Ryan Anderson weighs in basketball debate

The twitter debate about BC basketball marches on but new perspective joined the dialogue. Former BC star Ryan Anderson started tweeting to the thread with his opinions. The former player, who also played at Arizona, thinks it all starts with financial commitment. He mentioned facilities, travel and budget. BC has addressed some of these issues since Anderson left, but still has more to accomplish. I agree with him and think we should make an investment in basketball that shows our commitment. But I don't think spending money is the only answer. I still think you need the right coach too. Here are Anderson's tweets.

Coaching isn’t and never has been the problem

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

Keep JC. Hire Dudley in some assistant role. His knowledge of the game is elite and would be huge for the program. Increase facilities to ACC levels. Recruits care about facilities and game atmosphere more than anything...

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

Can’t compare those guys to this generation. Different era of sports. Recruit from northeast area walks into the BC locker room, attends a game, tours the facilities, and y’all really expect him to commit over Cuse, Nova, etc? Unfortunately kids signing bc of those reasons mainly

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

Commit to the program. Fund the program. Change the culture from top to bottom. BC is a beautiful school filled with great ppl (reason I came) but realized when coming to AZ how much can be better at BC but it takes money, effort, and fan support BEFORE the team is good

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

There’s tons of examples I could point to but bottom line is simple yet hard. Make the players choose BC. When the facilities, game atmosphere, traveling, and everything that goes into being a student athlete matches the other acc schools and we don’t win then it’s the coach...

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

Until then you’re giving the coaches knives to a gun fight in these recruiting battles for players and it ain’t fair.

— Ryan Anderson (@M12terAnderson) March 2, 2019

Anderson leaving

Ryan Anderson confirmed his long-rumored transfer Monday night via Twitter.

I have decided to transfer from BC. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last 3 yrs. Proud I was able to be an Eagle #RIPDK
— Ryan Anderson (@_AndersonBC12) April 7, 2014

I usually don't worry about transfers, but this is unfortunate for many reasons. I hoped that everyone would come back, Christian might pick up a late flyer, produce a super soft schedule and get us into the NIT. That seems less likely now. I assume Hanlan will declare for the Draft too, leaving an eight-win team without its two best players.

Rahon was also part of the rumors. However, one rumor I heard was that he was waiting to see what Hanlan does first. If Hanlan leaves, Rahon would supposedly stay, knowing that he would be the team's true point guard. I don't know. The last month has left me very distrusting of rumors.

I also think this is a bad move for Anderson. What's the upside? One year with a better team closer to home? Maybe. But he has to wait a year and the mix at whatever team he picks now could be very different by the time he hits the court in 2015. Anderson was the face of the program during a downturn in BC basketball. It would have been nice for him to stick around for any potential rebirth.

Putting the potential departures aside, long-term this shouldn't hurt Christian. Hopefully it just speeds up his roster churn. While this is not an ideal time to pick up recruits for next year, it has been done (Jared Dudley for one). Transfers are pretty commonplace in college basketball and very expected during coaching changes. Good luck to Ryan. I hope he has a happy ending to his career. Now let's hope Jim Christian is working the phones for someone to replace him.

Not how you want to start a season

One game doesn't make a season...especially one as long as basketball. Yet I feel like BC will look back on this game as a wasted opportunity. It was a chance to get a decent road win and start the season on a positive note. Instead this veteran team looked lost for long stretches and dropped a game in OT to Providence. It is the type of loss that shifts a team from a lock to a bubble. At least that is what I am telling myself. Because the other explanation for the poor performance -- that we are not that good -- means the season will feel even longer. These are my thoughts. Feel free to share yours.

Likes
-- Ryan Anderson's offensive productivity. He got his points within the flow of the game. I also think the new defensive rules will help him. Bigger defenders will have to give him a little more space.
-- Garland Owens looks athletic. He ran well and finished on a nice alley oop. He played a lot of minutes for a freshman and didn't make many mistakes. I hope he can use that to play better D.
-- Tying the game in regulation. The only true bright spot for me was the team's ability to overcome a late deficit and get it to OT. Maybe this was a bad night and they can play that well under pressure if they need to later in the year.

