Will we see another bounce back against Wake?

Skinner critics blame Al every time BC is blown out. What is overlooked is how the team responds when they get their shot at a rematch. Just look at some of the blowouts since BC joined the ACC and how the team responded when they got their second chance.

2005-2006 Season
Game 1 (at home) NC State 78, BC 60
Rematch (in Raleigh) BC 74, NC State 72

2006-2007
Game 1 (at Clemson) Clemson 74, BC 54
Rematch (at home) BC 59, Clemson 54

2007-2008

Last season didn’t see BC avenge any of the blowouts. But did see improvement in two of the three rematches.

Game 1 (in Chapel Hill) UNC 91, BC 69
Game 2 (in Boston) UNC 90, BC 80 (this was the game when Rice went off)

Game 1 (in Charlottesville) UVA 84, BC 66
Game 2 (in Boston) UVA 79, BC 74

Game 1 (in Clemson) Clemson 78, BC 56
Game 2 (ACC Tournament) Clemson 82, BC 48

This all brings us to Wake Forest this year. BC got killed in the first game. The team is playing much better basketball and seems more focused on the road. Will this be their chance to bounce back like previous Skinner teams?

Ageism and other links

When BC promoted Spaz I said fairly or not his age would be used against him on the recruiting trail. We just got confirmation that it is already happening. Check out this quote from Ralph Friedgen: [Eds. note: I added the bold]

"I said, 'Who said that?' And he said, 'One of your competitors,' " Friedgen said. "Well, Penn State was recruiting him, and so was Boston College. I said, 'Well, [BC coach Frank] Spaziani is 64 and [Joe] Paterno's pushing 90. You're worried about me retiring?' I said, 'No, I don't think so.' "

For the record Friedgen and Spaz both turn 62 in April. Call it dirty tricks, but BC better prepare for this on the recruiting trail. Having an even older offensive coordinator doesn't help things. I hope the open staff spots are filled with a few really young guys. BC will need the appearance of energy and enthusiasm on the staff.

The hockey team bounced back from the Beanpot thrashing with a win over UMass Friday night.

Texas Tech learned from the Gene-Jags showdown and is putting in provisions limiting Mike Leach's ability to interview for other jobs.

Here is Kenpom's thumbnail of Wake Forest. As if you didn't already know -- they are very good.

Coaching in waiting dilemma and other links

Maryland just named James Franklin their "coach in waiting." This is a popular tag these days in college football. Its purpose is twofold. First it puts in a succession plan that hopefully provides continuity. The second, less obvious benefit, is that there are fewer recruiting restriction on staffers. A Head Coach is limited in his allowable interaction with potential recruits. A coach in waiting is not. But to a recruit, he is the next in line so therefore carries an heir of importance that a normal staffer does not. With coaches younger than Spaz doing the coach in waiting thing, BC would seem like a logical candidate to also name a successor. But that is not going to happen. It's too expensive. It's too premature given that Spaz hasn't even coached a game. It's also too early to even consider if we want continuity from this era. When BC looks for a new head coach it will probably be time to look beyond the TOB tree. All that said once the full staff is announced, I will do a piece on the head coaching potential of some of the current names under Spaz.

The Ferrieros will be the latest siblings to play for Jerry York.

Ironically Gene's son landed a job with the Jets.

Logan joins Jags and other links

Tampa hired Steve Logan in a still to be determined staff position. It seems like Logan will be the RB or TE coach. Good for him, but Tampa should really get him involved in the passing game as a QB or WR coach.

The women's basketball team lost to Florida State Thursday night.

More on the Johnathan Coleman story. This story is going to be huge if he delivers on the field.

BC guy Bill Guerin is not only still playing...he is the Captain of the Islanders.

More signing day stuff and other links

For those who have firewall issues with BC's media player, you can watch the Spaz press conference embedded below.

Here is more on one of the last additions to the class, John Wetzel.

More folks ranking our recruits at the bottom of the ACC.

Check out the final portion of this notebook -- after sulking his way through the D League, Sean Williams is back with the Nets. (Thanks to Mike for the link.)

My thoughts on the class

First a quick news roundup. Jimmy Noel officially committed to BC. It seems like he had some Signing Day jitters but dealt with them and eventually came around. Welcome aboard. People in Hartford are rooting for Andre Lawrence. Chris Johnson has enrolled at Delaware State. You knew that when Flutie passed him on the depth chart at QB, his days were probably numbered. Not sure where the staff factored in his open scholarship (this year or next).

