigers by a final score of 76-60.

C Ben Schau had 15 points and 9 boards, PG Bobby Grannum also scored 15, and SF James Pratt had 13 points and 6 rebounds. But Coach Aura was happiest with our defense as we held Clemson’s shooting to just 38% and 17% on their 3-point shooting plus forced them to turn the ball over 21 times. He also gave all us interior players a big pat on the back for holding Leis and Clayton to a combined total of just 12 points which was 40% of what they normally score.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 13, 2031: #10 Duke Blue Devils (12-4, 4-1) vs Boston College Eagles (10-5, 4-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Coach Fred Aura

When Duke comes to town every seat at Conte Forum is filled and with the two teams tied for 2nd place in the ACC, tonight’s no different. It’s a raucous crowd. Duke’s been more inconsistent than usual this season. Overall they’ve played, including winning the Cancun Challenge tourney. But they’ve sustained some unexpected losses both on the road and at home. As usual though, they have a great defense, allowing only 60 ppg. Recently we’ve had some good perimeter shooting so we’ll try to beat their defense that way. As far as our defense goes, we need to try to control their senior C Michael Rashaw who has developed into their leading scorer this season averaging 15 ppg, their PF Enrique Fortin who is scoring about 10 ppg, and PG Casey Dare who has scored 11-1/2 ppg.

Duke jumped out on top. We trailed by 4-6 points throughout most of the first 10 minutes as they throttled our offense. At the 2nd media time out I put in Glen Robinson at PG since the Blue Devils were really pressuring Bobby Grannum. Glen quickly hit some key baskets to tie the game and then move us ahead. Our defense tightened and by the end of the half we led 29-24.

Defense continued to be the key to holding our lead in the 2nd half. Our offense stuttered in the middle of the half so that Duke was able to get within 2 points of us. But the Blue Devils were never able to put on a sustained run because our guys were keeping them from getting clear shots. In the last 8 minutes of the game we steadily pulled away to rather surprisingly bury Duke by a score of 64-48. Yes, we held Duke to just 48 points! The Blue Devils only made 30% of their shots. So even though we were limited to 39% shooting, it was enough. We held Rashaw to just 6 points.

Our leading scorer was SG Corey Graham who finished with 15 points. PG/SG Glen Robinson scored 11.

Our fans swarmed the floor at the end of the game. It got pretty messy. Some how I ended up losing one of my better fedoras. But I was intent on getting our guys off the court before someone got hurt so couldn’t worry about my hat.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 18, 2031: #23 Boston College Eagles (11-5, 5-1) vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-7, 2-4) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

1st Assistant Coach Darrell Montgomery

We’ve finally clawed our way back into the polls. Coach Aura said he puts little faith in these, particularly when Duke is ranked #10 but Notre Dame is ranked just #20 when the Fighting Irish are 7-0 in the ACC and 1-1/2 games ahead of Duke and when North Carolina State is still ranked #16 but has only won 2 of 5 ACC games. But I believe we deserve to be in the Top 25 and am glad to see us there. I also think it gives recognition to our players for their hard effort.

We’ve got to take care not to take Wake Forest too lightly. They’re a stronger team than in past seasons and are a good shooting team that generally has been successful on their home court.

There were 11 lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the game with neither team ahead by more than 3 points. But we have greater depth so we were able to keep fresher legs on the court. That helped us pull away from Wake Forest and achieve a 49-33 halftime lead.

With such a large lead, our team let it’s guard down on defense in the 2nd half and Wake Forest used that to begin hitting a high percentage of their shots. The Demon Deacons crept up on us but never really mounted a serious challenge. We came away with a 92-80 victory, having hit 61% of our shots.

PF Danny Toliver hit for 19 points, C Ben Schau put in 17 points, and SG Corey Graham added 14 points.

Coupled with Virginia’s upset road win over Notre Dame, we moved to within ½ game of the first place Fighting Irish.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 20, 2031: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-7, 4-3) vs #23 Boston College Eagles (12-5, 6-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Baldwin the Eagle

I love this mascot gig. Actually I share it with another guy but it’s my night to be Baldwin tonight. Not only is it just a lot of fun, but the cheerleaders and other coeds here are really into it. Baldwin’s helped me get some dates that elsewise would never have happened. And also my non-Baldwin persona is totally different from how I am as Baldwin. Here’s a video (with the wrong date on it) of me a week ago before the Duke game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGdgdhI7ynk

Besides my normal game activities, tonight I have two special stunts planned. First: at halftime I’m going to attempt (and maybe actually do) a dunk. And then in the 2nd half during a timeout, I’m going to smash a pie in the face of a ref (well, actually a fake ref, a friend of mine who will be dressed as a ref).

Even though the defense was shaky, BC had a hot start offensively and held a lead. But midway through the first half our shooting went south and Georgia Tech slipped ahead. We trailed 38-36 at the end of the half.

We had a lot of buildup for my dunking stunt. Finally I took the ball at midcourt, ran straight for the basket, hit the mini-trampoline perfectly and went up for the for the dunk, but it all went wrong from there. The ball sort of slipped from my wing hand and while I thought I could still get it down, it slammed up against the rim and came straight back at me and nearly took off my beak. I crashed down to the floor like I’d been shot. Embarrassing but the crowd loved it.