Dislikes
-- Offensive pace. This team is supposed to score over 70 a night. They only crossed that threshold because of OT. On way too many possessions, the guys were slow in the half court. There was no sense of urgency. No sense of purpose with the passes and way too much hesitation. The guys looked like they had never played together. Where is the anticipation of your teammates? Why didn't we drive more when they were crowding the perimeter and why didn't we get more transition points?
-- Turnovers. Too many of those TOs were errors, not great Providence D.
-- 3-point shooting. It is one thing to miss a bunch but even worse to not take more. Wasn't that supposed to be a calling card?

It is only one game but this team needs to regroup quickly. They need to make better decisions, shoot better and not waste so much time and possessions. If they don't this season will be over before we even play an ACC game.

There's no real QB competition and other links

Spring Practice starts this week and the forced narrative is that everyone including Rettig is battling for his job. We don't know that much about Addazio yet, but I know he's not going to totally ruin this season based simply on systems. He can talk about Chase competing, but he and his staff are planning on Rettig being the No. 1 QB next season. He is also passing on assurances to Rettig and the WRs that we will pass the ball and he needs them.

BC also updated the Spring Roster. The big news is that we didn't keep that many potential 5th years. Shinskie is gone and so is Marscovetra. Richardson and Andre Lawrence are not listed either and presumably gone. Kaleb Ramsey is still listed so it looks like he's getting his sixth year. 

The ACC coaches named Ryan Anderson third team all conference. Hanlan made the All Freshman team. 

Jim Irsay says that he has "two tackles that we can win the Super Bowl with." Would it have killed him to throw in a BC reference too with that quote?

Over for now

BC lost to Miami to finish the season 16-17. The losing record means we are not going to the NIT and as Donahue made clear, we are not paying to play in the CIT or CBI. This is the end of this season, but perhaps the start of something bigger. I will have more in the coming days and weeks on the basketball team's progress and future, but this game was a pretty good microcosm for the season. BC started slow, played long stretches of great basketball but made enough mistakes to let the game slip away. Other thoughts:

Likes:
-- Heckmann's offense. He was my whipping boy for most of the season, so credit should go where it is due. He finished the year strong. I like his willingness to beat his man off the dribble and he knocked down some big shots.
-- BC attacking the basket. Against a big team like Miami you wouldn't expect us to drive and cut so much, but it worked well in the first half.
-- Anderson's defensive work. He did a great job moving his feet and fronting Miami's bigs.


Disklikes:
-- BC's inability to exploit the double. Miami doubled Hanlan with a big man and a guard and we didn't consistently convert. Hanlan will see more doubles next year so we need to work on this area of his game.
-- Missing FTs. A recurring issue in many of our losses.

Hanlan named ACC Freshman of the Year

The ACC media voted Olivier Hanlan Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. This is quite an honor and our first major piece of basketball hardware in the Donahue era. I know during the second Duke game there was talk of a two-man race with Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon, but the vote wasn't even close.

In the past people have taken me to task over using conferences awards as an indicator of greatness. I realize that awards are not completely objective nor a guarantee of any future success. But they are a benchmark of accomplishment and winning them is never a bad sign. Congrats also need to go to Steve Donahue. While we are still waiting for all the pieces to fall into place, Hanlan is validation that he can recruit ACC-level talent.

Congrats are also owed to Ryan Anderson who also earned conference honors.

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.

Not even close

Our first loss to Miami was a heart breaker. Tuesday's loss was never in doubt once Miami took an early lead. A little surge at the start of the second half narrowed the deficit, but Miami killed the momentum with some tough 3s. The Hurricanes are playing good basketball and will always cause problems for us with their size, but that doesn't excuse the poor play. We seemed real tentative on offense and over passed many times. Here are my other thoughts:

Likes
-- The first half Defense. We weren't down in the first 20 minutes simply because Miami overpowered us (see first dislike). Instead we played good defense and with intensity. And the guys guarding their big men moved well and didn't just hack away.
-- Anderson's ability to score close. He had some nice moves inside against Miami's giants. In fact his wide open mid-range shots on the pick and pop were the problem.


