SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[Wayne23]

Fans is fans. Geno Auriemma, used to say, during the many years when he lost zero to two games a year, "Some year I'll lose 5 or 6 games and they'll be throwing rocks at my car."
Truer words were never! This was a tough year, mostly due to injuries, and he lost a bunch of games. I don't know about the rocks but the UConn Women's Facebook had comments all season long about how he couldn't coach, was over the hill... I mean, he only has 11 national championships...

[PointGuard]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Boston College is ready to begin their quest for the Atlantic Coast Conference crown this coming week. The Eagles 6-4 pre-record isn’t as good as they wanted or their fan-base expected and isn’t as good as 9 of the ACC teams (see ACC team records below). But BC played a very tough schedule. 4 of their 10 games were against Top 25 opponents and they went up against no pushover teams.

When asked about his team Coach Fred Aura said, “To be honest it’s a mix of positives and negatives. We’re not quite as far along as I had hoped, but I think we ill just get better and better as the season progresses. We’ve got the talent and just need to refine things, particularly working to get more clear shots so we improve our shooting efficiency. There are no real holes in our starting lineup and our backups are pretty solid. We just need to pick up our intensity and drive.”

Aura has experimented this season, starting a lot of different players and spreading playing time widely throughout his roster. Because of that only the two top scorers are SG/PG Glen Robinson at 10.8 ppg and PG Bobby Grannum who’s averaged 10.0 ppg. C Ben Schau is the team’s top rebounder at 6.4 rpg and Grannum leads in assists with 4.5 apg.

Here’s how the ACC teams have done thus far:

#10 North Carolina St.: 11-0, NET Ranking: 14
Miami (FL): 8-1, NET Ranking: 131
Virginia: 8-2, NET Ranking: 30
Clemson: 8-2, NET Ranking: 42
#9 Duke: 8-3, NET Ranking: 23
Pittsburgh: 7-2, NET Ranking: 213
Notre Dame: 7-2, NET Ranking: 60
Wake Forest: 6-3, NET Ranking: 71
Virginia Tech: 6-3, NET Ranking: 134
Boston College: 6-4, NET Ranking: 21
North Carolina: 6-4, NET Ranking: 85
Florida State: 6-4, NET Ranking: 95
Louisville: 5-4, NET Ranking: 145
Georgia Tech: 5-4, NET Ranking: 73
Syracuse: 3-6, NET Ranking: 260

“I think the pollsters have been tough on ACC teams this season, but that’s OK. What I think stands out is that the conference this season is likely to be evenly balanced. We need to play tough each and every game if we want to win. At this point I just don’t see a favorite. It’s going to be a dog-fight for the conference championship,” admitted Aura.

ACC Commissioner Buck Morgan echoed Aura’s thoughts when he said, “I think we’re going to see over half of our teams hotly contending for first place this season. I like the competitive balance that we have. It’s going to make for a lot of fan interest for the supporters of all of our teams. And the Conference Tournament is going to be amazing.”

You probably are wondering about NC State and their perfect record. Winning 11 straight is impressive, but the quality of their schedule isn’t impressive. The Wolfpack does have 5 players averaging in double figures, though. The ACC’s other ranked team, Duke, has played a far less difficult schedule than the Eagles and the Blue Devils sustained two home losses to relatively weak teams. For the first time in recent history, Duke has no freshmen who are burning up the top of the stats sheets.

So fans, if you don’t have tickets yet for BC’s home games, you better get them now or you’re going to miss some exciting basketball.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

BC’s fan club, “Eagles Soar”, had one of their fancy social events tonight. It’s the type of event I hate going to but can’t avoid as head coach. These type of social events are maybe even more intolerable than a lot of the press conferences and media interviews. Tonight the club wanted me to say a few words about our upcoming ACC season. Again, not something I enjoy, but have to do. Got through it and thought I would be able to get out quickly. But Renee McEntire sidled up to me. She’d had far too much to drink and went on and on...something about a cousin’s son who plays basketball somewhere or other. The woman’s the ex-wife of the president of the club, so there was no way to quickly end the conversation. I’ve noticed in the past when she’s talking with someone, she has the habit of doing a lot of touching. That made it even more uncomfortable. As the ex-wife of the president of the club, I had to endure her innocuous comments far too long. Finally I extricated myself and got out of there and went to the solitude of my office to do some preparation for our upcoming game.

