In his most recent chart Barry Jacobs points out that in a 15-league ACC, as always high on competitive juices, getting out of the cellar is really, really hard.
That’s certainly been true for Boston College.
Since firing Al Skinner, the Eagles have been cellar dwellers. If not, they were on the steps and not near the door either. They’ve been bad.
We thought Steve Donahue would be able to get things going but he never did. And in a lot of ways Jim Christian seems the ideal coach for that program. He’s got roots in town, he’s an overall winner as a coach and he has a knack for finding under appreciated talent...but he hasn’t managed it either.
Christian found Jerome Robinson in Raleigh, where Duke, UNC and State all somehow missed him, not to mention Wake Forest. The Deacs used to make a good living getting secondary recruits from North Carolina. Then he went to Havelock and found Ky Bowman. He gets props for developing Nik Popovic too.
Still, his record at BC is just 62-100 and his best season is 19-16.
If you’re BC, what do you do? The guy has a solid track record prior to BC, TCU aside, and winning there is really tough so we’d give him a mulligan on that. Yes, former Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has won there, but given how he schedules, it’s much easier to get to 20 wins.
And between last year and this, BC has lost Robinson - a first round pick - and Bowman, currently on a two-way contract with the Clippers.
That’s a lot for anyone to overcome.
BC’s situation is made worse by also losing Jordan Chatman, a brilliant student who could periodically just explode offensively, and an injury to promising sophomore guard Wynston Tabbs that will keep him out for the season. He actually was dealing with it last year and missed substantial time. That’s a major blow for the Eagles.
And John Carlos Reyes left for Nevada while Vin Baker Jr. has left as well, off for Milwaukee.
Nonetheless, there are some pieces to work with.
The 6-11 Popovic emerged last year as a solid center and occasionally a pretty good one. He was close to a 15/7 big man and could improve on that this year.
Steffon Mitchell has limitations - he really can’t shoot - but he’s a rugged 6-8 rebounder and that will get you minutes anywhere.
The next guys who got meaningful time were the Hamilton brothers, Jared and Jarius, from Charlotte. Jared is a 6-4 senior while little brother Jarius, at 6-8 and 234, isn’t really little at all. The brothers combined for about 12 points and six rebounds per game. You can expect Jarius to improve as a sophomore. Could he be the next BC surprise from the Old North State?
One of the problems Boston College had last year was that Bowman wasn't really a pass-first guard. He had huge talent but BC could have used a more traditional point.
Well they have one now: former Duke guard Derryck Thornton.
Thornton left Durham after his freshman year, with family members complaining that he should have been played more like...well, Bowman.
So he left for USC where he was basically a part time point guard. He started some but never really got starter minutes. That transfer didn’t work out the way his backers expected and if Thornton is on any draft boards, we haven’t seen it.
He’s spoken recently of his journey, how he’s grown and learned. It could be a nice redemption story. He has what BC needs if he finally recognizes what he is, which is a standard issue pass first point guard. Duke tried to tell him. We presume USC did as well. If he’s ready to accept it he could be great for the Eagles.
The last rotation guy back is Chris Herren, Jr., who wildly exceeded expectations as a freshman, quickly earning a scholarship.
He ended up getting 15.5 mpg and having a real impact.
So there’s a bit to work with although losing Tabbs is a real blow.
BC brings in five freshmen, none highly ranked, but as we said Christian has shown a knack for finding underappreciated talent.
His class consists of:
- Calvin Felder (6-7/230)
- Jay Heath (6-3/175)
- Andrew Kenny (6-6/205)
- Julian Rishwain (6-5/190)
- Kamari Williams (6-7/210)
None of these guys are highly rated so standard caveat: big deal. You can find tons of guys who are high school big shots who move on to the draft and your odds of not being drafted as a McDonald’s All-American are low. If you are seen at a certain level you’re going to get drafted.
That said, who remembers Harold Miner? Who remembers Tracy Jackson? Curtis Hunter?
You could go on for days. You could just about have a Hall of Fame for overrated high school players.
On the other hand, guys like Tim Duncan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars essentially came out of nowhere. Being rated is no guarantee and being lowly rated out of high school doesn't necessarily mean much. David Robinson was a mediocre 6-7 forward that Navy signed based on his shoe size.
You just can’t know for sure and Christian, as we say, has a certain knack.
All that said, expectations for this class are not high.
Felder - listed by BC as CJ - is from Sumter, SC and at least one site says that the BC staff thinks he could be their most talented recruit ever. Bowman is his second cousin and that was a major factor in his recruitment.
A scout quoted on the same site said this: “Felder is a 6-foot-7, 235 pound hybrid forward who is an athletic freak. He can shoot the three, handle the rock and defend at a high level already. His upside is a future NBA 3-man and potential first round draft pick. Had he played at a bigger school or bigger AAU program, he may have been a top 50 recruit nationally.”
So he’s an interesting prospect to say the least. He’s also academically oriented and would like to become a meteorologist which is kind of cool. And- check this out - he’s just 16. So he’s physically immature (relatively speaking) and he can’t leave BC for the NBA for at least two years. He’s going to be fun to watch.
Heath follows Tabbs from the DMV to BC (Tabbs, who was really good before his knee problem, was a three star incidentally). He’s a quick combo guard so if Thornton can’t do it they have a backup option. He should help on defense too.
Andrew Kenny is to an extent an unknown but he scored well in high school and his father, Chris, played at UCLA. He should at least have gotten solid instruction from a young age. We don’t know a whole lot about him though.
BC is really high on Rishwain’s three point shooting, intelligence and his competitive desire. He looks pretty slim but Christian is excited about his potential.
Williams also comes from the DMV. Christian likes his three point shooting and his athleticism. And guess who his dad is! Walter freaking Williams of Maryland fame who was, by the way, a late bloomer himself. We’re sold.
When we started this preview we were pretty uncertain about BC but now, wrapping it up, we think they have a chance to be decent, possibly NIT material if everything goes well.
The freshmen could give Christian a deeper rotation than anyone expected. BC clearly feels they got a major steal in Felder and Williams and Heath should be major contributors soon. We’ll see about Rishwain and Kenny.
We don't know just how well BC will do this year but it’s one of the ACC teams we’re most interested in seeing.