Likes
--BC's tempo. A lot has been made about Donahue's style. We've seen moments of it, but tonight was probably the best example. We put up a good amount of shots and forced Providence to play our style much of the game, which we led the whole way.
-- Another impressive night from Jackson. He did it all (other than make his free throws). If he keeps it up in ACC play, he is going to get a lot of national attention.
-- No problems with a short bench. We've been playing walkons, but tonight saw our starters log big minutes. Some of them are thriving with more time (like Southern and Paris).
Dislikes
-- The final minutes. Turnovers and missed foul shots. I can only imagine how Ted Sarandis would have acted as it almost slipped away.
-- Trapani's shooting. Since I was listening not watching I don't know what the problem was, but we need more efficiency from Joe. If his shot is not falling, he needs to get his points off of rebounds and put backs.
-- Courtney Dunn's suspension. It wasn't a factor tonight, but we need his size and legs. It is stupid and selfish to get suspended.
I am very pleased with where this team is and where it is going. I think Maryland will be a real test, but if our shots are dropping there is no reason to think we cannot beat the Terps.
Dislikes
Posts
15 comments:
Trapani is the biggest thing keeping this team from being legit top 25. I've been to every game this year and they can be a very very good team. They may not have as much talent as any of the past 3-4 years but they are a better TEAM. The fact that Trapani is having games like tonight which if you take out the two dunks he was 2-15. If he could just shoot 40-45% and be the 2nd threat we need him to be then this team would have all the things on a quality team checklist. Star player: Reggie. Solid 2nd guy who can step up when needed: Trap. Decent scorer down low: Southern. 3 Pt Shooters: Biko, Ruben, Moton to some effect. Rebounder/Dirty work guy: Raji. They could wow some people this year.
I (kind of) take back what I said about Southern in a comment from a blog post from a few days ago because he looked really, really good tonight in person. At multiple times throughout the game, Donahue just had the offense run through Southern down low, and it worked.
Also, when I looked at the boxscore after the game, I could not believe that Trapani outscored Biko because Biko seemed to play so much better throughout the game.
Rubin's 4 fouls did seem to hurt the team offensively as well.
Great win with a short roster. I like beating UMass and Providence. They're really our two most non-conference games because of the local fans, campus locations, and recruiting implications.
Hopefully Don makes Gabe watch that terrible play on film 25 times in a row, then make him do 20 sprints. The one where he forces a missed layup then fouled PC immediately to just hand them 2 points while taking no time off the clock. Really showed no awareness for the game situation.
Keep it up Eagles. Beat the Terps!
agreed eric, i couldn't believe it when moton put the ball on the floor with 20+ seconds left on the shot clock.
trapani's comedy of errors down the stretch was something to behold as well. the best was when he stepped in front of a pass intended for the man behind him (don't remember who it was) and then let it fly right through his hands and out of bounds.
ATL -- Mike Farrell is reporting on EA that Gary Tranquil will return next year. Care to weigh in on that?
Bad free throw shooting night and a short bench. Glad they got the win.
Patrick - I was afraid of that.
We will never reach our true offensive potential with that coach.
BJK-
I'm not a huge Tranquill fan, but I don't think I'm as down on him as you and some other folks are. I know he runs the ball a lot, but isn't that just a matter of playing to our strengths? Harris is on the cusp of becoming the most productive runing back in BC history, and Williams looks great, too. Meanwhile, Rettig is a true frosh with only a few games under his belt. Doesn't this seem like the perfect recipe for running the ball?
To illustrate my point: in 2007, with Matt Ryan under center, we attempted 659 passes. In 2008 (without Ryan) we only attempted 448 passes -- a huge difference. Wasn't Logan just playing to our strengths by passing so much in 2007, and isn't that basically what Tranquill is doing now by calling so many runs?
There's a difference between playing to our stengths and overplaying our strenghts such that they become weaknesses. I think our statistical anomoly of having the top RB in the conference but the worst rushing offense in the conference is explained that way.
I was as down on Tranquill as one can be until the last couple of games, but then things started to change. I don't know which came first, but Rettig improved, the receivers started getting some separation and actually making catches and the offense seemed to open up. I almost fainted when Swigart threw that pass to Pantale on the end-around option.
"Damn," I thought, "maybe Tranquill really has been just waiting for the O-line and Rettig to get their stuff together." So, I'm now really eager to see which playbook Tranq brings to SanFran, especially with a significant amount of time to put towards some new stuff.
And, yeah, I'm lovin' Donahue. His comments in today's Globe were supportive of his players while acknowledging what they didn't do well (free throws, rebounding). I would think that his players must love him.
BC is ranked 320th in the nation in rebounds per game (30.4)
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/103/boston-college-eagles
they are also 9th in the country in adjusted offense per kenpom
I didn't listen to the game, but I'm curious what's causing the surge in Southern's productivity these last couple of games. Can anyone pinpoint it to anything - besides additional minutes?
Donahue's offense really spreads the defense out. Southern puts himself on the foul line and rotates to the low block when appropriate. Often he is left open or at least 1 on 1 down low and we work it in to him.
Southern's ball handling skills seem much improved. He is no longer dropping the ball on passes to him. He is pausing to check where and to whom he will be passing. They can actually run offense through him when he is up high. His confidence level is much higher; i.e., he is ready to take good shots.
You could say much the same about the upper class men who are buying into Donahue's system. The passes are crisp. The looks are better. The back door cuts are fun to watch.
There have been a couple of times when we've reverted to our old bad habits, resulting in turnovers; but Donahue calls a timeout to settle them down and get back into believing in the system.
Trapani is still hustling. Last night he fought for rebounds when his shots weren't falling.
I think the poor foul shooting and trouble at the end of the game can be attributed to fatigue. With Raji and Dunn not on the floor, Donahue's rotations were longer. Love to see Cahill and Kowalski contribute.
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