Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Harvard hands BC another basketball loss

In his first two seasons, Jim Christian managed to avoid losing to Harvard. That changed Wednesday night as the Crimson beat BC 74-66. Harvard built a big lead early. BC chipped away a bit in the second half, but couldn't close the deal in the final minutes.

This Harvard team is better than their last two teams, but this is not one of Amaker's best. This was a winnable game and Christian should have had the guys playing better. Especially on D. Also, where is the supposed speed that he was preaching in the preseason?

It is still early in the year and this team is still young, but I am starting to worry. The transfers don't really seem like ACC caliber players. That leaves a huge burden on the young guys.

32 comments:

EL MIZ said...

"i am starting to worry" LOL

the only ACC caliber player currently on the roster is Robinson. hopefully Graves, Turner, Bowman, Reyes develop.

neither of the transfers is an ACC starter. Jeffers averaged 5/5 last year and shot 40% from the field as a big - those are bad numbers and he put them up at Delaware. now he's our starting C. horrid.

Tava is somewhat skilled and maybe he'd be good coming off the bench for a good team. reminds me of Lowery in football - if we are getting the best player hands down from a small conference then i'm interested. if we are getting a guy who was honorable mention all conference or whatever then we can't expect them to be difference makers - the ACC is an elite league and we need to treat it as such.

i'd set the over/under on ACC wins at 2.

mod34b said...

The team is young .....hmmm ...... where have I heard this before. ....... maybe there are more excuses

Empty cupboard too? Harvard is really talented? Roster management issues? Substandard facilities? Lack of fan support? Not enough resources spent? It does not really matter ? It is early in season? We had some injuries? Lahey is not a hoops guy? BOT isn't engaged on the team? BB gave an extension too soon and with justification? It's a rebuilding process? It takes time? We have to rebuild our AAU relations? Donahue is to blame? Al Skinner did lasting damage? gDF is a real fucker . The future looks bright.

TheFive said...

Harvard is young and really talented. They also have an upper classmen front court that came up through the program. Neither of those things can be said about BC.

The talent disparity with Harvard was striking. Imagine what it'll be with the top half of the ACC. Any conference win will take a lot of good fortune.

But, again, the bottom line -- does the Administration care? Not even a little.



JERZeagle said...

all you need in college basketball to just be competitive are two players. TWO.

being that we are in the ACC and in a big market, i think its more inexcusable to not be relevant in basketball than football. What i mean by relevant is .500 in the ACC and in the top 64 teams in the country.

I would also argue that getting into the tournament far outweighs any "big" bowl game other than the CFP. There is nothing better than the ncaa tourney.

Geezer eagle said...

Sickening.

Knucklehead said...

Is the temple basketball coach available?

Saw the Kansas state game. Announcer was saying the coaches were having trouble motivating the players, game was in msg.

Losers.

Matt said...

6 free throws, total? These guys need to get more aggressive

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Its really gotten so pathetic that you run out of words. Yes - Harvard had a good recruiting class and yada, yada, yada - but they also recently lost to Holy Cross by more than 10 points.

To everyone else in the ACC - we are nothing other than a huge mistake. Not a single word out of Leahy, Bates, the BOT's - nothing. A total lack of leadership and pride in the institution. Its just about the money.

I feel sorry for the students.

TGS said...

It's really not a fair fight. Harvard doesn't have the academic recruiting restrictions that BC has to deal with.

Umm, on second thought ...

Big Jack Krack said...

We used to get top notch players from "our area" = CT, NY. NJ MA, etc. At times that has varied, with the West Coast touch - Dudley, Smith, Marshall.

But we have lost touch with what has been successful in the past.

If you are going to go for players from all over the map rather than your own backyard, how about making sure they can gel and compete.

It's really sad - it's really sickening.

I'm disgusted that we are a laughing stock.

CvegasEagle said...

Ready for a rant...

