SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

1st Asst Coach Darrell Montgomery (recruiting coach)

In mid-September we got the first verbal acceptance of a scholarship offer from Dan Jefferson, a 6’9” C from Archbald, PA. He’s the 48th ranked recruit, but more importantly he was in the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp and the top 5 at the Big Apple Showcase. He’s a tremendous rebounder and very strong defensively. He’s a good scorer from inside. As a high school junior he averaged 12.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg.

Then just before the end of September two more recruits let us know they wanted to play for us. Noel Carr is a 6’8” SF from Winchester, VA. He also was in the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp and the top 5 at the Big Apple Showcase and he’s the 41st ranked recruit. He’s a gym rat. He’s an excellent scorer both from inside and outside. He a strong rebounder and defender and extremely athletic. He’s a good ball handler and gets lots of steals. Last season as a H.S. junior he scored 17.1 ppg, pulled down 5.8 rpg and had 4.7 spg.

The same day we got a call from Will Jennings, a 6’1” SG from Blacksburg, VA. He’s the 44th ranked recruit who was in the top 25 at the Big Apple Showcase. He’s a great scorer from outside and plays solid defense. He’s a very good passer and has good athleticism. He averaged 17.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg as a HS junior last season.

Those three 4-star recruits filled all of our available scholarships. If they all meet our SAT requirements, recruiting is complete for this season.

[PointGuard]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Boston College begins their basketball season this week. The Eagles are ranked 14th in the pre-season Media Poll. And even though Duke is ranked higher in that poll, those most knowledgeable about the Atlantic Coast Conference have picked Boston College to finish first in the standings with Duke right behind them.

The Eagles’ starting lineup is loaded with very strong players at all 5 positions and the team possesses a deep and talented bench. BC doesn’t have to count on a single outstanding player to carry them, because any of their 13 scholarship players could well lead them on any given night.

Here’s my depth chart for the Eagles:

Point Guard:
1. Bobby Grannum, 6-4 sophomore, averaged 12.0 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 2.9 rpg as a freshman and recognized as a true 5-star player.
2. Glen Robinson, 6-2 senior, averaged 8.5 ppg, 1.8 apg, and 2.7 rpg last year
3. Rashon Thorn, 5-7 junior, averaged 2.8 ppg, 1.4 apg, and 0.7 rpg in limited role
4. Robert Dodson, 6-1 freshman, walk-on

Shooting Guard:
1. Corey Graham, 6-1 junior, averaged 12.9 ppg, 2.1 apg, 3.4 rpg
2. Glen Robinson, see above
3. Adrian Moss, 6-5 junior, averaged 1.9 ppg, 0.8 apg, 1.1 rpg in limited role, but coaches report he’s showing major development

Small Forward:
1. Keith Kolder, 6-7 senior, averaged 2.6 ppg, 0.5 apg, 1.5 rpg in limited role
2. Maynard Gardner, 6-7 senior, averaged 1.8 ppg, 0.5 apg, 1.1 rpg in limited role
3. Glen Robinson, see above
4. James Pratt, 6-6 sophomore, ineligible last season due to transferring
(Any of these 4 could eventually become the regular starter at the 3 position)

Power Forward:
1. Danny Toliver, 6-8 senior, averaged 7.4 ppg, 0.8 apg, 5.7 rpg
2. Darius Hein, 6-7 juniore, averaged 5.8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 3.5 rpgp-
3. Mike Williams, 6-6 freshman, H.S. last year
4. Ben Schau, 6-6 freshman, H.S. last year

Center:
1. Ben Schau, see above
2. Tim Cotton, 6-10 sophomore, 5.0 ppg, 0.8 apg, 2.9 rpg
3. Danny Toliver, see above
4. Freddie Hite, 6-8 sophomore, walk-on

All players can play 2 positions and some can play 3, as “6th Man” Glen Robinson demonstrated so well last season.

While this team doesn’t have the one big star player who can carry a team, the Eagles have a bunch of very good players. If Coach Aura gets them playing together, they’re going to be tough to beat.