Our first ACC game is against Miami. The Hurricanes are 8 and 1 this season, but all 8 wins have been at home against relatively weak opposition. Their only loss was their opening game in a pre-season tournament and not to a particularly strong team. They’re playing us on our home court so we’re prohibitive favorites. But Miami is averaging 77 ppg and only has given up 63 ppg, so we definitely have to take them seriously. Looking over their stats, they’ve shot well and have a lot of assists, primarily due to their excellent PG Chris Skiffer. Three of their starters are averaging in double figures, led by star freshman SG Reggie Spatola who’s averaging 13.7 ppg. I’m going to continue to try to give Tim Cotton and Mike Williams more time. They’ve done a good job inside when they’ve come into games off the bench thus far. Ben Schau has been in a bit of a funk lately. I’ll continue to start him, but let Tim and Mike take some of his minutes.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 26, 2030: Miami (FL) Hurricanes (8-1, 0-0) vs Boston College Eagles (6-4, 0-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut hill, MA

Mary St. James, Boston College Athletic Department Publicist

I’m hoping we not only win tonight but win BIG. A great win in our ACC opener will make it possible to get out some good publicity.

A slow start, but midway through the half we hit two consecutive 3’s to pull ahead 16-9. From there on it was pretty much all Eagles. By the end of the half, we led 41-19.

To be honest the 2nd half wasn’t very thrilling. The two teams just sort of traded baskets. But the result was good: an 81-62 thumping of the Hurricanes.

PF Danny Toliver had a good game with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Others scoring in double figures were: SF James Pratt with 12, PG Bobby Grannum with 10, and C Tim Cotton with 10.

While it wasn’t really a very exciting game, the 19 point win will give me something to crow about, particularly since it was against the ACC team with the best pre-conference record.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

After finishing basketball practice, I headed to my office. I was surprised to find Renee McEntire sitting in my office. I wasn’t sure why she was there or how she got in. But I tried to be gracious even though she made me feel uncomfortable. She’s no longer married to Gerald, the President of our fan club “Eagles Soar”, but she feels she should get special treatment.

Turns out she wanted to continue talking to me about the cousin of one of her family members. He plays high school basketball and she encouraged (strong encouraged) me to scout him since according to her he’s a real star. The kid’s not on our radar. But she went on and on, so mostly just to conclude her monologue, I finally said we’d check him out. She thanked me and did her normal touch on my arm together with a contrived smile as she departed my office. I sat down at my desk shaking my head. The woman is weird.

My 3rd Assistant Coach Jeremy Anderson was coming toward my office as she stepped out and was nearly knocked over by her as she marched out, not paying him any attention. He gave her a quick backwards glance but launched into talking to me about his scouting schedule before I could say anything. I was beginning to feel like a conversation sponge…again hearing but having little to say in reply. As he spoke I wrote down the kid’s name and where he goes to school so I can eventually pass it along to Landon Friel, my 2nd Asst Coach and recruiter, since I’m sure Renee will again mention this to me.

[Wayne23]

Womens is trouble!

[PointGuard]

Dec. 28, 2030: Boston College Eagles (7-4, 1-0) at Louisville Cardinals (5-5, 0-1) at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky

SF James Pratt

Coach Anderson’s scouting report said that 4 of Louisville’s starters average between 9 and 12 ppg. I’ve been tasked with guarding the guy Coach Anderson feels is Louisville’s best player, Allen Brown. While he’s not their leading scorer since he had a very slow start in their first 4 games, he’s scored in double figures in their last 6 games. The guy mostly likes to shoot from midrange, but isn’t afraid to take the ball inside or step out for the 3. He’s also a very strong rebounder (5.8 rpg) and is sound defensively. I really want to beat the Cardinals since I’ve never liked Joey Johnson, their head coach. He’s a braggart. His best days were when he was coaching Texas, but to use a Texan phrase, “he’s been all hat and no cattle” during his 2 subsequent years at Syracuse and 2 years at Louisville. He’s getting old and resting on his past laurels. A friend of mine played for him at Syracuse and said Johnson doesn’t respect his players.

Coach Monty (Darrell Montgomery, our 1st Asst Coach) is handling the team for this game since Coach Fed had some type of family emergency.

We silenced the Cardinals’ crowd immediately by scoring the first 8 points. We had a shut-down defense the entire first half and led 37-16 when we went to the locker room. I felt good about how I did, since I not only scored 11 points but held Allen Brown to just 2 points with him just hitting a single basket in his 6 attempts.