Our team played better in the 2nd half, but the refs tagged us for a bunch of fouls (including 4 quick ones on C Ben Schau). So we were leading by just two at 62-60. Perfect timing for me to run the pie stunt during a media time out. Unlike my dunk stunt, this one went perfectly. I complained to the “ref”, then chased him around the court before grabbing the pie and planting it squarely in his face at midcourt. The crowd went crazy.

And our team seemed to come alive after that and quickly pulled away to lead 69-60 with 5:21 to go. And I’m taking TOTAL credit for BC not allowing the Yellow Jackets to score a SINGLE point after my stunt! We won 77-60, scoring 15-0 after my pie in the face stunt.

Top producers for the Eagles tonight were: PF Danny Toliver—16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks; C Ben Schau—14 points and 8 boards; C Tim Cotton—11 points; SF James Pratt—10 points and 3 blocks; SG Corey Graham—9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists. Strange stat for Georgia Tech: their PG Rahim Arnold went 7 for 16 from the field…all 16 shots were from 3 point distance, so he scored 21 points.

Notre Dame got beat by Miami, so the Eagles are now in sole possession of 1st place in the ACC.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 27, 2031: #21 Boston College Eagles (14-5, 8-1) vs Clemson Tigers (13-6, 5-4) at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC

Ty Allison, Head Coach of the Clemson Tigers

We’re playing at home where we have yet to be beaten this season. And we’re underdogs! I’ve riled up our team about that and we intend to show everyone who’s putting us down just how wrong they are. Coach Fred Aura has done a solid job during his tenure as head coach at Boston College, but we’ve won 4 of the 8 games we’ve played against the Eagles since he arrived. And we intend to make that 5 of 9 tonight! My guys are psyched to kick in the ass those who are disrespecting us.

We scored the first 5 points in the game. We then went up by 13 with 5 minutes left in the first half. We went on to take a 56-35 lead at halftime. We outshot the Eagles 59% to 40% and outrebounded them 22-16. SF Hayden Hailey scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for us. I told my team to keep the pressure on throughout the final 20 minutes.

Boston College came back strong at the beginning of the 2nd half and cut our lead to 7 in the first 6 minutes. But we re-established a 25 point lead with 8 minutes left to play. My team then never let BC get closer than 19 points and we came away with a 97-74 whipping of the Eagles.

BC’s SG Corey Graham led all scorers with 24 points and SF James Pratt and C Ben Schau had 12 and 11 points, respectively. But my Tigers had 5 players in double figures and 11 players scoring.

That’ll show those who disparage us. We’re now tied for 4th place in the ACC, just 2 games behind Boston College.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 30, 2031: North Carolina Tar Heels (12-9, 6-5) vs #19 Boston College Eagles (14-6, 8-2) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College Chronicle

LATEST EAGLES' GRADE: D

By Kinsey Ramsey

Following a disappointing loss to Wake Forest on the road late last week, the Eagles returned to Conte Forum to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. Coach Aura said, “North Carolina is always a dangerous opponent. This season they’re led by a trio of good scorers. All three hit a high percentage of their shots. SG Rashad Newton is averaging 14.6 ppg and has knocked down 47% of his 3’s. PF Lucious Abrui averages 12.6 ppg and has hauled down 5.5 rpg. SF Brad White has scored 11.2 ppg, hits shots from all over the court, and has pulled down 4.0 rpg. We’ll need to bring our A-game to take down the Tar Heels. Unfortunately we’ve had a spate of injuries. Glen Robinson has a sprained wrist, Danny Toliver sprained his toe, and James Pratt has a nagging sore back. All three should be able to play but it puts pressure on everyone else to do their very best.”

North Carolina grabbed an early lead as the refs tagged 4 of BC’s starters with fouls. The Eagles finally scored 3 minutes into the game. Both teams had a tough time scoring, but BC’s “D” kept the Tar Heels scoreless for nearly 8 minutes during which the Eagles were able to pull ahead by 9 points with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. But turnovers and poor shooting prevented BC from holding onto a big lead. When the buzzer sounded ending the half, the score was BC-27, NC-26. Both teams had only been able to hit a third of the shots they’d taken.

The Eagles scored the first 13 points in the 2nd half. North Carolina’s shooting woes continued and with just under 10 minutes to go, BC led 55-35. The Eagles defense held strong and BC came away with an impressive 65-45 victory.

Just two Eagles’ players scored in double figures. SG Corey Graham scored 16 and C Tim Cotton added 11 points.

“Our offense was anemic in the first half. We picked it up a bit in the final 20 minutes, but it was our defense that led to our win tonight,” said Coach Aura. “North Carolina is a good team and any time you can hold their shooting to just 27%, you’ve done an outstanding job. Our guys just never gave the Tar Heels any easy shots.”

The win kept the Eagles in a tie with Notre Dame and a game-and-a-half ahead of Duke in the ACC standings. BC travels later this week to to take on the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

Two basketball sons, two entirely different stories.