Now as to Duke…they lost some good players to the pro draft, but as usual, they reloaded their roster with some top-flight recruits last year. So they’ll definitely be contending for the ACC title. Another team to watch this season…North Carolina. They had a good recruiting year last season and are loaded at 4 of their 5 positions. If someone can step up at PG, they’re going go be trouble. So I’m picking Boston College, Duke and North Carolina to finish 1, 2, 3. Coach Aura backed away from taking on being the favorite when he said, “My guys are gonna be tough. I’m very happy with the players who will be on the court for us this season. But I think there are 6 or 7 teams in the ACC who have the talent to come out on top in the standings. So there really isn’t a favorite. We’ll just have to see which team avoids serious injuries and wants it the most."

[PointGuard]

3rd Assistant Coach Jeremy Anderson (scouting)

We wrapped up our fall practices and are ready to begin playing pre-conference games. We have a very challenging schedule that includes 4 home games, 4 away games and a tournament. The teams we know we will face are: Alabama, Boise State (to start off the Maui Invitational), Michigan State, Stanford, Marquette, Missouri, George Mason, Providence, and Wisconsin. 3 of those 9 are ranked in the pre-season polls and a few others of those are likely going to earn inclusion as the season progresses. If we can get through that torture in good shape, I think we’ll be well-prepared for ACC play.

Our starting lineup is solidly set at 4 positions: Grannum at PG, Graham at SG, Toliver at PF, and Schau at C. We have 4 players (and possibly a 5th) who want that remaining starting position at SF. We’ll start by trying out Kolder since he’s a senior but then give Gardner a shot. Kolder has been improving each year and thinks he’s ready to be a starter as a senior. Gardner is going to be a star for us. He still has a few rough edges, but has developed a long way now that he’s a sophomore and it’s obvious he wants to start and be on the court a lot. If either of those guys don’t quickly take hold of the starting position though, Hein, Robinson, Pratt, and Williams will be contending to take it on. Williams came here looking a bit lost initially but as practices progressed, his skills became evident. He’s still like to be a reserve mostly at PF, but he could surprise people. Pratt practice with the team all last season which he had to sit out since he transferred. He’s a dangerous outside shooter. Robinson and Hein showed last season that they’re more than capable at the “3” position, but personally I like the energy they bring coming in off the bench…and both can play 3 positions.

I don’t know who will be out top scorer, but I think it will be between Schau, Graham and Grannum.

What’s really be good to see is how good the entire team is defensively. That could be our ace in the hole as the season progresses. I would say if we really need to crack down defensively at key points in a game, then put Grannum at PG, Robinson at SF, Pratt at SF, Toliver at PF, and Schau at C and watch how they clamp down on an opponent.

Rebounding? Again, all 13 of our scholarship players know how to get position and attack the glass. I’d put this team up against anyone on the boards.

Let’s get this season going!

[PointGuard]

Nov. 15, 2030: #22 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (0-0) vs #14 ranked Boston College Eagles (0-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut hill, MA

Brad Johnstone, alum and fan

I graduated from BC two years ago…got a good job in finance in Boston. Livin’ the good life. Love basketball, but more a fan than a player. Friend of mine and I decided to get some season tix this year.

The new guy in the middle, Ben Schau, looked as good as advertised. He scored 10 points and pulled down 3 rebounds in the first 6 minutes of the game. That helped BC get a lead, but Alabama didn’t roll over and tied the game at 24-24 with 7-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. The Eagles went outscored the Tide 12-4 as the half wound down and took a 41-31 lead to the locker room. Schau scored 12 and had 4 boards and his replacement at C, Tim Cotton, had 6 points and 7 rebounds in the first half.

Alabama scored the first 9 points of the 2nd half to claw their way within a single point of BC. That seemed to light a fire under the Eagles and they quickly re-established a double digit lead. Overall play by both teams in the 2nd half was sloppy with numerous turnovers. But Boston College shot well (51%) to come away with a 80-69 victory.

C Ben Schau finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds. C Tim Cotton had 14 points and 7 rebounds. SG Corey Graham hit for 12 points plus had 6 assists and SF James Pratt knocked down every shot he took to score 10 points.