The recruiting experts have us at the bottom of the ACC and among the bottom of the BCS. As I have stated ad nauseum, I am unconcerned with recruiting rankings. These are the things I like and my concerns.

Holding serve
Regardless of how you feel about the Spaz hire or Jags' recruiting, it is a good thing he held onto most of the commits. Transitions are always tough and this is the first sign that Spaz is capable of continuing our decade of success.

Keeping a foothold in Cincinnati
We only signed one player from the Queen City, but all reports say he is a good one. But more than anything it is a statement. Luke Kuechly attends St. Xavier (TOB and Bible's alma mater). Whispers were that St. X and the other area Catholic Schools were no longer friendly to BC. Kuechly's commitment -- especially after the Jags departure -- provides hope that we can still be a player in southwest Ohio. It also confirms that BC's pitch still connects with the right type of kid.

Depth at positions of strength
You could argue that our best positions next season will be LB, RB and OLine. This class is filled with players for all those positions. The crowded depth chart means that not many will play as true freshmen, but it does mean these young guys will learn from some of our best. It also means we should continue to be strong in these positions for years to come.

And my concerns...

Quantity
This is a small class and leaves BC with some unused scholarships. Those open spots will probably be used for fifth year guys and walk ons. Most who follow recruiting think this is a good thing and allows Spaz to get a huge class next spring. I am not in favor of small classes or "banking" scholarships. My logic is that there is a natural attrition to this process. A small class means every mistake or departure has a greater impact. A small class also limits your upside or finding another diamond in the rough. You never know who the next Jamie Silva might be. The fear is that 18th or 19th guy might not be very good and use up a scholarship for four years. That certainly will happen. But a head coach should trust his staff to find a good guy. Also is a non-performing freshman worse than a fifth year who is unlikely to contribute significantly? At least the freshmen has a chance to become something. With a fifth year or walkon, you've probably seen what you are going to get.

Geography
CT, one of the commentors, wonders why we are not picking up more players from ACC country. I wonder why we cannot close on Midwest kids. Others think we blew it in Massachusetts. Regardless of which area of the country you prefer, it seems like BC's scatter shot approach didn't work. I hope the new staff focuses on a few regions and hits them hard. And as much as our ACC move should help recruiting, I think BC will always be a tough sell in the sunbelt. We should have a presence in those regions, but our time and resources are better spent in the Midwest and Northeast.

Well the Recruiting Class from Hell is signed. Regardless of where you stand on this stuff, one thing everyone agrees on is that Spaz needs to work very hard on the next recruiting class. That group, more than this one, will determine if Spaz can be the one to take us to the next level.

Are we watching a team of road warriors?

The first half was easily the best 20 minutes this team has played this year. The second half wasn't as pretty but the team held on, made their foul shots and picked up another ACC road win. With the killer stretch approaching, the team needed this.

Likes
-- Rice and Paris on the court together. Instead of spelling Rice, Paris joined him for long stretches. This helped with the pressure and opened up some easy shots for Rice. We probably need to do this more in the coming weeks.
-- Rebounding at both ends. BC controlled the boards throughout. Very good night for Sanders. When he picks up rebounds, good things happen.
-- More solid minutes from Roche. He finally knocked down some open 3s. He's playing with house money now.

Dislikes
-- Dealing with the zone. As soon as it looks like we have a solution for the press, a different elemental scheme gives us fits. The shot selection and ball movement against the zone was terrible.
-- Sloppy passing. 20 turnovers! Unbelievable. Fortunately we dominated all other aspects of the game so this wasn't a big factor.

Glad this trap game is behind us. Now the team can focus on Wake and erase the embarrassment from earlier in the season.

Thoughts on Spaz's press conference

Spaz's announced his first signing class earlier today. I thought it went well. Spaz is Spaz. He's pretty straight forward in his speech and delivery. The class only consists of 16 players now. Verbal commit Jimmy Noel has yet to send in his letter of intent.

He didn't say much about the individual players. His point of emphasis was that they all come from good families and have good support systems. He also made a point to praise Mike Siravo's efforts and the importance of holding the class together. Spaz admitted he hadn't been on the road much lately and said the pace the past few weeks has been frantic. Let's hope he doesn't tire of the road work since he is now the face of the program.

Note to BC, these press conferences are great but would be better if the press had microphones. When watching the stream you can barely hear their questions and are only left to infer what was asked based on Spaz's answer.

I'll have more on the class as a whole once the Noel situation is resolved.

Reminder: Spaz press conference at 4 PM

You can watch the press conference live on bceagles.com.