Omari is having a great season with Providence. He’s scored in double figures the past 8 games and has had 10+ rebounds in thres of those same games. He’s leading his team in rebounds and scoring. He’s flying high.

Malik is in the doldrums. After starting the first 5 games as a freshman at Georgetown, he’s been relegated to the far end of the bench, normally playing just a few minutes a game. Then in the game last night against Villanova, he comes in off the bench to play 20 minutes. Unfortunately the results were bad. Very little production. Pretty much a wasted effort and a missed opportunity to impress his coaches. I’m not sure if he’s trying too hard, given up and just going through the motions, or simply had a bad game. He’s playing out of position (at SF rather than at SG), but he’s good enough that he should be able to handle that. Hard to help him since he’s pretty much shut down with me, Janeka, and Omari. I’m sensing that’s the same way he now is with his coaches and teammates.

[PointGuard]

Feb. 3, 2031: #19 Boston College Eagles (15-6, 9-2) vs #23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-6, 9-3) at Edmund P. Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana

SG Corey Graham

Even though Notre Dame dropped a game a couple days ago to fall a half-game behind us, we still have to win this game to stay in first place. I just love these games where we have to put everything on the line against a first-class opponent. The Fighting Irish have a tenacious defense and their guys hit a high percentage of their shots. Notre Dame’s won 12 of their 13 home games, so playing at Joyce Center is a real challenge.

Danny Toliver still isn’t 100% after spraining his toe, so Coach Fed is starting Tim Cotton at C and moving Ben Schau over to PF to start the game. But it sounds like Danny will play. I imagine his playing time will be dependent on how mobile he is. I’m hoping Bobby Grannum doesn’t get into the foul trouble he got mired in during our last game so that he played just a few minutes. We need him on the court.

Although the Irish took an initial lead, we overtook them about 3 minutes into the game, and due to some pinpoint shooting by our entire team, we led 14-8 with 14-1/2 minutes left in the half. With 6-1/4 minutes remaining we were on top 38-24 and had hit something like 15 of 18 of our FG’s and all 5 of our 3’s. Notre Dame hit some big shots late in the half to narrow our halftime lead to 49-40. We hit 69% of our FG’s but Notre Dame hit 56% of theirs. Bobby Grannum scored 11 and I hit for 10 in the first half. In the locker room Coach Fed adjusted our defense for the 2nd half.

We responded by holding the Fighting Irish scoreless for the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half. The refs were calling all the fouls against us and none against Notre Dame. Coach Fed began riding them heavily. Notre Dame cut our lead to 10 but with about 3 minutes left James Pratt and I hit shots from downtown on back-to-back possessions to put us ahead 78-62. The Irish went on a run in the final few minutes. But the nice thing about the refs not calling fouls on Notre Dame throughout the 2nd half was that they couldn’t foul us late in the game to try to shorten our possessions. We came away with a 79-71 victory over the Irish that put us a game-and-a-half ahead of them in the standings. We went crazy in the locker room after the game. But Duke has been winning to stay just a game behind us. So we need to keep winning.

I led the team in scoring with 21 points. Bobby Grannum had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists and Ben Schau scored 11 while pulling down 8 boards.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

I came home feeling great after our big win over Notre Dame. But my high was short-lived. Not long after walking in the door Janeka gave me a look and said, “What’s going on Fred?” I said, “What do you mean?” She responded, “I came home from work yesterday and there was a voice mail from a WOMAN for YOU! “ I looked at her quizzically and said, “Well who was it and what did she want?” Janeka voice raised as she came back with, “She didn’t leave her name but Fred…are you having an affair?” “An affair? Me? Of course not, Janeka”, I replied. Janeka steely said, “Well then maybe you need to let this woman know you’re not because it sure sounded to me like the two of you are!” After Janeka became a little less upset, I asked if the voice mail was still available so I could try to figure out who it was and what this was all about.

When I listened to it, I figured out it had to be Renee McEntire. Her voice was a little different, sort of muffled, but it seemed as though she was possibly alluding to my helping her cousin even though she didn’t say that specifically. And by some of the comments Renee made and the mannerisms she used, I could understand how Janeka could have understood she was a romantic interest.

I talked with Janeka again and told her about Renee’s unannounced visit to my office and that she wanted help getting college basketball scouts to check out her high school cousin. I also told Janeka that Renee was a strange woman and that after her visit to my office I had taken actions to I would not run into her at “Eagles Soar” events…not because of anything romantic (particularly since that was the furthest thing from my mind) but mainly because I considered her weird and possibly unbalanced. I told Janeka that I didn’t expect that Renee would ever call again. I was just going to ignore her call completely and certainly was not planning to contact Renee to tell her not to call again since I felt ignoring her was the best course of action. I have Janeka a big hug and told her we just need to go on with life and be happy we have each other and that we don’t have to deal with Renee.

This has really been a tough year. Working with the team has been great. But dealing with BC’s administration, some of the fans and alumni expectations, and outside detractors has really increased my stress and the pressure on me. Layer Malik’s issues, crazy Renee McEntire, and now how Renee has affected Janeka’s and my relationship on top of that and…well, sometimes it’s just too much.