Post-game discussion between Coaches Aura (FA), Friel (LF), and Montgomery (DM):

FA: Not a bad opener, but definitely showed some areas we need to work on. I wasn’t happy with our trouble hanging onto the ball in the 2nd half. We can’t be making those mental errors. And while we hit 51% of our FG’s, that was because Schau and Cotton were cleaning up inside and Pratt’s shooting. But we looked pitiful from long-distance and at the foul line.

LF: Bama’s a good team, so some of those problems are due to their defense. And some may be due to this being our first game. But no matter, I’ll review the video of the game tonight and tighten things up.

DM: On a positive note, it really appears that Schau and Cotton are both strong this year. I also was impressed by James Pratt’s play. I think he’s showing he needs to be in consideration for a starting role at SF. And Robinson did well coming off the at both PG and SG. Mike Williams also showed he may be ready for some serious minutes at PF.

LF: Yes, I was really impressed with Ben and Tim at the C position. We might want to put the two of them on the court together at times…say, Tim at C and Ben at PF. I think they’d be one helluva duo up front.

FA: Pratt was impressive, alright. And since Kolder and Gardner had relatively weak performances, James’ play was even more significant. But I think Keith and Maynard will do better in our upcoming games, so the SF position starting role is still in play. Another thing I was happy about was that we definitely have depth at PG with Grannum, Robinson and Thorn. All three of them seem ready and able to guide the team.

LF: Tomorrow I’ll have the team cleaning things up in practice and preparing for our first game in the Maui Invitational against Boise State.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 18, 2030: Boise State Broncos (0-1) vs #14 Boston College Eagles (1-0) in Round 1 of Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii

Grant Kanagawa, Chairman of the Maui Invitational Committee

We’re pleased to have both of these teams in our tournament this year. Boston College won our tournament 3 years ago. They appear to be a strong team this season as well. Boise State has been to the NCAA Tournament 4 of the past 5 years and always seems to put together 20+ win seasons. Both Matt Bright and Fred Aura are up-and-coming head coaches who are in their early 50’s and have a history of building strong teams.

In our other games today, Maryland beat George Mason 78-63, Vanderbilt got by Houston 82-73, and Illinois-Chicago upset Saint Mary’s 86-74. The winner of this game will go up against Maryland.

Great game early…both teams playing hard and the score close with several lead changes. BC’s SF Marvin Gardner hit all 3 of his shots including a long 3 to give him 7 of the Eagles’ first 15 points. In the middle portion of the first half, BC went on a 13-2 run to go ahead 30-18 with 6-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. The half ended with Boston College on top 47-30 due primarily to hitting 56% of their shots. Gardner led their attack with 11 points while Boise State’s top scorer was PF Marc Detmer with 8 points.

Boise State’s defense caused problems for the Eagles in the 2nd half and with 9:45 to go, the Bronco’s were within 5 at 53-48. BC recovered and quickly got back into a double digit lead. They maintained that to forge a 71-60 win. A big difference in the game was that the Broncos made 17 turnovers to just 8 by the Eagles.

Leading scorers for BC were SF Marvin Gardner-18 (he hit 8 of 10 FG’s including connecting on both of his 3-point attempts) and PG/SG Glen Robinson-11. Boise State’s SG Orlando Walker scored 13 and PF Marc Detmer added 11.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 19, 2030: #14 Boston College (2-0) vs #10 Maryland Terrapins (2-0) in Round 2 of Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii

Darrell Montgomery, 1st Asst Coach

Maryland has two great freshmen, PG Keith Lee was the #1 ranked recruit last year and is averaging 11.0 ppg and is hitting 47% of his shots and SG Shamar Stewart was the #15 ranked recruit and is averaging 24.5 ppg. Hopefully we can keep them in check.

Maryland was knocking down their shots early in the game as they opened a 23-12 lead after 7 minutes of play. We fought back and behind SG Corey Graham’s 11 points, we cut the lead to 42-37 at the break.

The Terrapins came out burning up the nets again as the 2nd half started and took a 54-42 in the first 2-1/2 minutes. With 10:24 left we trailed 67-55, but then went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 2 points and force Maryland to call a timeout with 8:14 to go. With 1:27 on the clock, PF Danny Toliver hit a 10 foot floater that tied the score at 78-78. Maryland came right back and scored on their next possession. After a couple of missed opportunities by both teams, we called a time out with 26 seconds to go. Our designed play failed and we had to foul. They made one of two shots and we had 5 seconds to try to tie the game. But we could only get off a last gasp shot from midcourt that was off target and we fell 81-78. Maryland was just a little better than us. The Terrapins run a small (4 guard) lineup that does an amazing job both offensively and defensively…and on the boards as well. We weren’t prepared for it. The Terrapins totally shut down C Ben Schau. They front and backed him to deny us getting the ball into him.