Quick preview of Virginia

BC takes on UVA tonight at 7 PM on ESPN U. It's a game the team should win and control but you can never take ACC road games for granted.

Here is Kenpom's overview of Virginia. They don't do anything particularly well or anything particularly poorly.

The 'Hoos actually remind me a bit of Maryland. And like Maryland we face them after they received a drubbing from Duke. The key to stopping them is containing big freshman guard Sylven Landesberg. I liked how we dealt with Vasquez and hope Landesberg sees a mix of Jackson (for speed) and Trapani (for length). As always, if BC rebounds well, we should control the game.

Crawley press and other links

New women's basketball coach got some positive press in the Globe. It seems her interests stretch beyond the hardwood.

The second part of this article shares a little of Kasim Edebali story. Like a few of the other prospects in this class, Edebali is considered raw but with huge upside.

Kevin Armstrong keeps giving BC good press -- this time with an article on Jerry York.

Mass Hysteria has a different scoop on our recruiting class.

Spaz's first Signing Day

Today is the day high school football players sign their letters of intent. I'll have coverage throughout the day and give my thoughts on Spaz's 4 PM press conference. Here are the first few stories related to BC's class and recruiting in general.

All things considered it looks like Spaz and Siravo did a good job holding together the class. The only defections were Nick Klemm and Korey Reynolds (who decommitted in January). Considering that both were recruited by Don Yanowsky and we set to play positions without a current position coach on staff, that is to be expected. Siravo had some good quotes on how BC positioned itself during the transition. At the end of the day you have to sell the school first and not the coaching staff.

Johnathan Coleman remains the most interesting project in the class. As I said when he first appeared on the radar, his story really echoes Michael Oher's. Hopefully BC brings out the best in him.

Here's a story of a New England kid that got away. Towards the end of the article it mentions the perception that BC takes Mass football for granted. On the message boards (and even in the offices of the Yawkey Center) there is an ongoing debate about the quality of Massachusetts football. Regardless of where you stand, BC and the new head coach should do a better job working with the high school coaches and borderline prospects. Even if it only unearths the occasional dividend it is the right thing to do and will only help local football.

One of my turnoffs to following recruiting is the sleazy nature of the process. For every Coleman you get a story like this one in Kansas. Fortunately the shear numbers involved in football will make it harder for a hustler like this to make a real impact.

The Combine and what it says about Akins, Purvis and others

Only three Eagles were invited to the NFL Combine. The number isn’t surprising. The invite list was…somewhat. Raji and Brace are no brainers. Akins was a surprise. Used in multiple positions during the course of his career my fear come draft time was the NFL wouldn’t know where to use him (CB, Safety, Linebacker). I guess his size in the defensive backfield will be valuable enough regardless of questions about having NFL secondary speed. I hope he performs well in Indianapolis.

As for the other potential draftees, there is a reasonable explanation for each of their exclusions.

Toal – At this point his injury history negates any upside he might have to an NFL team, therefore no combine. He still might get drafted but not until the late rounds. His Pro Day will be the only way to move up teams’ draft boards.

Ramsey – He is a late bloomer at an undervalued position (G) so the combine was always a reach. In the plus column though are his size, great final season and the school’s reputation for producing quality lines. If he doesn’t get drafted, I think he will probably catch on. It doesn’t hurt that Bicknell Jr and Jags are both in the NFL and, I imagine, would gladly pick him up as a free agent.

Crane – Like Toal, the timing of his injury cost him. This is a shallow QB class too. With a better, injury-free season, he’d be at the combine. The plus side is that Crane has the body, arm strength and athleticism to be an NFL QB. Matt Cassel’s success shows you don’t need the college reps to mature into a good NFL QB. Matt Ryan’s success shows that BC was doing something right with QBs. I think Crane will probably have good free agent choices if he is not drafted late. His Pro Day will be very important.

Robinson – Great guy but there is no way a team uses a draft pick on him. He’s smart and tough, but comes up short in the size and speed category. If you don’t have those qualities, you need velcro hands…which BRob doesn’t. In addition to a good Pro Day, he’s going to need to turn heads at any minicamp opportunity.

Purvis – He’s the most interesting case of the non-invitees. If he had come out last year, he would have been drafted. This year was supposed to be his spring board into a first day pick. After the Kent State game it was obvious to everyone in the building that BC’s passing game was going to take a major step back. For most of the season people assumed the NFL would account for that change in offenese and still acknowledge Purvis’ previous work. Apparently they didn’t. In trying to point out this slight to Purvis, the data actually supports an argument that he regressed this year.

