After the loss to Georgia Tech, Meter and I were talking about what went wrong. He simply said: "if they make two more '3's, they win." It was overly-simple, but he was 100% correct. For Donahue's teams to win, they need to make their three-point shots. However, against an elite team like Florida State, they also had to do other things. They did them tonight, giving Donahue the biggest win with this new batch of starters. Here are my thoughts. As always, leave yours in the comments.
Likes
-- Matt Humphrey providing leadership. The transfer concerned me early in the season. He seemed hot-headed and a bit of a ballhog. The past few games, he's been really good. He's playing great defense and is not afraid to drive to the basket.
-- Daniels driving. By threatening to penetrate, it gave him space. He obviously took advantage of the looks.
-- Varied defenses. We used 2-3, man-to-man and applied pressure at different times. It produced one of the best defensive efforts of the season.
-- Making foul shots down the stretch. We've seen so many games getaway from us. Most of you have to admit you feared a last minute comeback. But the guys made most of their foul shots late, giving BC enough cushion to hold on.
-- Going small. We used a small lineup for stretches against Georgia Tech and it produced quality minutes. Tonight -- against a bigger and taller team -- small ball worked again.
-- Lonnie Jackson's four point play. Didn't that feel like Jared Dudley?
Dislikes
-- Clifford's foul trouble. He's got to be more careful.
--Slow stretches in the first half. I am proud that they fought back, but you cannot put yourself down double-digits to a good team.
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15 comments:
It was interesting to see Visockas and Cain Carney getting substantive minutes while Rubin and Odio didn't see the floor at all. Also interesting, looking at the boxscore, that all of our points came from our starters despite the fact that our reserves logged significant minutes. It never felt like they weren't contributing though as the reserves made great contributions on D and on the glass.
It was awesome to watch this team put it together and beat a very solid FSU team. The crowd was actually not terrible, although the student section was still largely disappointing. They made a good deal of noise, especially down the stretch. The team was clearly into it and feeding off the crowd, even running into the student section after the alma mater was played to celebrate with Donahue's Disciples. Great night on the Heights and hopefully one of many to come.
The one delightful aspect of last night's game was the ability to inbound the ball under pressure in the closing minutes. I can't tell you how many grey hairs I got when Skinner's guys couldn't get the ball inbounds at the end of games.
It was great to see Deirunas Visockas finally get some well-deserved and long-awaited playing time. The whole gang worked together and got the job done beautifully! So proud of them. Onward and Upward!
What a great game. An essentially freshman team beat a top team. What does this say for Donahue? What do all the naysayers think now? Just wait 2 more years. They'll be contending for ACC champs.
The BC defense in the last two minutes was really impressive -- aggressive and smart, no let down at all. And, I'm with WI Eagle regarding the in-bounds plays. In the Skinner years, I would've left the room rather than watch them try to in-bound the ball in that situation.
This should be a huge confidence-builder for these guys; the VaTech game on Sunday just got a lot more interesting.
Joseph
Don't get carried away.. We shot 39% from the field. Made 10-22 from 3. Not going to happen like that 90% of the time.
Live by the 3 , die by the 3, so when the other teams take away the 3. You die by the 3.
Happy for the kids, need to get more fans in there to help recruiting.
PW, they are JUST FROSH. Can you give them anything. They won the game against a top twenty team. I would have been satisfied if they stayed within ten.
The glass is really half full(at least) not half empty as you would seem to prefer.
I saw a comment along these lines on an FSU board: "You are never as good as you are when you are at your best, and you are not as bad as when you are at your worst."
True of BC yesterday
True of FSU yesterday
But great win by the Frosh. This is a great foundational win.
We can be proud of these guys. They play hard and improve as the season progresses.
Sure, they will lose more games - but they are fun to watch. I tuned into the Miami game and really enjoyed it in the sense that I had no expectation about the outcome - so there was no pressure. I could view it as "potential" and pure basketball by mostly freshmen.
We've got a "California Dreaming" connection - these guys have a lot of heart. And Humphreys is really coming on. All of the players are giving it their all as far as I can see.
When I lived in the Boston area and was a long time season ticket holder - I would have really enjoyed watching this progress up close.
Let's go nearby BC fans and students - start filling this place up.
