Divitto on watch list and other weekend news

The organizers of the Lott award named Steele Divitto to their watch list. Many of these early watch lists are generated by the schools themselves pushing candidates. Divitto has been solid so far in his BC career but far from a standout. Maybe the new defense and a little more physical maturity will see his career blossom. I do think he'll be good in more of an attack mode under Brown.

Soaring to Glory is posting a nice Year in Review series.

More on former BC assistant Pat Duquette's rise to UMass-Lowell.

BC's hoops schedule is nearly full.

Baseball loses finale, no easy answers ahead

Baseball dropped their final game of the season, concluding the worst year BC Baseball has had as a member of a conference (Big East and ACC). They finished 12-40 overall and 4-25 in the ACC. Being competitive in the ACC will always be a challenge, but I think the cause for concern was how much BC struggled outside of the conference. Given all of our advantages just from a talent perspective we should not struggle against other New England and northern teams.

We all know the structural issues around the program. But we won't build a new field overnight. We cannot change the climate. And although the roster under-performed given their stats in high school and AAU, we cannot drastically change much about that in one season. Fair or not, the thing Bates can do is change the coaching. He has two options: fire Gambino or give Gambino more money to address his assistants situation. I don't know which direction he will take. Bates fired Spaz, but that was nearly predetermined for any AD prospect. Gambino was probably not on his radar when Bates interviewed last fall. This will be a tough call. Do you get rid of a young alum or do you give him one more season?

I am not a BC baseball expert. But those who do follow it closely like Brian Foley from College Baseball Daily think Gambino needs to go. Statistically we were a mess. Our record was pitiful and our players did not scratch the surface of their potential.

We will have obstacles in building an elite baseball program. But there are no obstacles to building a competitive one. Bates needs to figure out how to become competitive and then make the tough decisions to get us there.

Strachan commits

Addazio picked up another commitment Friday. The newest member of the recruiting class is Mass LB Connor Strachan. The St. Sebastian's product is one of the top players in the state. He has offers from most of the programs in the Northeast and interest from bigger players outside the region.

Nine committments at this stage keeps BC high in the national rankings. The number of early commitments also leaves me to speculate that this will be a big recruiting class (close to 25 recruits). The scholarships aren't there yet, but I think you'll see more attrition of current players over the summer and next fall. I actually welcome attrition since Addazio has proven that he can close on the guys he wants.

Tweets of the Week

An ELITE Academic degree with an NFL future. Where else would you want to be?! #WeAreBC

— Steve Addazio (@BCCoachAddazio) May 16, 2013

Just met Coach Adazzio for the first time. Extremely impressed. He'll do great.

— BC Hockey Blog (@bchockeyblog1) May 16, 2013

@notthefakesvp @d1scourse OK, Scott. Beat Boston College in football or something.

— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) May 16, 2013

Today's captains Former terp and recent alumni of Boston college Both played baseball and both now have ALS twitter.com/TERPNATION_/st…

— TERPNATION (@TERPNATION_) May 16, 2013

I honestly didn't expect to see Skinner spend the last 3 years getting passed over so many times.

— Soaring to Glory (@SoaringtoGlory) May 16, 2013

Passed @coachjfrye in followers. These young guys got nothing on me and my twitter game. @bccoachwash- I'm coming after you. #Compete

— Don Brown (@FBCoachDBrown) May 16, 2013

I went to the @bostoncollege football camp at 14, balled out got a scholarship at 15 and the rest history. SIGN UP!bceagles.com/camps/bc-fb-ca…"

— William (@willblackmon) May 15, 2013

BC basketball's influence spreads all over New England

UMass-Lowell hired former BC assistant Pat Duquette as their new coach. I am happy for Pat as he was another in a long-line of quality Al Skinner assistants. Duquette getting the job was a reminder that while the local media might not always pay attention to BC sports, the other New England Athletic Departments do. And hiring yet another BC assistant shows that people in college athletics appreciate our approach to basketball.

Of all the college sports, men's college basketball might be the most exploitative of the student athletes. It starts before they even step on campus with the corrupt AAU circuit and then continues as men's hoops has an intensive travel schedule that really makes it hard to be a student and it all wraps up with a multi-billion dollar tournament that underwrites the NCAA. BC has done basketball the right way for a long time, but really became a program to emulate under Skinner and continues now under Donahue. Other ADs recognize that and so you now find BC guys leading Providence, Northeastern, BU, UMass-Lowell, and Bryant. (It should also be noted that former BC coach Jim O'Brien is at Emerson.)

Ironically while his former assistants flourish, Al Skinner was passed over for another local job. UMass-Lowell hinted at what might have been the problem -- "our discussions with Al didn’t go quite in a direction that would work as well for Al." I can only speculate on what was said, but it reads like Al wants to do things his way. I applaud him for demanding his way when he returns. One day soon an AD is going to let Skinner do things his way and won't regret it. Just ask all of Al's guys who are now leading New England basketball.