Compare Purvis’ Senior Year to his Junior Year.
2008 – receptions 24, yards 176, touchdowns 0
2007 – receptions 50, yards 521, touchdowns 4

Now here are BC’s total passing numbers for those same two seasons
2008 – receptions 233, yards 2471, touchdowns 17
2007 – receptions 335, yards 3981, touchdowns 28
The team’s decline in those categories respectively was 30%, 38% and 39%.
Purvis’ decline respectively – 52%, 66%, and 100%.

When Purvis goes around working out or interviewing, he'll also battle the John Carlson standard. Last year during the draft process Carlson was trying to explain his struggles as a Senior. Like Purvis, Carlson was a Tight End who had to adjust from a first-round QB (Brady Quinn) to a raw rotation (Clausen et al). But his productivity in those same categories only declined by only 15%, 41%, and 25%.

I don’t blame Purvis nor do I think he played poorly. I think his blocking was good and I think he will be a good NFL Tight End. He was just had an off year at the wrong time.

Women lose to Duke and other links

Duke ended the women's basketball team's recent run. This was probably a fair measuring stick of where the women stand -- they belong in the top half of the ACC but are not yet ready to knock off the heavyweights.

One of BC's last recruiting projects spurned our offer and is going to play closer to home at James Madison.

The national press is expecting Justin Tuggle to challenge Dominique Davis for the starting spot.

This recruiting class isn't even signed and it is already being called a disappointment.

If half the all conference team was rated highly coming out of high school and the other half entered college as unheralded, what does that mean for recruiting rankings? I don't know. Neither does this writer.

Here is another cool panoramic shot courtesy of Chris S.

Ugly night in the Garden

BC came into Beanpot hoping to turn things around and get hot for the stretch run. That fell apart in the second period. The boys allowed some ugly goals and then let the frustration boil over in a scuffle to close the 20 minutes. Ugh. Not a good night on what is becoming a season to forget. Hats off to Northeastern. Not only did they dominate the 2nd, but they also kept BC from mounting any sort of comeback in the 3rd. As always share your thoughts in the comments.

Bubble Watch

The win streak was just what the hoops team needed.

-- The RPI creeped up a bit to 51.

-- Lunardi has BC in the tournament as a 9 seed.

-- The Sporting News also has BC as a 9 seed.

-- Bracketology 101 is not as optimistic. They slotted BC for an 11 seed.

Beanpot Game Watch(es) UPDATED

BCMike and crew from the Atlanta BC Club have put together a Game Watch for the Beanpot. It is a new location from where they had the football watches.

Atlanta
Fox Sports Grill Atlanta
http://www.foxsportsgrill.com/atlanta/
261 19th Street, Atlanta, GA (Atlantic Station)
(404) 207-1369,

There will be another if/when BC advances to the Beanpot Final.

If your club is hosting an event, please put it in the comments or send me an email.

Chicago
Finley Dunnes

New Jersey
McSwiggan's Pub
10 1st St.
Hoboken, NJ
201-798-6700

Beanpot Guest Blogger

Although I am able to see more BC hockey than I used to, I still don't get enough to be considered well informed (some would argue that doesn't stop me on other BC items...). My old radio colleague Mook Williams has a much better feel for what's going on with the defending National Champs, so I've asked him once again to guest blog on the Beanpot and BC hockey. My questions and his answers follow.

1. The team has not looked like the defending National Champions. Ferriero and Smith obviously miss having Gerbe on their line, but that is not the whole story. What is going on? Why does the team seem to take two steps forward and two steps back?

Mook Williams: I like to laugh and say that BC is presently "sticking with the game plan" right now - they seem to always look terrible in the month of January, at least for the past 3-4 years, and this year is no exception. Of course, the expectations are even higher this season with the national title last year and a crop of good freshmen coming onto the squad. The problem right now, more than any of the past seasons, however, is that BC is taking way too many penalties. Part of the problem is that Hockey East officials are . . . well . . . terrible on most nights. Apart from bad officiating, which both teams on the ice are subject to, there appears to be a lack of concentration and focus out there for all 60 minutes. Defenseman Nick Petrecki gets the bad rap of taking too many penalties, but many of them are reputation-based (I mean, how much of a joke was that major late in the game against Lowell?). However, Petrecki's problems this year are representative of many on the roster - lapses in focus, failure to keep the legs moving, and a delay in decision-making. The good news is that this problem can be remedied in a matter of one night. As for Petrecki, I think you are going to see a dominant end to the season for him.

