Sunday, December 22, 2013

Basketball loses to Auburn, falls to 4-8

There was a time in the second half when you could see the basketball team playing hard and trying to climb back into the game. They cut it to eight with plenty of time, but then the defense couldn't get a stop. Auburn held on and won 77-67.  Aside from Hanlan, no one played particularly well. But the stats really don't matter at this point. This season is over. There will be no NCAA Tournament and now their record is so bad it will take a strong ACC record just to get into the NIT. What matters now is what should Brad Bates do about Steve Donahue.

I am not in the "Fire Donahue" camp yet. I don't necessarily have some great hope or great affinity for the coach. The pending mega-recruiting class in 2015 makes a decision necessary and imminent. My issue -- which I will explore in the coming weeks -- is what are the true alternatives. If we cannot get an A List coach, does it make more sense to force Donahue to make staffing changes? Has the team totally quit on him and tuned him out? I don't know. 

At this point it seems over. The season. The Donahue era. I just hope he and the players have enough pride to change the results. 

34 comments:

Bando '87 said...

I'm disgusted. NEVER so disappointed in a sports team in my life...and I'm an old dude.

dixieagle said...

My husband and I were at the game. The thing that first struck me was how unathletic and soft many players appeared. I would never guess most of them were ACC b'ball players. Guys I saw on the bench looked like high school kids. What has happened to recruiting???

There was plenty of loosy-goosey goofing around during intros, and Caudill spent a good deal of time glad-handing while warming the bench (at least he wasn't on the court...) There seems to be little intensity or purpose about the team, with few exceptions (Hanlan played hard, Anderson was decent, Owens hustled.) But they made Auburn, which is NOT a good team, look like they were in the NBA, with all the 3s allowed - 30 pts. worth!!!

It did seem that they were more aggressive about rebounding, but missed lots of easy FGs and FTs. There were too many attempts at flashy 3s which were off the mark.

I just can't imagine what happened in the off-season for them to regress to obviously. This was a train wreck and sad to watch. I truly cannot imagine them winning in the ACC this year.

Something's got to happen and quick, mentally, physically, every which way.

Big Jack Krack said...

Thanks Dixie - wish it was better news, but it isn't.

We have to deal with still another Gene DeNapoleon fiasco.

We have been down so long, we don't know what up is.

Serious question to the BC Community. How long will we accept being on the bottom?

Here's another one. How long will we accept being laughed at?

College Basketball was always my favorite sport, but now, in large part because of the ineptitude of my own Athletic Department, it's my least favorite.

In fact, I almost don't follow it at all - not at all.

hsk said...

Well Dixie you are a brave soul for watching this live and in person. I was so looking forward to their game at the Barclay Ctr. against VCU, but there is no way. Can't watch them on TV either. You hit the nail on the head with their loosy-goosey goofing around, happens all the time. Not how a group in their pitiful position should be handling themselves. One would have hoped that this coaching staff would have had a better handle on this situation... guess not. They will go winless in ACC play, very embarrassing.

FakeShalomTfree said...

Not in the Fire Donahue camp yet?!

I nearly spit out my coffee when i read that!

Claver2010 said...

Not in the fire Donahue camp? Jesus atl

You want a lame duck coach recruiting 6 more unathletic soft players who belong in the patriot league?

It's over

Hario said...

ATL: I am surprised you are not in the Fire Donahue camp yet. Just curious as to what will it take for you to get there?

Hoib said...

I think allot of people feel like BJK which is bad news for those small few of us who really love BC hoops.
I can see hoops becoming a second tier program in BC's AD.
I think DAZ will probably become a hot commodity fairly soon so Bates will have to build a war chest to keep him. Some of that dough will come from Bball where apathy is so high. Hope I'm wrong, but this is my fear
I think it's time for BC to announce the plans for a new building on campus. The Gene DeFilippo Hall of Shame.

Jeff said...

> The Gene DeFilippo Hall of Shame.

Ha ha, nice!

Napolean Bonaparte said...