Let's stop complaining about our AD, etc. and instead concentrate on the players - and jump on this bandwagon. The long but steady climb back up has begun for sure. This is a team made up of players who are basically all new to each other. Unreal - and look at the progress!
Congratulations Coach D - great going guys!
I was at the game last night and it was by far the most fun I've had at any BC game. For the first time this season, this team you could see in the players eyes that they knew they were going to win. Daniels driving to the hoop, Lonnie's 3 point play. The best play of the day was his blocked shot that knocked off the FSU guy out of bounds. Absolutely awesome!
The team is playing with confidence and you can't win until you have that. Cant beat Holy Cross, UMass and especially not teams like Duke, UNC, FSU, etc. Well the team has confidence now. Games like this are huge going into next season. I started on the bandwagon and like Big Jack said... we need some more followers!
You know you spend too much time on this blog when...
I was driving behind a car in Central Jersey last night on my commute home with the NJ License plate "BJK" and couldn't help but wonder if it was Big Jack Krack. I wanted to pull up next to him and ask for a pep talk but thought better of it.
Speaking of Alumni, NJ, and License Plates... it only takes 500 people to get an alumni vanity plate made up here. How has BC missed the boat on this? Last I recall, this state is 4 or 5 amongst BC students...
And since I'm venting about our Alumni Relations... In my opinion, it's amazingly disrespectful when these secret fundraisers are held. New Jersey's chapter generally has uninteresting events as it is, especially in comparison to NY, MA, CT, CA, TX, etc., but when it's published in all the local papers how Bruce Springsteen did an invite only show to raise money for BC and no Alumni I know of received the chance to go... something is screwed up. Was our $200K of tuition money not good enough for you, BC? I can't donate as much as the people you hear of getting invited to these things (politcos and socialites), but I sure as hell donate less because I'm not invited...
Anddddd deep breath
(yes I've repeatedly volunteered to help run our chapter)
Agreed about Humphrey, and I'll admit that I misjudged him at the start of the season. His emotional style rubbed me the wrong way, but the kid plays very hard. He may not be a great shooter, and may dribble too high/not protect the ball as well as he should, but he plays excellent defense. And he does come through with some big baskets.
The team as a whole played very active defense yesterday. While most teams don't listen to their coaches about keeping their hands up, it definitely brought us a couple of steals.
Daniels is a nasty ball handler. With time, his decisions will get better, and hopefully he can maximize his shooting ability. His quickness is exciting to watch.
Jackson has a very quick release on his 3s... something we haven't seen from a BC shooter in a long time. He is pure. He has the ability to drive to the basket, but needs to be stronger in order to get calls and assert himself in the paint.
Anderson is a better rebounder than I thought, and the team is somehow good when it comes to defensive rebounding. They limit 2nd opportunities. My guess is that this is heart/commitment, and will only get better as the team gets stronger.
I love where this team is headed... every single person looks like they are completely invested in the system, and have bought it. Let's win a game in the ACC tourney and take a shot at one of the giants on day 2.
so great to see this team finally thriving and getting impressive wins. silence to all the haters who were talking about an 0-16 ACC season and donahue being in over his head. great stuff.
daniels is the perfect metaphor for what i expect the donahue era to be. daniels is the smallest guy in the ACC, wasn't recruited by big schools, but plays really hard, plays with a chip on his shoulder, and when he got it going last night he was tough to stop. lonnie is the same way -- a guy who wants the ball and is enabled by the system to really be a hard guy to guard when his shot is falling.
also have been REALLY impressed with humphrey recently. i agree ATL -- at the beginning of the year i thought he was kind of a hot dog, but he has been playing real hard in the past few games, taking it to an entirely new level on defense, and providing the leadership this young team so desperately needs.
florida state is a team that throttled UNC, and beat duke by a 3 in cameron. that we were able to beat them (at home, but still) with clifford having such an off-game really speaks to the ability of the other guys.
heckmann will be healthy next year, clifford and anderson will be stronger, and the rest of the team will be more prepared for the ACC play. good things are ahead.
Eagle 1331 - If I'm driving in NJ, I'm in a rental car.
My plates would be SC plates :-)
Thanks for the chuckle.
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