BC fans are not teaching our children well

I've read "My Dad Loves Boston College Football" hundreds of times. Any time my son brings it over, I am helpless to resist. Yet today was the first time I realized what a dangerous book it was and how it captures all that is wrong with BC fandom. This cute little children's book is proof that BC's fan issues are "nurture" not nature. Don't believe me? It is right there on the pages. Take a look:

For those who can see the text, it reads: "Before the game starts we set up the tailgate. When I'm cooking with Daddy everything is just great." Harmless, right? Now look closer. If you look at the Upper Deck in the background, you will see that the Alumni is full (or nearly full). And this dad is still out at his tailgate throwing the football around and eating. He doesn't care if he is in the stadium at kickoff and he is teaching his son the same thing.

Now if you think I am overthinking this, check out the next page:

This time the text reads: "We look for our seats with the rest of the crowd. Inside Alumni Stadium it gets really loud." Once again look at the picture. Does it look like most of the crowd is looking for their seats? No, the stadium is full and this Father of the Year is just getting inside. Plus, look at the food and drinks he picked up. That easily delayed him getting to his seats. I am betting it is the Second Quarter by the time he finally sits down. And little Junior is going to think this is how BC fans support their team.

I've been preaching that if we are ever going to change the fan culture around BC it will start with the young SuperFans. Now I've lost hope. If this is what we are reading to them now, I don't know if they will ever learn.

The benefits of an eight-game ACC schedule

The ACC has gone back and forth on the issue, but it seems like now there is a consensus that the conference should stick to an eight-game football schedule. This makes the most sense for the ACC from a standpoint of history, money and football.

The driving force behind the initial flirtation with nine games was leveraging that extra game as a tool to get more money out of ESPN. But Notre Dame, the Grant of Rights and the ACC Network have given the conference multiple triggers to expand the TV deal. Adding another game now doesn't make sense. It is one of the conference's last cards to play, so it should be saved for when there might be another need to re-open the TV deal.

Although BC doesn't benefit directly from this, I like that the eight-game schedule allows ACC teams to keep their non-conference rivalries. Games like Louisville-Kentucky, Georgia-Georgia Tech and Florida State-Florida would be less likely if the ACC only had three non-conference games a season. Those games could still be in jeopardy if the SEC expands to nine-conference games, but for now those intersectional games are safe. And playing those games is good for the conference. It gets fans excited and allows us to change the perception of the league (assuming we start winning some of the contests).

Finally this is good for BC football (and the ACC). We know games against the FCS are not going away. We also know that schedule fodder like New Mexico State is not going away. Those games are too important financially and those two wins are critical to perception and bowl eligibility. A ninth ACC game would have left BC with just one non-conference game of note. Eight games allow us to play at least two interesting games. My preferred mix is one peer school (Northwestern, Vanderbilt, etc) and one traditional power (Ohio State, USC, etc.). With eight games that can still happen.

My takeaway on takeaways

Pete Roussel posted a story on the importance of takeaways in college football and how some programs emphasize them more than others. This isn't really a surprise to most BC fans since we were at our best when forcing a lot of turnovers. I don't know why the number of turnovers declined as Spaz moved from DC to Head Coach. I imagine talent was a factor as was the changing offenses in college football.

If takeaways have such a strong correlation to winning, I hope Addazio figures out how to improve BC's.
While at Temple his 2011 team had 21 takeaways (64th nationally). His 2012 team only had 17 (good for 99th nationally). Last season Don Brown's UConn Defense only grabbed 12, which was 118th nationally. As a reference point BC had 16  in 2011 (101st ) and 19 in 2012 (85th).

Addazio has some good pieces but not a complete team. If we get back to a bowl it will take a lot of luck and as the stats show, a lot of takeaways.

Men's Lacrosse loses in playoffs but sets path for future

After going undefeated in the regular season, the Men's Lacrosse team lost their first round game of the MCLA Tournament. There are no moral victories in club sports either, but the team's success this year shows they are doing the right things.

As I wrote at the beginning of Spring, I am basically neutral on Men's Lax returning as a varsity sport. But as I said at the time, the team's primary goal should not be varsity status. In my opinion, becoming a club level power would be more effective path to scholarship status than any politicking or fundraising. Going undefeated shows that BC can be dominant in club lacrosse. Losing the tourney opener is a setback but only a small one. Next year I expect the guys to get back in the Tournament and go deep.

Brad Bates is on record as having watched the club team. He also says all sports and their varsity status will be reviewed and addressed. I don't expect he will fund the team this year. Maybe it will happen next year, maybe it won't. But this season finally showed that the Men's Lacrosse team is taking its destiny to the field.

Amidon's NFL prospects and other links

As I've noted before, it has been more than 25 years since a BC Wide Receiver was selected in the NFL Draft. If NFL scouting gurus really do have Amidon in their Top 5 for the position, maybe the streak will finally end. But my fear is this season's shift to a ground attack might limit Amidon's catches. 

Al Skinner's name keeps coming up for the UMass-Lowell job. As I say anytime he is rumored for a position, UMass-Lowell would be lucky to have him.

The Women's Lacrosse team lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The son of former BC assistant Bonzi Colson is getting a lot of recruiting attention. Although he is local, I don't BC will get involved given how his dad's tenure ended. 

This is from earlier in the week, but it is nice to read about Nick Clancy's excitement over playing with the Falcons and Matt Ryan.