I think the only issue if this keeps up is when to fire Donahue - not whether. At some level of poor performance - nobody should keep their job for another day.

eagle1331 said...

Unfortunately for me Napolean... that isn't the Cowboys way of thinking.

CALVIN LAI said...

Besides the lack of defense and rebounding, what's shocking to me is how the production of Rahon, Odio and Lonnie have gone down compared to last season. I haven't seen many of the games, but does anyone know why this is the case besides a deeper rotation?

Claver2010 said...

Odio never belonged on this level, people got excited because on a team with the athleticism of a Fairfield County 7th grade CYO team, he could dunk and block shots. He's max a 10 min/game player.

Lonnie Jackson is a 3 point specialist, nothing more, nothing less.

Rahon, I have no clue.

dixieagle said...

Claver, "a team with the athleticism of a Fairfield County 7th grade CYO team" appears to me a sad but true description of most of the players.

Knucklehead said...

I completely disagree on Odio. When he was consistently in the lineup last season we had a good record.

Problem this year is the addition of Drag and Hicks(Caudhill sucks and shouldn't be playing as well but he has been here a while). They are one dimensional and despite that have been GIVEN exceptional number of minutes.

There should be 7 guys playing. Everyone else SUCKS harder than these 7/6. Donahue MUST have been given a two year window by Bates or would be playing these guys, only, into the ground.

Hanlan
Rahon
Odio
Anderson
Jackson
Heckman
Clifford/McGarity

Joseph said...

I wonder if the players, their friends, or relatives read this. if they do, exactly whyn should they be subjected to things like Knucklehead posted. He says they SUCK. Does he mean that they are bad people? Does he mean that they have no worth at all? Does he have no respect for their dedication and effort? Does he compare them to his own great ability? Should they just kill themselves because he says they SUCK? Or should they just ignore him because he is a consummate asshole that truly sucks. There is no place on a discussion of BC sports to denigrate students that don't measure up in talent what you may desire. think that ATL should start to seriously think about the damage that jerks like KH can do to our student athletes. They are not pros and don't deserve his crap..

Joseph said...

I wonder if the players, their friends, or relatives read this. if they do, exactly whyn should they be subjected to things like Knucklehead posted. He says they SUCK. Does he mean that they are bad people? Does he mean that they have no worth at all? Does he have no respect for their dedication and effort? Does he compare them to his own great ability? Should they just kill themselves because he says they SUCK? Or should they just ignore him because he is a consummate asshole that truly sucks. There is no place on a discussion of BC sports to denigrate students that don't measure up in talent what you may desire. think that ATL should start to seriously think about the damage that jerks like KH can do to our student athletes. They are not pros and don't deserve his crap..

Knucklehead said...

HA HA.

If someone GAVE me . . .GAVE me a free $200k education including room, food, books, education, travel experiences across the globe and national television exposure playing the ACC: 1) I would work hard and give maximum effort - NONE of the clowns on this team are doing that(rahon and hicks give about 80% of their max) and 2) I would not give a holy flip about what a guy who calls himself "knucklehead" says about me on Eagle in Atlanta.(I am not really a knucklehead though - ba econ and mba-finance).

They suck.

Lets be honest here. This team does not like each other at all. They do not play as a team and they are LISTLESS.

Knucklehead said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Knucklehead said...

I can shoot a basketball and move my feet on defense at age 34 as well as anyone on that team. Not joking.

The team is softer than Fluff. They are a complete embarrassment to the University.

Joseph wants to give them all a hug and tell to do better next time. Do you think Mike Brea was saying that Dragevich when he was at ND. Hell no. He told the kid he wasn't good enough and that he wasn't going to play.

This what you get when you recruit the west coast.

eagle1331 said...

I mean... they could just go out there, compete, and not play patty cake on the bench... then we wouldn't be posting half the things we are?

Then again, at 4-8, since we do hold student athletes up to our school's academic standards, they probably don't need us to tell them about the way they match up to the competition they're facing or the way they're playing...

Claver2010 said...