Makes me mad that there is no accountability or that no one in BC media or athletic dept acknowledges this utter failure in BBall and Football even in a subtle way. I grew up in the heart of ACC country, had season tickets for UVA bball when they were terrible. Saw Duncan, Boozer, JJ, Jayson Williams, Juan Dixon, Chris Paul, the amazing 2005 UNC team (just to name a few) come in and play in our shitty facility that only sat 8,000. Wow and UVA upset some of those teams. Very similar circumstance to BC. However, the local media held the coaches and athletic dept accountable at the time (via radio shows where fans could dial in and hosts that weren't homers like Meterpel). Beyond the media, the fans/alumni did their best to make sure the university, coaches, and AD were accountable for lackluster effort and chaotic failure both in football and basketball. UVA's alumni base came together to oust the old coaches at the time (Pete Gillen and Al Groh). Both were even more successful than our current coaches - that's not saying much.

Unfortunately - We don't have that luxury at BC. Eventhough, UVA, in this example, has only 4,000 more undergrads, its still a state school and has the attention of the whole town. BC is a small Jesuit school in a city with other distractions. Our AD gets away with it!!! There's no outlet for change with this administration

Guido said...

I am surprised that BC lost to Harvard. A basketball friend said that Harvard was young , but had a pretty good recruiting class that should get better as the year progressed. Well , here they are - early in the season and they are already beating an ACC team . I just do not understand anything about Boston College anymore. Not being an avid follower of BC hoops, I can not say much about recruiting , but I am surprised that we can not get one "Stud" from New England programs that would love to come to BC and be credited with "Turning Around" the program ???? Last point - I agree with JERZeagle that getting into the "NCAA BASKETBALL FINAL 64 would be "AWESOME" and get us some positive recognition in the Boston media ?? And the NCAA tournament is such great advertising and national exposure !!!!! Oh Well - I am "So Tired" not being able to be excited about the 2 major sports. Just hope that BC hockey does not go into a "Tailspin" with such a young team (13 Freshman and 7 Sophomores ).Keep up the great work - Coach York !!!!

John said...

I took the Boston College license plate holder off my car, I am so embarrassed.

Fr. Leahy - this is pitiful and you should be ashamed of what you have allowed as President of a great university.

It's time for you to retire.

CT said...

It might stink to play for the Washington Generals, but I bet their promoters have big houses.

Hario said...

At least Xtian did not use the "Young" excuse probably why I find myself wanting to root for Xtian though I can't because results speak for themselves.

BC sports is embarrassing itself

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Just keep saying to yourself "Quick Lane Bowl Here We Come!!" at least three times every 30 minutes and then clap your hands. By the end of the day you'll all feel better.

EL MIZ said...

i was floored yesterday when i realized BC hired Daz after a 4-win season. who does that?

then i was reminded in reading this thread that BC extended Christian after a ZERO WIN SEASON. there are truly no words to describe how amazing that is!

TGS said...

El miz, good points.

New BC motto:

Ever to Disappoint

Geezer eagle said...

These comments are exactly why our campus and our country should be run by competent businessmen and military veterans and not academics like our illustrious Father Leay .

Geezer eagle said...

They know how to win ! The athletic mediocrity currently pervasive at BC simply would not be tolerated.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

El Miz - not that you need more fuel but BC also extended the contract of its WBB coach after he compiled an impressive record of 8-25 against current ACC opponents. I don't know - makes you wonder if the BOT and Leahy told Bates that winning was contrary to BC's ideals and vision.

mod34b said...