Dislikes
-- Hesitation and timidness on offense. Time and again our guys would pass decent looks. Too often that "extra" pass led to nothing. We wasted time and forced some bad shots towards the end of the shot clock.
-- Odio taking 3s. The other team's are forcing the issue by leaving him open, but I would prefer he play closer to the basket and grab more boards.
-- Rahon's night. This happens to freshmen. But Hanlon over came a cold shooting night by getting better shots close to the basket. Rahon stopped looking for his shot.

Coming up short against Maryland

Maryland played poorly and didn't fully capitalize on their size advantage and still won by five. This is getting old fast. Normally I would point to the closeness of the game as an indicator that BC is about to breakthrough, but I am starting to have doubts. What's most frustrating is that we were terrible down the stretch again.

Likes
-- Anderson avoiding foul trouble. It is a sign of a smart basketball player when he can guard bigger men all night and still score in the post without picking up too many fouls.
-- Lonnie Jackson sparking the run. In an ideal world this is how we would use him. When he hit those 3s in the first half the team had new life.
-- Hanlan making his FTs. It was nice that there wasn't a hangover from his last game.

Dislikes
-- The offensive decision making in the final two minutes. Our pace was slow. We waited too long. We couldn't find good shots.
-- Second half turnovers. It wasn't Maryland playing better. It was our carelessness.
-- Shooting. Do we need to go over this again?

Belated thoughts on moral victories

Sorry for the delay in posting about BC's loss to NC State in basketball. Even though the game was meaningless in the big picture, it left me with mixed emotions. I was excited to see the team compete. I am encouraged by how the offense is adapting but we shouldn't consider conference home games "moral victories." I am as guilty as anyone else of this mindset too.

The biggest problem as I see it, is that even when the team plays better defense and moves the ball well within the motion offense, we are still missing too many shots we should make. We only converted 24 of 37 free throws. We only made 7 of 22 3-pointers. For a team of shooters, that is not going to get it done.

But the defense was better, especially against an athletic NC State team. I also liked going small for long stretches. The small ball does raise the idea of what to do with Clifford once he is 100%, but Donahue managed that well yesterday.

So what is the real BC team? Is it one that can hang with anyone like Baylor and NC State? Can they pull off some wins? Or was yesterday a result of our best effort against their offday? We will find out more this week.

Basketball holds off Providence

I don't know if the basketball team has turned a corner. But Saturday's win over Providence was very encouraging. They made some shots, executed in the final minutes and got good games from all the critical players. Here are my thoughts. As always, leave yours below.

Likes

-- Ball movement. The team played well and it started with smart, purposeful passing. I really liked some of the decisions Rohan and Jackson made.

-- Anderson finishing near the basket. Great mix of strength and touch. He converted a huge basket late.

-- Solid minutes from Odio and Caudill. With Van Nest hurt and Clifford far from 100% we need these two guys to provide some energy and solid defense. They did.

Dislikes

-- Defensive switches. I don't know if it was poor communication or Providence being quicker, but our guys had lots of issues on defense. There were multiple times when 

-- ESPN3's feed. I've been a big proponent of ESPN's online service, but today was not good. There were multiple stretches in the second half when the stream died. If they want fans to accept it as an alternative, they need to make sure the performance and quality are good.

-- Guard depth. The freshmen were good, but I don't love the idea of them playing all 40 minutes. This is one of those stretches where we could use Jordan Daniels.

BC needs OT to beat UNH

Some of Al Skinner's best teams won games only making two 3-pointers. The difference though is that those teams weren't designed to take or make lots of 3s. This one is. Despite going not making one in regulation, they hit enough in OT to beat a bad UNH team. The win gets them back to .500 and hopefully builds some confidence. Here are my other thoughts:

Likes
-- Huge game from Ryan Anderson. It looks like his gimpy ankle is healed. He moved well today and put up huge numbers. He also made some good defensive plays.
-- Heckmann's athleticism. He had a few nice defensive plays late and did this.
-- Rahon handling it late. Donahue said he has the best feel for what they are trying to do. At least someone does.