Knucklehead, hicks blew out his knee back in June, believe you mean Owens

Caudills scholarship should be yanked. To be on campus for 2.5 years getting benefits of $60k+ annually to be that out of shape is criminal

Knucklehead said...

I mean Owens, Yes

dixieagle said...

eagle1331: "...they could just go out there, compete, and not play patty cake on the bench... then we wouldn't be posting half the things we are?"

This is hitting the nail on the head.

CT said...

I agree with knucklehead's point no. 2 .

My one rule for college kids is that I don't boo them. To say they aren't d1 talented or ACC level is one thing, to say they suck...ugh.

Especially when I know they are in over their heads. It really isn't their fault. They were offered, they accepted, who wouldn't?

If their behavior bothers you, that's on the coaches.

This is a an adult issue. As in, the coaches/admin guys making big money who aren't as good at their job as they think they are.






Joseph said...

Well said, CT. KH in spite of what he says are his academic achievements is a Knuckleheead when it comes to common decency. These kids are who they are--kids. They were asked to come to BC to play by a coach who understood, or should have understood, who these kids were and how they would contribute with the proper mentoring and coaching.

Kids will be kids, but it is up to the adult staff to make sure that they function as a tam with a winning attitude. Insulting them is hardly productive.

Hoib said...

I'm w/ Joe, and CT on this.

I think there is a clear distinction between the players and onahue.

The coach is a highly paid professional who is fair game. Which u can see I never pass up a chance to bash.

I think it's best if we don't get on the players individually. I wouldn't have wanted a bunch of adults paying attention to me when I was their age and at BC. There was plenty to get on there.

TheFive said...

Donahue has done a miserable job with this team, which really has played one decent game all season (against Washington). Every other performance has been a subpar performance.

But, let's be honest. There are physical shortcomings on this team, which is the cause of some of the defense that is played. The remaining cause is a lack of pride and effort. When the opposition goes on a run, this year's edition of BC packs it in faster than any other BC team I've seen in my life. These kids have to walk by Danya Abrams (who is calling the games on the radio) every time they check in the game, and if they brought half the amount of effort and pride to the floor as Danya did, this'd be a markedly better team.

I'm sure it's tremendously frustrating to play on a team where there were pre-season expectations so detached from the current reality. I'm sure it's tremendously frustrating to play on a team where the coach is whistling at you several times each possession.

But that doesn't excuse the lack of pride on this team. Unfortunately, when the team doesn't care, it's not fun to watch. Because it's college and they're not getting paid...sure, I guess it's fine for the team to have mailed in the past several games. The solution, unfortunately, is to stop watching. I'm just about there.

The name on the front of the jersey means something. BC may not have the most distinguished basketball history. But there are a lot of guys who came before the current team who had less talent and produced better results.

Bravesbill said...

Get a life Joseph. I'm beginning to think you just like trolling this board. While I agree that the coaches are horrendous, the players SUCK too. If you receive over 60k in benefits a year and don't give your all, you SUCK. If you can't handle the criticism, don't play the game. If you don't want to hear that you SUCK, give max effort. Simple concept. Outside of Hanlan, this team SUCKS. That's just my two cents Joseph. Doubt anyone on the team: 1) actually reads this blog and 2) actually cares what an anonymous poster thinks. Get off your sanctimonious high horse.

Joseph said...

Well said coward william. real cool and it must make up for your total lack of decency. These kids are what they are and since you have no idea of who they are, or what talents and motivations they have, you have no right to be so judgmental. Merry Christmas to you too.

Bravesbill said...

I have no idea who this William is but Merry Christmas to you too (in all seriousness).

D-Wyle said...

Good take here on BC: http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/22/is-it-time-to-give-up-on-boston-college-2/

Deacon Drake said...

Just glad Vegas hasn't caught on to how bad they are yet... We should all have been able to profit on this disaster. How the hell was BC favored at USC and Auburn? Seriously?

Deacon Drake said...

Just glad Vegas hasn't caught on to how bad they are yet... We should all have been able to profit on this disaster. How the hell was BC favored at USC and Auburn? Seriously?