DCec 4, 2012 reaction upon hiring Daz

"As I posted previously, my gut reaction is that Addizio will be a fine coach. . . . .This was an opportunity to do something special. We went safe. Bates ignored or brushed off some candidates with great upsides or close ties to BC. You can rationalize that if you have a home run hire. Steve Addazio is not a home run hire.
" ATL


"Bates most important task was hiring a quality football coach. It looks like a swing and a miss. Time will tell, although not encouraged." NedofSavinHill

"I don't think that there is enough on the table yet to judge the hire. The fact that he will bring Ryan Day and Kevin Rogers with him is nothing short of bizarre. Temple does not make my heart skip a beat. He has an Irish wife (Kathy Donoghue). That is a plus. He has three children." JBQ

"Obviously, I want to be optimistic... but I dont know how to be happy with this hire at all..." Hario

"Absolutely classic BC. Absolutely classic. ... Hire the uninspiring retread who is willing to take the job for the lowest pay in the ACC." TheFive

"I do not think I could have conjured up a more disappointing hire than this old, lackluster mediocre Steve Addazio. Seems like we took Spaz jr. Brad Bates is pretty unimpressive with this hire too.

Here is a good joke: Addazio was #17 on the coaching hot seat after this season and we hired him. He stunk as an OC at Florida. His favorite play on 1st: run up the middle. Another coach from the football stone ages. Sparkless." Mod34b

"awful hire. we made a mistake chasing Golden around and not just going full bore after Diaco with a blank check.

as others have said, you get what you pay for. we will again have the lowest paid coaching staff in the ACC and again we'll finish in the basement." El Miz



"This is a shocking disappointment.
And yet, I'm shocked that I'm shocked. Absolutely typical BC BS.

How sadly naive we all have been, expecting and believing we were finally in for an awakening, a fresh start, with a new, hungry AD who was going to go out and spend $$ to get us a great, exciting coach to turn everything around. Christ, I feel like Bates is going to peel off a mask, a la Mission Impossible, to reveal that he actually is GDF in disguise.

Actually this is kind of surreal. Did this just really happen" AlbanyEagle

mod34b said...

part 2

"I don't know what you are all complaining about....he doubled Spaz's win total this season. .. .I'm slowly warming to this guy. ESPN Boston says Bates "nailed it. .... this negativity has got to stop" Eagleboston

"This announcement was like the morning after Obama got reelected.

I knew that it was going to happen, there was nothing that I could do or say to make it not happen, i was not happy and i knew that I would be in for four more years of surviving through a depression." Knucklehead


"All I have to say is FML. Is there anyway I can get back out of the States before football starts again next year? . .This guy is an absolutely joke. He got run out of town by Florida and was going to by Temple. This hire is an abject failure and should be treated as such . . Run, Run, Pass, Punt. Remember those series we had all the time with Spaz? Addazio is the king of this sequence. Florida fans ran him out of time because that's all he did and Temple fans grumbled all the time this year with this playcalling. Do we really want a Spaz 2.0 at the helm? " Bravesbill (what is FML?)



"Truth be known, I really enjoyed blogging back in the days when we talked about football and our very reasonable chances of beating our upcoming opponents like Clemson, FSU, VT, MD, NC State, Wake and ND, etc.

All this negative stuff is really unproductive. I understand how everyone feels and so forth - but I've got to get off of this train for awhile. Right now I'm thinking about not renewing my season tickets of 40 years" BigJackKrack

"Somebody check Daz's resume very carefully. Pulling a "George O'Leary" has got to be better than being stuck with Spaz 2.0 for six , count'm six, years." LennySienko

"My uber Top Secret GLG20 sources told me that the interview consisted of a set of three questions.

1) You coached at Florida? You mean, THE Florida? The one in the SEC? And you once spoke with Urban Meyer? THE Urban meyer? You know, there was a Pope named Urban. Perfect.

2) Is your Wikipedia page true? Did you in fact crush the Future Tank Commanders at Army this year with one of BC's best (ex) RBs getting 7 TDs and 350 yds? Now that's the Cirle of Life, Simba!

3) Fr. Leahy wants to know when the last time it was that you went to Confession" CT

"ct, you are at the top of the jerk poster list. Totally without class or humor' Joseph

Unknown said...