Dislikes
-- Shooting. You can talk about talent issues or understanding the system, but the shooting is inexplicable. These guys used to shoot and now they can't buy a basket. We also supposedly have great shooting instructors on staff. Someone needs to figure out what is going on!
-- Defensive lapses. How is this still happening. They tightened up down the stretch but left themselves in a huge hole because no one on this team plays consistent defense.

Putting Charleston behind them

I've been avoiding the topic for a few days, but the Charleston Classic was a disaster for the basketball team. 0-3 with the team looking worse with each outing. I don't think anyone expected a romp through the tournament, but measurable improvement would have been nice.

This afternoon the team gets to prove they've learned from their mistakes when they take on Auburn. The Tigers are the perfect sort of rebound opponent in that they are not particularly good -- in fact they had a disastrous run in Charleston too -- but they are from a major conference.

Although it is a home game, I think the Thanksgiving holiday will make for an empty Conte. Ryan Anderson is expected to play but will not be at 100%. If BC is going to turn their start around, they need to do the following:

-- Find another scoring option. Even with Anderson healthy, this is an issue. Jackson's been ice cold. Clifford hasn't been converting close to the basket. The freshman have potential but still made some bad decisions. Heckmann made tons of errors. I don't know who will step up, but I think the real problem is not being aggressive enough within the offense.
-- Defense. The defense was at its best against Baylor. The other games the guys looked lost, slow and tired. Did fatigue set in? I don't know, but if we stick with man, the guys have to be much better at blocking out and moving with their assignment.
-- Tempo. I know it is hard to push the ball with freshmen running the point and hard when you are not converting, but I think BC needs to push the pace against Auburn. Easier baskets will come and it gets them out of their rhythm.

Thoughts on BC basketball's loss to Baylor

This is as encouraging a 10-point loss as you will see at this stage in the basketball season. Last year this team had plenty of games where they looked good for a half and let the game get away from them in the second half. This game was different. Sure, Baylor pulled away, but it wasn't because of a total team collapse. Our best players didn't get weak-kneed or caught up in the moment. If not for a few mistakes and then scrambling as time ran out, BC could have won this game. Here are my likes and dislikes. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Likes

-- Ryan Anderson's post presence. Baylor is long, tall and athletic, but that didn't stop Anderson from having a great game and converting with a variety of moves close to the basket. Anderson would be good in any system but today I dreamed about him thriving in Al Skinner's tight flex. 

-- Solid minutes from Odio and Van Nest. Odio held his own and played good D inside. Van Nest provided some much needed scoring and also has good hands.

-- Hanlan and Rahon playing well against a ranked team. They weren't perfect. Hanlan forced some drives to the basket and Rahon was ice-cold but they handled the pressure and showed they can be responsible for the most of the ball handling.

-- Patrick Heckmann killing all the second half momentum. Last year during our Thanksgiving Holiday tournament, Heckmann was the star. He scored from all over the court and made pretty good decisions. I don't know where things went so wrong. He was terrible today with four TOs and two fouls in 16 minutes. But the worst thing about the turnovers is how careless they are. He is a major liability until he starts figuring things out again.

-- 3-point shooting. Jackson was cold again and so was Rahon. In our offense and with these types of players, we need to convert a higher-percentage.

-- Perimeter defense. We gave them way too many easy looks from outside and paid the price for it.

Thoughts on the basketball's win over FIU

Sorry for the delay in posting about the basketball team's season opening win over FIU. I didn't get around to watching it until today. (Eds note: ESPN3 is going to be a godsend for basketball fans. Every game will be on there.) Overall I was pleased with the start. It wasn't perfect and there are areas for improvement, but overall it was a good win. More:

Likes
-- Anderson controlling the game. He was good in transition. He was good in the post. He grabbed critical rebounds and played solid defense. He won't keep up that pace every game but it looks like Anderson is ready to make a productivity leap.
-- The freshmen guards. Hanlan and Rahon combined for 68 minutes and didn't look confused or pressured. With Daniels gone, they need to get used to those kids of minutes.
-- Production from Odio and Van Nest. I hoped for solid minutes from Van Nest (who is rocking some great basketball goggles) but didn't forsee Odio playing as much as he did in the first half. We need depth, so this is good.

