Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Stuff happens: Daniels leave basketball team


Jordan Daniels is leaving the BC basketball team. The public explanation is that he's headed back home to the West Coast. Most think he is leaving over playing time. I don't think it is a big deal either way.

At best this team was going to compete for an NIT bid and be middle of the pack in the ACC. Daniels was projected to be a significant contributor, either as a starter or coming off of the bench. With him gone, our new freshmen will get more minutes and most presume that Olivier Hanlan will start at Point Guard. Increasing the freshmen's minutes might cost BC a game or two this season, but it should pay benefits later in the year and certainly next season. If your building for the future, this is not a setback.

Many were taken by surprise by Daniels' decision. The only thing that surprised me was that more guys haven't left. Basketball lends itself to NCAA transfers and when you have one huge class -- like BC's current sophomores -- you are bound to have attrition. As the team dynamics shift, minutes adjust and new recruits commit, you will see other members of that same class leave. The major upside is this frees up another scholarship so that Donahue can normalize his roster with another incoming recruit.

By all reports Daniels was a good kid. I liked watching him play and appreciate some of his big moments last season. His style -- small, darting, ball hog/playmaker -- was what BC needed at times last year. On a team where people couldn't create shots or handle, Daniels did both well enough to keep us in some games. But he was limited defensively and his style was not going to let the guys grow and progress within Donahue's shooting and motion offense.

Daniels was good, but I don't think he was ever going to be an elite ACC player. This is another growing pain as the program develops, but won't make or break Donahue's tenure. What's important now is to get the new guards comfortable within the offense and find another good recruit.


9 comments:

EL MIZ said...

rahon and Hanlan both look like good players, so I won't fret the loss. he was dynamic in that FSU upset last year, which now will be his main highlight on the Heights. best of luck to him, and hopefully we can use his schollie to find an athlete or another big.

guard rotation should be Hanlan and Lonnie Jax as starters, and rahon as the first guy off the bench. heckman can slide down to the backcourt too.

iesha irene said...

what the hell do you know?

Knucklehead said...

We still need a heavy duty, craig smith/ danya abrams, rebounder to help clifford.

MUD said...

iesha irene,
EL MIZ is a well respected NBA blogger and talent scout. P.S. He's a BC grad. Kid knows his stuff. This is a blog for people to share opinions.
That's what the hell he knows. He's also the best damn gentleman I know.

Big Jack Krack said...

I agree with Knuckle 100%.

We need a guy who can create space under the basket and grab some strong rebounds in traffic in a consistent manner.

Wow, would Clifford develop with that kind of help? Wow!

ccw said...

People never think it's a problem when players leave. There's always this BS rationalization about how the departing player wasn't that good or we have depth.

Hanlan is going to be a starting PG in the ACC as a freshman. No experienced PG backup. Jackson and Rahon don't seem like true combo guards. So, we're going to take more lumps than we would without Daniels. If Hanlan goes down we're in trouble.

Oh, and who exactly are we going to get to use this scholarship that's so damn good? I liked the idea of a quality backup / part-time starter with Daniels quickness for the next 3 years.

Big Jack Krack said...

Daniels probably could stand the weather :-)

You have good points, ccw.

Good luck, Mr. Daniels.

Unknown said...

I truly like to reading your post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a nice information.
Basketball Recruiting

Unknown said...

“Congratulations ATL_eagle! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this exciting information.”

click here