Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Close one finally goes BC's way

Aside from the win, the most encouraging thing about tonight was the team's reaction. As Austin Tedesco tweeted, they didn't act like this was special or they got some monkey off their back. This was a close game that went our way, but also a reminder that we should be better than our record. And even in victory, we didn't play to our potential. If not for some bad decisions on Wake's part in the final minute, who knows how this would have played out. I am not really relieved nor excited. I guess I am a bit hopeful. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the start of a strong finish to the season. Other thoughts:


Likes
-- Heckmann's offensive game. It wasn't a perfect night for him (his turnovers were typical Heckmann) but there was a confidence that has been missing. Heckmann has enough skills to create mismatches offensively. It was nice to see him finally use them. 
-- Making free throws. The foul line has been our undoing in close games. Tonight it was a strength (18-21).
-- Aggressive Defense. There were plenty of boneheaded defensive moments but at least the guys are getting more aggressive. 

Dislikes
-- Anderson settling for the midrange shots. He wasn't converting and it takes our best offensive rebounder away from the basket.
-- Careless passes. I am glad to see the team do more backdoor cuts, but the execution needs to be improved. 
-- The final shot. I know he got fouled and made his shots, but that is the best we could do? Rahon throwing himself towards the basket with two guys on him? After so many questionable late possessions, I would hope for something better.

11 comments:

Pearl Washington said...

They beat a team that played 6 frosh, 1 soph at home and were down 7 with 2 min left.

Wake shot 52%

Love to see the homers tell me this was good

We are in big trouble

TheFive said...

It was good. And we aren't in trouble

mod10aeagle said...

It was great to finally get a break (the clock failure at 33 seconds lead to Wake's five-second violation, giving BC the ball, down one with 28 seconds to play). That was basically the game, right there.

BC's defense was very good, but the offense really struggled the last five or six minutes. Guys couldn't get open anywhere, and Anderson resorted to fall away 12 - 17 footers, which he just can't hit. It was hard to watch. Thank God they were hitting free throws.

Walter said...

to pearl washington: is our team not composed of similar underclassman?

also 18-21 on free throws?? That's insane, isn't it?

@timstwrt said...

I'm far from Donahue's biggest fan, but I thought that the last possession was a welcome correction from the (eerily) same situation on Sunday. There was a lot of movement up top, opening up potential options, and then Rahon took it to the basket with plenty of time for a putback or foul if necessary. Rahon was pretty out of control, but he got the job done. It was nice to get a couple breaks and be the team charging ahead at the end for once.

ModA36 said...

Walter, I guess my point would be that while our Freshman guards are good (Hanlon very good), Wake's young guys are overall more athletic, stronger and bigger.

EL MIZ said...

LOL what in the world do you mean Pearl, when you write that we "beat a team that played 6 frosh, 1 soph"?

What game did you watch? The game I saw, Wake had a senior and junior score more than half their points. CJ Harris is a senior, he had 23 pts 4 ast. Travis McKie is a junior, he had 11 points. BC got 0 points out of their senior/junior combo (Rubin and Van Nest LOL). Funny how your "analysis" failed to mention that.

2 freshman on Wake played over 30 minutes, same with BC. our freshman combined for 25 points 10 rebounds 5 assists, Wake's 2 30+ freshman combined for 11 points 12 rebounds 4 assists. Advantage BC.

It just boggles my mind the double standard applied to BC by the "fans" of the team -- if we lose, we stink. If we win, we come up with excuses for why the win isn't good, like Wake shot 52% or Wake played 5 freshman, overlooking that their Jr/Sr combo carried much of the burden.

this was a game where our 2 best players struggled (O & Anderson) and yet we still got a W. that is a good sign. a major weakness earlier in the year (FTs) looks to be moving in the right direction. we made plays down the stretch. through 24 games last yr we were 8-16, this year we are 11-13, with 1-point losses to 2 of the top 10 teams in the country.

i have aired my issues with Donahue before, including his failure to bring more seasoned coaching/recruiting talent on his coaching staff, some of his recruiting targets, my worries about our team size. but there are positives with this team, and it cracks me up when we win a close game and people say "we are in big trouble." if you can't feel good after the wins, what's the point?

Bravesbill said...

I'm actually excited about the team because it seems to have pulled its act together. Outside of its blowout loss to Miami (who beat UNC and Duke this year by over 25 points), it has played well the past few weeks. I think Atl is starting to take the bitter/pessimistic mantle away from me.

TheFive said...

We need another big man, but this team is trending in the right direction. Hanlan has the potential to be the best guard we've seen at BC since Bell left, and the team is starting to execute in pressure situations. In focusing on the last minute or so against Duke --- which, really, involved pretty strong possessions that ended unsuccessfully --- folks appear to have forgotten that BC successfully reestablished its offense from the 12 minute mark on as it went about building its 5 point lead. That's a hard thing to do against Duke, and it's a very good sign.

If you're unhappy with how this season has progressed since the Bryant loss, I really don't know what to say. This team is trending in the right direction and is making meaningful progress. Ignore it if you wish, but we've been in all but two conference games to date (one at Miami, and Miami has blown out everyone).

Knucklehead said...

We need to win 3 of the next 7. We have three winable home games of those seven. The team needs to establish itself over the next 7 and can so by winning the rest of its home games which are against comparable opponents.

The coach is damn good and everybody knows it. Watch the end of the Clemson game. The Clemson coach pulls Donahue in says you are a damn good coach.

Winning the remaining home games will prove that we are on the right track.


Knucklehead said...

ATL,
Also, this was the WORST post I have ever read.

I could write all day about the hypocracy and negativity of this post.

You should be ashamed.

The fact that Gene hired Donohue does not give you the right to trash talk him, the team and the program.