Cameron not so Crazies and what it means for Superfans

Duke's legendary basketball fans -- the Cameron Crazies -- made news this week as fewer and fewer of them are attending basketball games. This trend should raise eyebrows at every private school playing big time sports. At BC it should set off alarms. Duke has a high-profile and historically dominant basketball program with a limited-availability student section. Every current student at Duke was well aware of this experience prior to arriving on campus. If they can't get their kids to come to games, what hope does BC have? This is more than just winning and losing. This is about kids today, current trends and the changing sports culture at private schools.

Gregg Doyel thinks kids are bored. I agree that the sameness of the game day environment is a factor. I know when I was a student a decade ago there was always something going on around campus. Going to a BC sporting event was just one option. Now many of those same options and distractions exist plus a million more entertainment choices. Going to the game -- regardless of the outcome -- might not seem that exciting when you can watch in your room while also playing video games or hanging out or studying or whatever.

There's another theory often mentioned on the BC message boards that is probably applicable to Duke: Nerdification. As both schools continue to raise their academic profile (Duke remains above BC) and continue to become even more exclusive in their admissions, the student body is bound to become more serious and academically focused. While plenty mock nerdification, I am not suggesting BC or any school hold back on bringing in the best and brightest. They just need to understand that those students might not care as much about sports. Current students at Duke and BC are accomplishing incredible things and working very hard. It is no wonder they don't have time to go to games. State schools can offset their nerdification with pure numbers. It is easier to fill a student section when you have 30,000 undergrads.

I don't know Duke well enough to suggestion solutions for them. But BC should realize that winning games is not the only way out of our student malaise. I think the answer is shrinking the student sections and creating some demand for the seats. While I love the Superfan tradition, I think BC needs to do more to educate the new students as they arrive on campus. Being a BC fan is about more than just a yellow t-shirt. Indoctrination about our history and the experience are the way to go. If that doesn't work just tell them they can use game attendance to earn extra credit.

Doug Martin talking offense

This may be the era of constant video and wonke football talk, but there isn't much out there on Doug Martin. I did come across this video which will give you some insight into what he wants to install. Martin is talking about New Mexico State but the applications to BC are numerous. He was only at NM State one year and was just installing his offense when he gave this interview. What stood out to me was that he described the scheme as West Coast and has an emphasis on short passes to set up the long passes and runs.

Show BC Fencing some love

Although I focus on the big sports, it is important to remember there are many other student athletes at BC and their events can also be great to attend. Saturday morning, BC Fencing has a rare on campus appearance. Here are the details:

The meet begins 9 AM at the Flynn Recreational Complex. It will continue until 4 PM. BC will host and compete against MIT, Smith, Brandeis, Vassar and Brown. This is BC's first conference meet of the season and the last home, duel meet for seniors Peter Souders, Brian Like, Chelsea Rosenbauer, Gabi Goode, Molly Wolfe and Michelle Gaglia.

Riffing on BC news

There are a few stories that deserve more than just a link but not their own posts...

Tampa Bay hired Greg Schiano and it had a ripple effect on BC recruiting. BC is targeting Don Bosco WR Leonte Carroo. They are also trying to get TE Michael Giacone. This shift is a gift for a BC class that had numerous holes to fill. Let's hope our staff is working overtime to close these kids.

Jags and McGovern were both mentioned as candidates for the Rutgers job. I don't think either will get much beyond an interview. Rutgers will reach for someone with some sizzle. I am not sure how Jags would fit in Piscataway, but I actually think McGovern would do very well at Rutgers. He's not the showman that Schiano was but he knows New Jersey. Leveraging those roots could build on Schiano's recruiting momentum. The question that will haunt McGovern in any interview is how much the defense is his doing and how much is Spaz.

Regardless of whether he salvages this recruiting class by flipping some Rutgers recruits, I think this recruiting season raises concerns about Spaz's ability and willingness to close on these BC targets. Two recent articles really jumped out with damning quotes. First Jameson McShea -- who called BC his dream school -- said this regarding head coaches in his recruiting process:

“I spent a lot of time with Coach Murphy and not much time with Spaz [BC head coach Frank Spaziani],” McShea said. “That's basically what it came down to.

BC slow played McShea so you can sort of rationalize Spaz not putting time in with the kid, but that just raises other questions. Why don't we cultivate our backups better? Why don't we kick up the sales pitch when it appears that other recruits are waivering? The other story was BC missing out on QB Matt Johns. How did we lose him? Mike London's charm and sales pitch.

“When I went to Boston College I was like, ‘this is it,’” Johns said. “My parents said, ‘let’s go visit Virginia.’ We actually went down and spent a day with the coaches and got to talk with them and then I had a little sit down with Coach [Mike] London.

“After that point, there was no No. 2 school.”

Army announced earlier this week that they had switched dates with BC. We will travel to West Point this fall and they will return in 2013. There's been speculation as to why they switched. I think it comes down to BC trying to change perception and tweek demand. A seven game home slate going into 2012 with Spaz and a lagging economy is not enticing to BC. If they keep it smaller and highly desirable (ND, Miami, Clemson, VT) there won't be as much Grouponing. The hope would be that the program and the economy would be in better shape to help ticket sales when Army returns in 2013.

Likes and Dislikes from the UVA loss

BC lost to UVA by 17 and I am encouraged. It's been one of those things. Not all loses are created equally with this team. For example, the Wake Forest game was very discouraging. The team had no poise, terrible movement and questionable effort. Tonight against the 'Hoos, the team kept fighting and showed much better offensive decision making. Here are my likes and dislikes. Leave yours in the comments section.

