SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[JMD]

Boston College never did well AT ALL in my saves (they even went winless in conference play once) so it's refreshing to see someone take them to the top.

[PointGuard]

Fred Aura

My sons are playing some very good basketball. Omari has scored in double figures in four of Providence’s last six games and he just missed double figures in the firth of those games. He’s now averaging 7.3 ppg in his sophomore season for the Friars.

And in his junior year Malik is the leading scorer on his high school team. He’s been the team’s starting SG in every game they’ve played this season. Quite a few college teams have scouted him thus far.

I’m darned proud of both Omari and Malik.

[PointGuard]

Feb. 22, 2029: #3 ranked Boston College Eagles (23-4, 14-2) vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-13, 7-10) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

Boston College Chronicle

DOWN TO THE WIRE

The Eagles trailed Wake Forest most of the first half. Poor shooting (35%) and 0 for 4 from beyond the arc by BC compared to hot shooting (68%) including 7 of 8 on 3-pointers by the Demon Deacons resulted in Wake Forest holding a 43-38 halftime advantage. Only SG Corey Graham, who scored 16 points in the half, was effective offensively for the Eagles.

BC’s shooting improved in the 2nd half, but the Demon Deacons continued to knock down their shots also. Finally with 10:40 left, the Eagles took a 58-56 lead on Graham’s 20 foot jump shot. But the lead was short-lived. After falling behind by 5 points, the Eagles again came back to tie the game at 66-66 with 2-1/2 minutes to play. Wake Forest then scored 5 unanswered points in the next 40 seconds. BC called a time out…their designed play resulted in a miss but C Courtland Reese grabbed the rebound, put the ball back into the hoop and was fouled. He sunk the free throw to cut the Demon Deacons lead to 2 points with 1:32 on the clock. Wake Forest missed a shot and BC again took a time out with a minute to go. The Eagles again missed a shot. Wake Forest tried to work down the clock but threw the ball away. Michael Millford was fouled with 36 seconds remaining and he went to the line for a one-and-one. He dropped both free throws thru the silks to tie the game at 71-71. Wake Forest rmissed another shot, as did the Eagles. With Wake Forest working the ball around to set up a final shot, PF Danny Toliver tipped the ball away out front sped up court to retrieve the ball and drove to the hoop for a dunk giving BC a lead with a single second left in the game. Wake Forest called a time out to set up a desperation shot. The Eagles didn’t let them get the shot off and escaped with a 73-71 nail-biting victory.

Top scorers for the Eagles were SG Corey Graham with 22 points, C Courtland Reese who scored 16 to go together with 8 rebounds, and PG Leonard Meliet who added 10 points plus 8 assists.

While the Eagles were outshot by Wake Forest 53% to 42%, they forced the Demon Deacons to make 29 turnovers.

The Eagles now travel to South Carolina to take on Clemson Friday night for their third game this week. After that they then have just two home games remaining to close out their regular season. One of those is against second place Duke.

[PointGuard]

Phone call between Janeka (J) and Fred (F) Aura:

(J) I’m really concerned, Fred. I told you that there were some big changes in Malik. He is continuing to spend more and more time away from home and coming jusin later and later. He’s on social media a lot more all the time and he’s pretty secretive about what sites he’s on or what he’s doing there. His school work is suffering due to him just doing the minimum on his homework. The school called me today to let me know that Malik has been acting up at school. They counseled him and gave him a warning, but said if he continues the next step is a suspension.
It seems to me that Travis Buchanan is exerting a lot of influence over Malik. Remember you told me Travis has received a scholarship from Georgia Tech? Now Travis is trying hard to convince Malik to also go to Georgia Tech when he graduates next year. Things have improved for African-Americans down south. But, Fred, I don’t want our son going down there for school. And I don’t appreciate Travis giving him the hard sale to follow him down there. And Travis has also hooked him up with a girl. We haven’t met her and Malik’s not talking with me about her, but from what I hear from others who know here, she could lead him astray. I keep trying to talk with Malik, but he just keeps clamming up.

(F) OK, that all sounds bad to me also. I’ll be home tomorrow. It’s Saturday so Malik will be home all day and I will talk with him then.