I go to all the hoop games it's embarrassing how empty conti is for a game, especially against a crosstown rival. It's the chicken and the egg, why would any ACC caliber talent want to play here, the place is totally empty and you can hear a pin drop when BC is on defense. Conti is not a tough place to play. BC has the worse fan base.
I give Christian credit that he's not using the youth as an excuse. I listen to what little base we have and I see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

But on the other hand, Bates said in his letter to the fans back on March 11th that "I believe winning is important because it is developmentally meaningful..." Those choice of words about winning provide some insight to our problem.

JBQ said...

The "gold standard" for Catholic athletics and education is Villanova. Their offense is fantastic with a great deal of playground basketball built in. Actually, that is the difference between the Wildcats and Zags. It is my understanding that Jay Wright was interviewed by BC. BC did not offer enough money. Al Skinner was a very good coach who could recruit the good black athlete. I would say that BC goes 0-18 in conference once again. Meanwhile, Villanova is numero uno. I was exited to go to Brooklyn last Spring and watch them play Ashville at Barclays in the NCAA. BC generates no excitement. It is like watching "water drip". Villanova saw no reason, after due consideration, to go D-1 in football. If you say Eddie Pinckney or Kris Jenkins or even Hank Siemientowski, Philly fans will go wild. BC is a ship with the sails with no wind and the ship is listing in the water. Meanwhile, Villanova has a chance to win again if Kris Jenkins will stop reading his well earned press clippings.

TGS said...

Mod digging into the archives. I like it. He is the Julian Assange of this blog.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Villanova AD originally from Boston - https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/pressreleases/2015/0825-1.html

We go looking at Miami of Ohio - they go looking at USC.

Guido said...

Adding to what NapB said above about Villanova - the current AD at Villanova came from the University of Southern California , but interestingly enough , he also graduated from Xaverian Bros. HS in Westwood ,MA. What process do /did we use to search out talent when hiring for key positions like Athletic Director ????Obviously , we must do a "Shoestring Budget" search. Nuff Said !!! To Mod 34b - You are the MVP of the blog - incredible research and fun to read.

Big Jack Krack said...

Christopher - when I lived in the area I always had season tickets and sat through many tough seasons in the Big East (and many fun seasons as well - Tom Davis; Gary Williams). I didn't particularly care for Jim O'Brien (because I felt he couldn't coach big men and his teams were always terrible from the free throw line) but they could play basketball and they could compete. Eventually, after about 7 or 8 seasons he hit it big.

Conte was always pretty much full for Big East Games, and of course Robert's Center was always rocking with 3500 capacity. I moved away before we joined the ACC. But it has never been the same.

I don't know what game we're playing now, but it doesn't seem like it's anything like it should be.

I said years ago (about Gene DeFilldicko) that if we didn't stay competitive, fans would disappear in droves. The same fans who showed up for Providence, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, St. Johns, UConn, etc. - even if BC was the underdog, are not, will not show up now. I don't even know why we play some of the teams on our OOC schedule, but BC fans don't connect with many schools in the ACC and vice versa now that we are perennial (sic?) losers.

And I was in favor of our move to the ACC.

How's that working out for us?

Maybe we should lead the reunification effort! Just kidding, just kidding.

But something has to give.

We are a disgrace!!! Students go all 4 years having to eat it. Awful, just awful.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

The sad thing is that its all correctable with the installation of good people and an administration that sets high expectations and responds when they are not met. But if the alums do not respond with their wallets and we continue with the same cast of mutton heads my fear is that something irreversible will occur concerning athletics at BC. I am starting to wonder if that is what Leahy is engineering. The avid alums who participate on these blogs are a small fraction of the alumni base. I hope I am wrong, but my limited experience with other alums is that the vast majority do not have a major interest in this stuff. In which case - the money keeps rolling in and athletics gets hugely de-emphasized. Please tell me that your experience with the alums is different and that a majority is paying attention to this debacle. It never ceases to amaze me as to how much damage can be done to a large institution by one or two misplaced people.

Bravesbill said...

Mod, the only reason I know what FML stands for is because I have millennial siblings (F*ck My Life). And I did enjoy reading Joseph's post again. He's always amusing. Where has that guy been recently?