Likes
-- Dennis Clifford's ability to get off a shot inside. He still makes mistakes and puts the ball on the floor too much, but I was very impressed with Clifford's ability to post up inside against a good defensive team and still get off his shot. It leads me to believe he'll start killing teams that don't have defensive big men.
-- Lonnie Jackson's basketball IQ. When he drew the foul on the 3 attempt it reminded me of Jared Dudley. He also made good decisions on penetrating and on help defense.
-- Ryan Anderson's Defense. Nine defensive rebounds and a block. He played really well.

Dislikes
-- Patrick Heckmann's entire night. He only played 11 minutes but they were pretty bad. I tweeted about it and a few other's chimed in. I have no idea what's wrong, but he made some terribly sloppy, careless passes that cost BC on the other end. His defense was terrible too. Maybe he is still hurt. Maybe he's home sick. I don't know but until he gets out of it we cannot afford to waste possessions like that.
-- Rushing shots as UVA pulled away. BC tied the game at 44 and then UVA went on a run. That's expected, but I didn't like the way BC just rushed shots and chucked 3s. A smart basket would have slowed UVA and potentially gotten BC back in the game.

Women's hoops blownout and other links

If more people cared, I think there would be outrage about the Women's basketball team. Wednesday night North Carolina ran them out of the building, winning 77-46. BC is now the only ACC team yet to get a conference win and only has five wins overall. The concern is that this is Crawley's fourth season and the decline has been steady. BC fans can be patient but I think BC needs to show a little more fight as the season winds down.

Tom Coughlin's reputation for delivering in big games started at BC. (Thanks to Dave for the link.)

Donnie Fletcher is making the most of his time at the Senior Bowl practices. This report noted that he had speed in one on one drills. He also showed strength and pushed a WR around.

One of BC's Plan B recruits -- Jameson McShea -- decided not to commit and is going to Harvard. Gene told Around the Res that this class would have 18-19 recruits. If Spaz is on the same page, he better scrounge up some new verbals quickly.

Cory Schneider weighed in on the Tim Thomas White House controversy.

Report: BC to hire John Thomas for S&C

Coachingsearch.com is reporting that BC is set to hire former Penn State Strength & Condition coach John Thomas. Like most staffers under Paterno, Thomas was not retained by new coach Bill O'Brien.

Thomas is of the High Intensity Training school of thought. This is about having guys lean and able to do multiple repetitions. It is probably closer to what Jason Loscalzo taught as opposed to the more stretching and mobility school of thought used under Todd Rice and TOB. Here is a good recap from a guy who trained under Thomas. For those who care, Thomas doesn't like overweight linemen.

I don't know Thomas's connection to Gene or Spaz. My guess is Spaz both are connected enough to Penn State people, so that when these guys were cut lose they could pick them up. Obviously with any Penn State hire, someone will ask "what did this guy know about Sandusky." I don't think it is an issue at all. Thomas is not a recruiter and did not overlap much with Sandusky. Although Sandusky had access to the facilities there have never been any reports that a S&C coach witnessed anything.

Overall, I think this will be a solid hire. BC needs someone who can coach these guys up and get them in shape. As an outside observer, Penn State always seemed to have that area covered.

Catching up with Jared Dudley and other links

SI.com featured Jared Dudley. He continues to do the little things the Suns ask. I also find it interesting that despite his growing media profile, Dudley still sees his future as a college basketball coach.

After spurning BC, Akeel Lynch officially committed to Penn State.

BC used the open scholarship to offer Massachusetts Tight End prospect Jameson Mcshea. BC also locked in a verbal commitment from Ohio DB Bryce Jones.

Super Bowl Eagles

For the second time in five years the two NFL teams with the most historical ties to BC are facing off in the Super Bowl. Below is a list of the BC connections. (Be sure to add any that I might have overlooked in the comments section.) [UPDATED]

New England Patriots
C Dan Koppen -- BC 2003 (currently on the IR)
DT Ron Brace -- BC 2009
Defensive Assistant Brian Flores -- BC 2004
Scout Dujuan Daniels -- BC 2002
Robert Kraft -- member of the Board of Trustees

New York Giants
LB Mark Herzlich -- BC 2011
LB Mathias Kiwanuka -- BC 2006
G Chris Snee -- BC 2004
KR Will Blackmon -- BC 2006
Tom Coughlin -- Former BC head coach
Strength and Conditioning Coach Jerry Palmieri -- held the same position at BC under Coughlin
Assistant Offensive Line Coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. -- BC 1985, also coached at BC under Jags and is the son of former BC coach Jack Bicknell
Wide Receivers Coach Sean Ryan -- Graduate assistant at BC 2001-2002
John Mara -- BC 1976
Chris Mara -- BC 1979

Not a good Saturday and other links

Lots of losses today...

I hoped the two ACC wins were a sign that BC could beat the lessor teams in the conference. They struggled to do that today in loss to Wake Forest. There were plenty of issues but the offense was stagnant. We couldn't get much going inside because of Wake's shot blocking and then weren't hitting out 3s. Even though we had some successful give and gos and pick and rolls, I think we still need more cutting to the basket.

Maine beat the men's hockey team again and this time it wasn't close. The game was tied in the 3rd, but Maine went up and then picked up some empty-net scores late.

The BC women fell to 0-6 in ACC play with their loss to Virginia.

Dirk Koetter -- Matt Ryan's new Offensive Coordinator -- has made the rounds in coaching. What I didn't know was that Coughlin hired him at BC before he left for Jacksonville. I always assumed he was brought in by Dan Henning. This article on Coughlin quotes a few BC folks.

This Rivals article paints a gloomy picture for our upcoming recruiting class.