SG Corey Graham had 18 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. PF Danny Toliver tossed in 16 points. SF James Pratt scored 11 points.

After the game Rashon Thorn was complaining about not playing enough and the coaches favoring Bobby Grannum. Coach Aura talked with him. Rashon was unapologetic. Coach Aura told me he nearly suspended him but decided to let it ride for now and leave suspension on hold in the event his behavior is repeated.

The following night: Maryland beat Vanderbilt to win the championship of the Maui Invitational.

[Wayne23]

An early season test makes your team stronger, even if you lose the game.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 22, 2030: Michigan State Spartans (0-1) vs #16 Boston College Eagles (2-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut hill, MA

Janeka Aura

Georgetown plays tonight so I’m DVR’ng that game so I can watch how Malik does later.

The Eagles simply outplayed the Spartans throughout the first half. Fred subbed frequently and the bench players performed nearly as well as the starters. The halftime score was 44-27. PG Bobby Grannum had a big half, scoring 14 points. 10 of our players scored in the first half.

BC hung onto their big lead through the 2nd half and came away with an 84-65 drubbing of the Spartans.

PG Bobby Grannum scored 20 and had 9 assists. SF James Pratt added 10 points. All 13 players scored for the Eagles.

We watched the Georgetown game when we got home. Malik started for the 3rd time this season. They have him starting at SF rather than SG, as was expected. He’s doing a good job on the boards and defensively plus dishing out assists, but he’s had a tough time scoring against as he familiarizes himself with playing at the 3 rather than the 2, but he did score 14 points in one game. Fred thinks he’ll get it together offensively as he gains some experience. He’s too good a shooter to hit as low a percentage of his shots as he has thus far. The Hoyas beat Clemson 58-54 in an exciting game. The Hoyas are now 3-1 this season. After 4 games for Georgetown, Malik is averaging 6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 2.5 apg.

Providence didn’t play tonight. They’re 2-2 thus far. Omari has started every game at PF. He’s averaging 10.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg and is shooting much better this year than he did in his previous 3 seasons playing for the Friars. He’s been the top scorer in one game and the top rebounder for the Friars in 3 games.

[PointGuard]

Coach Fred Aura (FA) discusses players with 2nd Asst Coach (Practice) Coach Landon Friel (LF)

FA: Let’s go position by position on what we’ve seen thus far.

LF: OK, well at PG Bobby Grannum sure showed what he can do in our last game. And I like how Glen Robinson has done backing Bobby up.

FA: I agree but Rashon Thorn’s performance thus far has left a lot to be desired.

LF: Yeah, but he’s not been on the court much so maybe that’s part of the problem. But with the way Bobby and Glen are handling the “1”, there just isn’t much opportunity to give Rashon time out there to show us more of what he can do.

FA: SG is locked down too. Corey Graham has done well, although his shooting percentage is down from last year. But there’s been too few games for that to be a concern yet.

LF: Corey’s also has been finding open guys and getting assists for us. Again, Glen Robinson has backed up the “2” also and done it well. Glen is just such a solid player. The guy I had hoped would come on for us in reserve is Adrian Moss and he started slow, but played pretty well against Michigan State. So maybe he will get it together and that would really help our depth at the guard positions.

FA: I’m really please by how James Pratt has played at SF. He’s shooting the hell out of the ball and doing pretty well on the boards for us too. I think we gotta give him more minutes.

LF: James has put together 3 straight good games. And Maynard Gardner hasn’t been consistent but he shows flashes of brilliance. With Keith Kolder not producing for us, it looks like we could pretty much split time between Maynard and James at SF and be in good shape.

FA: Both are hitting a high percentage of their shots. I just hope that continues. What’s your thoughts on our bigs?