Dislikes
-- Jackson's cold night. I am writing it off to rust. Let's hope he hasn't lost his touch over the summer.
-- 3-point disparity. It is what kept this game as close as it was. Much of it can be attributed to Jackson's cold night but his teammates didn't really pick up the slack either.
-- Heckmann's defense. This did remind me of last year. He's got to be more focused and physical this year.

Final thoughts on Spain and other links

As others have pointed out, you should read Ryan Anderson's final blog from Spain. Call me a sap or maybe    I am blinded by my loyalty to BC, but I was glad to read Anderson's take on the trip and his teammates. Think of trips or shared experiences you had at that age and how you felt after. Anderson just had one of those experiences and we were lucky that he shared it with us. I hope it all pays off on the basketball court because this team is very likable.

One thing I didn't put together was Doug Martin's experience going against Golden's defenses during Kent State-Temple matchups. It's interesting that Miami blamed most of the big plays on missed assignments. I am sure that's partially true but it doesn't explain some of the separation our guys got in one on one battles.

That Patriots released Matt Tennant after just a few days. I don't know where he'll go next, but I imagine multiple teams are interested.

The women's basketball team released their non-conference schedule.

If you didn't see it the soccer team beat Fairfield on Monday.

Weekend roundup

Sorry for the delay in posting my second viewing thoughts and grades. I am travelling and have yet to watch the game back. When I see it again, I will post the grades shortly thereafter.

AJ asked if this game was an aberration from Rettig or the start of something big. I am leaning towards the start of something big. As a reminder, Flutie's biggest day at BC all-time was also in a loss. I will have a post later this week on how Rettig's day -- even though a huge statistical leap -- was not a fluke.

The Patriots picked up Matt Tennant on the waiver wire. 

Here is another post from Ryan Anderson's Spain trip. The team lost their final game of the tour.

The women's soccer team's dominance on their west coast swing continued.

Field Hockey lost to UMass.

Basketball picks up a win in Spain

The basketball team bounced back from their Monday loss, to defeat Real Canoe Madrid on Tuesday. If you watch the clip above it will reinforce many of the stereotypes you probably have about European basketball. It doesn't look like anyone is playing defense. But I love the way BC moved the ball. There is a crispness and a pace that shows how far the young guys have come. I think when ACC play begins, we will be much improved and finally play at Donahue's desired tempo. I also like that we held them scoreless for more than six minutes. That sort of defensive commitment is key to improvement this year.

Ryan Anderson posted his second blog for BCeagles.com and Dennis Clifford wrote his second blog for the Heights.

Basketball loses, Soccer loses and other links

The basketball team lost the first game of their Spain tour. This is not surprising since they are playing proteams and a different style. I keep telling myself this trip is about getting better for the real season this winter. Ryan Anderson posted his second blog of the trip. I appreciate how candid he is about the art, the trip and the style of play. You sense an awareness and growing maturity. And it's not just about the trip. He's a college kid who is realizing all that he doesn't know yet. I think we all hit those checkpoints in life...just not on a public stage. He's very likable.

The men's soccer team lost to BU. (Is there ever a time when losing to BU doesn't stink?)

HD doesn't think we will make a bowl. Neither does Stewart Mandel.

Surprisingly, CBS didn't put us at the bottom of their ACC power rankings.

Basketball team embraces new media on Spain trip

Who cares if the games don't count or the major media outlets are not there? BC basketball is providing its own wall-to-wall coverage of their trip to Spain. 

Coach Donahue, Assistant Woody Kampmann, and Video Coordinator Dan McDermott tweeted pictures of the team in and around Madrid. 

BCeagles.com has a photo gallery of Day 1 and a Ryan Anderson diary. Anderson even admitted to being a typical American and sneaking a McDonald's stop into his day. The Heights has Dennis Clifford blogging about the trip too. 

The best place to keep track of the comings and goings is probably the Official Basketball team's twitter account. Let's hope the games go as well as the first day did.