In the first half Coach Monty played we starters more than Coach Fed does, but with our big lead, he split time in the 2nd half between starters and subs. Our defense continued to be solid as we squashed the Cardinals and their lousy head coach. I got a kick out of watching and listening to him holler at his players. Our lead grew to 37 points at one point, and we ended up thrashing Louisville 73-40. We held Louisville’s shooting to just 26% on FG’s and a meager 18% on 3’s.

I was high point man with 16 points plus had 4 assist and 6 rebounds. Coach Monty awarded me the Player of the Game honors. C Ben Schau also had a big game, scoring 10 points and hauling down 17 rebounds while handing out 5 assists. SG Corey Graham scored 15 and PG Bobby Grannum added 11. Allen Brown hit just 2 of 9 shots and scored just 7 points for Louisville. We totally dominated the boards to the tune of 48-26. The only stat they bested us on was free throws since we only got to the line 3 times the entire game.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura

I hated to miss our game against Louisville, but Malik’s gone into a deeper funk. After starting 5 straight games early in the season, he’s been sitting on the bench the past 7 games, getting 8 minutes of less of playing time the past six games. Both Janeka and I are very concerned, not about his playing or not playing, but about his depression. We almost always play the same days that Georgetown does so getting to a game when we aren’t playing is tough.

Georgetown had a game at St. John’s, so I went to New York City so I could talk with him before the game. I bought a ticket to the game since I didn’t want Ike Long, the Hoya’s head coach, knowing I was there and thinking I was trying to influence how he handles the team and my son. The Hoyas won 57-44. Malik played just 6 minutes and scored 2 points, hitting a nice jumper but missing his two 3-point attempts. Thus far this season he’s hitting just 25% of his 3’s which is probably one reason he’s not playing much. They also have him playing out of position…not at SG but at SF. So he’s not that familiar with all the baseline play and getting a different look at the basket.

I got together with him after the game so I could talk more with him. Malik learned not only from me, but more importantly from his brother and the game came easily for Malik. He starred his whole time thorough high school so not being the “main man” is a big adjustment for him.

Georgetown’s starting SG is a highly rated junior. Their PG is a senior. We talked about how he (Malik) is still learning the sets for the Hoyas while those two have a ton of experience and a lot more familiarity with Coach Long’s strategies. The SG is an excellent player. To be honest (although I didn’t tell Malik this), my opinion is that Malik is a better player than their PG and could do well at that position. But the senior has so much more experience handling the team that I can understand Coach Long relying on him. Malik was a 5-star recruit, but at SF he’s been supplanted by Ken Crider, another freshman who also was a 5-star recruit and was in the top 10 in the recruit rankings last year (Malik was the 20th ranked recruit last season). Crider’s darned good and has been shooting better than Malik and does a good job attacking the glass. Crider will probably be a one-and-done and Georgetown’s PG will be graduating after this season, so that should open a starting role for Malik next season.

I tried to get across to Malik that he just needs to keep working hard in practice, nail the sets, work on improving his outside shots (particularly since the 3 point line is just a little further out in college ball compared to high school), boost his teammates while on the bench, and be ready to do what Coach Long needs when he’s put onto the court. I told him his time will come and to treat this period as a good time to improve his overall game. I also encouraged him to be open with his coach and find out more about what Ike wants him to work on. I also asked him to continue talking frequently with his mother and me and to also talk more with Omari, who’s a senior on the Providence team and who also had to work his way up on the team through his years there.

Then it was time for Malik to get some sleep since the Hoyas were taking an early express train from NYC to DC in the morning and also time for me to get back home so I could back with my team tomorrow and congratulate them on their big win in Louisville.

In the morning I talked with Janeka about Malik. She was happy that I got together with him. But then she got a strange call when I was gone. She said “some woman” had called asking for me and didn’t indicate what the call was about. I asked her who it was. She said the woman wouldn’t identify herself. I told her I had no idea who it was, but that if she calls again I’d let Janeka know who it was and what it was about…and that if Janeka takes the call to try to get the woman’s name and phone number.

I met up with Darrell (Montgomery) and gave him a big pat on the back for how he handled the team and his win at acting head coach. I was then able to let the team know how proud of them on how they played against Louisville. But now we have to prepare for our upcoming game against Virginia Tech.