(J) I’m pleased to hear that. I just hope you’re more successful than I’ve been. Good luck with the game against Clemson tonight.

[Wayne23]

Sounds like Malik needs a good, swift kick in the asterisk!

[PointGuard]

Feb. 24, 2029: #3 ranked Boston College Eagles (24-4, 15-2) vs Clemson Tigers (17-10, 9-8) at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC

SG Glen Robinson, ineligible this season due to transfer

Having to sit out this year has been a real downer. I can’t wait for next season to begin. Cincinnati, which I played for my first two years in college, has had a so-so season. They’re 8-9 and in the middle of the American Athletic Conference standing. So my decision to transfer to Boston College was a good one. The Eagles have had great seasons last year and this year and the team should even be better next season. Corey Graham has played well at SG this year, but I think I could have been a big asset for the team at SF which has been the Eagle’s weak link this year.

This is our final away game. We beat the Tigers by 12 points when we played them on our court. Coach Aura has been warning us that they’re going to be a tough opponent on their court tonight. But…I’ll be sitting on the far end of the bench again, watching yet another game.

We started well opening an early 8 point lead, but then let Clemson catch fire and go on an 18-4 run that gave them a 22-16 lead at the midpoint of the first half. We fought hard and kept it close, finishing the half just down by 2 at 44-42. Both teams shot well, but the refs put the Tigers on the line too much.

It was a dog-fight the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half. There were so many lead changes you finally just had to figure when one team got the lead that the other team would score on their next possession. But then we went on a 9-0 run that put us up 75-68 with 8 minutes to go. From there our defense shut down Clemson and we edged away to an 84-74 victory.

Our top scorers were Leonard Meliet who threw down 18 points, SG Corey Graham who scored 16, and PG Rashon Thorn who hit 5 of 6 FG’s including all 4 of his 3-point attempts to finish with 15 points. C Courtland Reese scored 8 and pulled down 12 boards. As they did in our first game against Clemson, their starting guards Lou Robinson and Darius Wilson combined to score 32 points.

So we are going into the final week of the regular season with a 1-game lead over Duke. But the Blue Devils are our next opponent, so the conference title will be on the line. We beat them on their court, so I like our chances with them on ours.

[PointGuard]

Fred Aura confronts his son Malik:

(somewhat abbreviated version)

Fred: What’s going on, Malik?
Malik: Nothin’.
Fred: Well, that’s not what I hear.
Malik: Sounds like maybe someone’s got things wrong then.
Fred: Let’s quit the jivin’. Your grades are slipping, your attitude at school sucks, so much so that you could very well end up getting suspended, and…the main thing I’m definitely unhappy with is your lack of respect toward your mother.
Malik: I’m still doing OK in school. The classes have just got harder. And I just haven’t felt like talking much at home. Got a lot of things on my mind, ya know. The team’s about to start playoffs so I gotta concentrate on that. The guys depend on me.
Fred: Yes, you’re doing great on the basketball court. But…you need to get your act together in the other parts of your life. Get back to working hard in class and on your homework. Be respectful and positive toward your teachers. And treat your mother like the person who cares more about you that anyone else. As far as basketball goes, if you don’t get your act together and your attitude and actions don’t turn around, there will be no basketball because I’ll talk with your coach, who I am sure feels the same way that I do and you’ll be off the team. While the team may be counting on you and you have a responsibility toward them, you have complete control over that since your attitude, focus, effort and actions EARN you the right to play. Got that?
Malik: [After a short silence]. Yeah Dad, I got it.
Fred: Good. I’m going to be checking in on you every night. Let Travis and your new girlfriend know that won’t be spending much time with them for a while.