LF: If you’d have asked me a week ago, I’d have said Ben Schau has locked up the middle for us, but now his shine has been dulled. His first two games were so outstanding,, but then he goes out and doesn’t give us much at all in his next two games. That may be due to being a freshman and needing to get comfortable with the variety of play by different opponents. Danny Toliver has done a good job at PF and he’s pretty consistent. But the guy who has impressed me of late has been Tim Cotton.

FA: Yeah, Tim has really come off the bench and produced, game in, game out for us thus far. You know, I’m toying with he idea of starting Tim aat C instead of Ben and moving Ben over to the “4” for a game to see if that breaks him out of the doldrums. Bringing Danny, Darius Hein, and Mike Williams in from the bench would give us all the depth we need.

LF: What do you think of how Mike’s played? To me, he’s been a big surprise. I expected him to be mostly a bench warmer this season.

FA: No kidding! He’s surprised me as well. He’s done well even though he’s been hobbled by that sprained toe for over a week now. I’ve not been able to play him in any lengthy amounts of time, but when he recovers from that injury next week, I think we need to really increase his playing time and see if he can sustain his good play for longer periods of time. And Darius hasn’t been scoring like I’d hoped but he’s banging the boards. He started last season and showed he can score, so I’m sure that will come along.

LF: Giving Mike more time sounds good to me, Coach. By the way, I know our walkons don’t expect to play, but I’d sure like to get both Freddie Hite and Rob Dodson onto the court a few times this season when we have a decent lead.

FA: I will. It might not be for a while though, since I’m having a tough time trying to play all the scholarship players enough time that we can get a good assessment of their skills and performance.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 25, 2030: #16 Boston College Eagles (3-1) vs Stanford Cardinal (1-2) at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, CA

Ben Schau, C

Things went well for me in the first two games here, then I got shut down against Maryland and didn’t play too well against Michigan State. So I now realize Division I ball isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take a lot of work and there will be ups and downs. I’m tired of the down though, time for an up tonight. Coach Fed has me starting at the 4 and Tim Cotton starting at the 5. I guess he just wanted to shake things up a bit. Maybe wants me to roam a bit more and get free for some more outside shots. Sounds good to me.

We had a hard time getting the ball in the hoop in the first half. And if it hadn’t been for Bobby Grannum chipping in with 9 points we would have been much further behind that our halftime 38-31 deficit. Coach Fed told us to play solid defense in the 2nd half and that each stop we made and each basket we made would be one step closer to our eventual victory.

I can’t say we played great in the 2nd half, but we sort of just kept on Stanford’s heels… repeatedly getting close and then dropping back. We still trailed by 2 with a little under a minute to go. At that point we brought the ball up the court and worked it around trying to find a free shot, but James Pratt had to finally loft up a desperation shot from corner as the clock shot was expiring. It was a little short and hit the edge of the rim. I was able to reach up and get my fingers of the rebound and tip it in to tie the game with 27 seconds to go. Stanford called a time out to set up a play for last shot.

Coach Fed subbed Glen Robinson in for Corey Graham since Glen is a lock-down defender. He stressed to all of us, “No Fouls!”. He then told us to let Stanford’s PG Kraft fiddle around running the clock down outside the arc with the ball while we employed our 2-3 zone. Then when the clock got down to 12 seconds we’d quickly shift to our man-to-man. He wanted Danny Toliver to bottle up inside their PF Brown (who had been hitting well from outside). He said since Kraft wasn’t shooting well, he’d either try to drive and pull up for a short jumper or get the ball to either SG Voskuhl or SF Dyschenko for the final shot. He told Pratt to force Dyschenko to hug the sideline so the best option pass would be to Voskuhl. He told Bobby Grannum to cut off Kraft from making a drive and for him and Glen Robinson to anticipate a pass to Voskuhl.

The clock got down to 10 seconds and as the clock wound down Bobby Grannum picked off Kraft’s pass and fired it ahead to a streaking Glen Robinson who laid the ball in with 2 ticks on the clock. Stanford was unable to get off a shot and we escaped with a 71-69 road win.

I finished with 13 points and 10 boards plus 3 blocks. Bobby Grannum also scored 13. James Pratt had 11 and Danny Toliver had a good game with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tim Cotton only scored 6 but had 9 boards.