Followup note: Georgetown played Seton Hall two nights later. Malik didn’t start but played 17 minutes and scored 5 points, hitting 2 of his 3 FGA’s, and pulled down 3 rebounds and had a steal. Some of that was due to Crider being in foul trouble so that he played just 22 minutes at SF…and scored just 4 points.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 4, 2031: Virginia Tech Hokies (7-4, 1-1) at Boston College Eagles (8-4, 2-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Dom Scafani, Forum Security

The Eagles gave up too many easy shots in the first 12 minutes of the half and trailed the Hokies by a few points. But then BC caught fire on the outside and streaked to a 50-36 halftime advantage. The perimeter players carried the load as Glen Robinson, Bobby Grannum and Corey Graham hit 14 of 23 from the field (including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc) and combined to score 39 of the Eagles’ 50 points.

That put the large crowd in a good mood to reduce the likelihood of security problems.

The long bombs continued to fall for BC in the 2nd half and they took a 25 point lead with 14 minutes left in the game. With 10 minutes to go the Eagles were on top by 31. Coach Aura substituted freely, but the lead continued to grow. The final score was 92-58.

I was involved in providing security in the interview room. I heard Coach Aura say, “Our guys were zeroed in on the basket all night. It’s nice coaching when your team hits 52% of their FG’s and 16 of 30 of their 3’s. Bobby Grannum with 24 points and Glen Robinson with 26 points combined to hit 18 of 25 from the field and 11 of 17 from beyond the arc. Bobby had 9 assists and 6 rebounds also so quite the night for him. Put that together with some awesome defense (holding the Hokies shooting to under 30%) and work on the boards (we were +12) and it’s no wonder we won big tonight.” One of the press guys had a bit too much to drink, so I then had to usher him out of the room and call him a cab.

BC and Notre Dame are now the only teams in the ACC that are unbeaten.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 6, 2031: Boston College Eagles (9-4, 3-0) at Virginia Cavaliers (9-3, 1-1) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

Father Martin Christianson

I’m not only one of the Franciscan priests at BC, but I also teach American History at the college. So I fought to be the team’s cleric for this road trip where I can spend some time at Monticello to do some research. Our players and coaches mostly just put up with a priest accompanying them. They’ll participate in a pregame or postgame prayer, but seldom does there seem to be a request to talk to us privately about a spiritual issue or a matter of conscience. But Boston College is insistent that one of us goes with the team on each road trip. I do know though that there are 3 players who are having personal issues on the team: Tim Cotton and Adrian Moss are not too happy with the coaching staff (from what I have learned its because they want to start and/or have more playing time) and Bobby Grannum doesn’t get along with his teammates too well. I’ve tried to get them to open up with me but with no success thus far. I can encourage but not push. These kids come to college having been the stars of their high school teams and then to not start and not get to play as much as they think they should is really tough. I’m not sure what Bobby’s problem(s) with the team are. Maybe he’s just waiting for the opportunity to turn professional, which I’m told he has a good chance to do. While Coach Aura and his family attend mass, he’s more committed to his sport than to his religion so he doesn’t help in building a strong relationship between the players and the priests. What’s more, he seems to have some personal issues he may be dealing with but is unwilling to discuss. Again, all I can do is to let him know I’m there if he wants to talk. Janeka, his wife, is more the center of spirituality within their family.

I got to the arena in time to go to the locker room just before the game and now am at my seat to watch the game. The Eagles hit two 3’s to go up 6-0. The refs were whistle-happy. C Ben Schau was relegated the bench with 2 personals in less that 5 minutes of play. James Pratt followed a minute later. Virginia scored their first 7 points on free throws and didn’t hit a FG until there was 13:30 remaining. But from the midpoint to the end of the half, the Cavaliers seemingly couldn’t miss while BC had a tough time finding the basket. The half ended with Virginia on top 48-35.

In the 2nd half the Eagles went on a 12-0 run to take a 59-57 lead with 12:16 remaining. The lead seesawed for the next 9 minutes but the Cavaliers took a late lead forcing the Eagles to foul intentionally which only expanded Virginia’s lead. BC lost 89-81.

PG Bobby Grannum and SG Corey Graham both scored 16 with reserve PF Mike Williams adding 11 points.

Coach Aura told the team that they simply ran into a hot-shooting buzzsaw tonight and to just put this game behind them. The loss dropped the Eagles into a tie with Duke for 2nd place, a game behind Notre Dame. But Coach Aura seemed unconcerned about that.