[PointGuard]

Mar. 1, 2029: #2 Duke Blue Devils (25-5, 15-3) vs #3 ranked Boston College Eagles (25-4, 16-2) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

Big game. Duke’s just a game behind us in the ACC standings. A month-and-a-half ago we beat them by points in Durham, NC with a good come-back in the 2nd half. The two centers, our Courtland Reese and Duke’s Brian Taylor both scored 20+ points and each one had 9 rebounds. Taylor has continued to be one of the top candidates for the Norton award. He’s a tough guy to contain. Derek Hastie and Jerry Henry, Duke’s starting guards, both hit a high percentage of their shots. Their defense is like a wet blanket for opponents, limiting their opposition to just 60.3 ppg (2nd best in the nation). Since the game against us, the Blue Devils have won all 10 of their subsequent games and have climbed back up to #2 in the polls, a step above us.

Conte Forum is filled to capacity for this game…mostly BC fans, but there is a sizeable and noisy Duke contingent as well. The place is rockin’ even before the game begins.

Three straight turnovers and driving layups by Duke give them a 10-2 lead after just 2 minutes of play. Then SG Corey Graham picks up his 2nd foul a minute later. Midway through the half the Eagles trail 25-9. The air has been sucked out of Conte Forum. We struggled to cut the lead to 8 points, but then another series of turnovers by us propelled the Blue Devils to a commanding 44-23 halftime lead. We were outshot 64% to 29% and the 11 turnovers we made were devastating.

We could only make repeated dents in the lead for the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half. But we got within 10 points with 5 minutes to go. But the Blue Devils responded by hitting a series of FG’s to keep us from making a serious challenge. We ended up on the short end of a 76-67 score.

Very little positive about this game. We were simply outplayed. C Courtland Reese and PG Leonard Meliet were our only players to score in double figures. Reese had 16 points and Meliet scored 13 points.

The loss puts us into a tie with Duke for 1st place in the ACC. One game to go.

[PointGuard]

Mar. 3, 2029: Louisville Cardinals (17-13, 9-10) vs #3 ranked Boston College Eagles (25-5, 16-3) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Gerald McEntire, President of “Eagles Soar”

The basketball fan club for BC, Eagles Soar, has grown a great deal the past two years due to our basketball team’s successes. Good turnout by our club for this final home game of the season. We were disappointed with the loss to Duke earlier this week. But we’re back to cheer on the Eagles tonight, hopefully lifting to yet another victory and at least a share of 1st place in the conference.

Strange…BC is starting Mike Braxton at SF tonight. He plays very little so it’s surprising to see him in the starting lineup.

Well, Braxton’s not afraid to put up shots. Missed his first one, but then got fouled on his second attempt. He sank both foul shots putting the Eagles ahead 8-2. Once Louisville got going, both teams’ offenses predominated. Louisville closed to within a single point, but then BC pulled away with hot shooting. Fouls are piling up on Cardinals’ players…their coach is really riding the refs. The half ended with BC on top 56-40. The Eagles hit 64% of their FG’s and out-rebounded the Cardinals 20-10. All eleven BC players who got into the game in the half, scored, led by C Jason Caldwell’s 10 points.

Halftime report from Durham, NC is that Duke leads Wake Forest 56-33 at the half, so it looks like the Eagles will need to win tonight to tie for 1st place.

Coach Aura is playing his bench a lot…and they’re doing well. Adrian Moss on fire…4 for 4 from the field including 2 from beyond the arc, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 10 points in 10 minutes of play to help the Eagles go ahead 87-63 with 5 minutes remaining. BC went on to drub Louisville 100-78. The Eagles knocked down 62% of the field goal attempts, 53% of their 3 point attempts, and held a 35-27 rebounding advantage. BC dominated in the paint, scoring 40 points while Louisville scored just 14 in the paint.

C Courtland Reese scored 17 points in just 16 minutes of play, C Jason Caldwell put in 11 points, and SG Adrian Moss, SG Corey Graham, and C Greg Kidd each scored 10 points. The seven bench players put on the court by Coach Aura scored a total of 58 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists.

Duke won 93-57 over Wake Forest.

[PointGuard]

Janeka Aura

Our son Omari came on strong as Providence’s regular season wound down. He scored in double figures in 6 of their last 9 games, averaging 10.3 ppg over that span while averaging 19.3 mpg. He hit 28 of 58 FG’s and 11 of 25 of his three-point attempts during that 9 game span. This is important since he didn’t shoot too well last season or early this season. He seems to be finding his shooting eye.