A bigger problem is that there is a lack of scoring leadership, especially recently. Brock Bradford got off to a hot start, but has since tailed off, with no one else filling the gap or supporting him. There certainly are plenty of candidates on this team to explode offensively: Gibbons, Smith, Ferreiro, Hayes, Atkinson, and / or Whitney. For whatever reason, no one has caught fire. At this point in the season, only Bradford is in double-digits in goals scored. Yikes. One of the few true bright spots this season, senior power forward Kyle Kucharski, is second with 8 goals, and only 4 penalty minutes. I think this guy has a good shot to have a lengthy pro career . . . but in the midst of other forwards with bigger names and in strong Hockey East, Kyle being second in goal scoring isn't what you wanted to see when you broke this team down in October.

Pop quiz (and don't use Google) - who has more goals, Andrew Orpik or Ben Smith? The answer . . . neither, both have 3. More assists? Both have 9. Smith has played one more game. Orpik is another bright spot, as he's really brought the checking hammer out this season, even more so than last, but Ben Smith is a guy that the Eagles need to provide scoring leadership, and it hasn't happened. Is he injured? Or is he just going to have a hot finish? He's shown that he steps it up as springtime nears. Ben always does things subtly on the ice, so focus in on him the next time you see BC play to see how he's skating out there.

In goal, John Muse has been off and on, but we saw the same performance last season before he ratcheted it up several notches to help carry the team to a national title. I believe we'll see focus and lateral movement improvements in him during the coming weeks. Will we see him actually get a regular season game off? Don't count on it.

Some credit goes out to Matt Price, who never stops motoring, and recently Malcolm Lyles, who deserves to dress for all remaining games this season. As does Matt Lombardi, who displays his commitment to grinding every time he's out there. BC needs more of the same from these guys, along with more passion from other, in order to compensate for a loss that is greater than not having Nathan Gerbe on the team: not having the "glue guys" named Brennan, Bertam, and Greene.

I'm maybe the last remaining BC observer to believe this, but I still expect this team to pull it all together in LATE February, and grab yet another Frozen Four birth. I also predict that they will "see" several teams coming down as they are on the way up - i.e. BU and Notre Dame. Coach Jerry York has already shown every one several times that he owns a copyrighted "formula" to getting deep in the NCAAs every year. Until he puts a team out there that fails to stick to the plan, and who knows this could be the one, I won't doubt him or his teams.

2. The team lost to Northeastern earlier in the Fall. How much can you look to that game as an indicator of what will happen in the Beanpot Opener?

MW: I don't necessarily see the October 18, 2008 game as being too much of an accurate preview for the first round BC/NU Beanpot matchup. That game occurred what seems to be eons ago - BC was ranked No. 1 in the country and came into a red-hot intense environment at Matthews Arena. The game was a competitive 4-3 NU victory, earmarked by two shorthanded NU goals. It was BC's first loss of the season.

Right now we have BC at the bottom of it's season, struggling to get off the mat, while Northeastern is flying high as a new national power. NU is getting great scoring support from its two younger classes, and has already received an impressive 8 power play goals from senior leader Ryan Ginand. Thiessen in net has been solid, as usual (well, other than in his last game against UMASS). As I type this, BC would be left on the outside looking in for the NCAAs if the season ended today, while NU would be a strong No. 2 seed. However, we've seen this all before from both teams: NU has gotten off to good starts and dropped, and BC has certainly lagged in the middle of the season . . . repeatedly . . . only to emerge as a dominant force later. Let's take a look at who NU has beaten this season: BC, Alaska (also tied), PC (three times), Maine (three times), Bentley, Vermont (twice plus a loss), UNH (plus a tie and a loss), Lowell, Western Michigan, and Merrimack (twice). Not exactly an SEC football caliber hitlist.

Although I'm not too confident in BC just yet (way too early in the season for that), I think that NU is about to drop like a rock. BC takes this game in a close matchup, and starts to wake up. I don't see BC getting by BU in the championship game - I mean, come on, it's the Beanpot!

3. Many of York's teams have lost focus midseaon only to rally down the stretch. Do you expect another Frozen Four run and how important is the Beanpot in sparking a potential run?

MW: I think that I got ahead of myself in half-answering this question up in #1. As to the second half of the question, I don't usually put too much importance on the two non-conference regular season games known as The Beanpot, but for this struggling BC team, it is potentially huge. BC has a great opportunity to use this tournament as its own personal purgatory - face a top-performing NU team, and maybe also a dominant BU team, address the many team ills through adversity and pressure, and come out a much stronger team. If they fail in the Beanpot, or at least don't obtain a moral victory in a close loss, it won't be the end of BC's season, but it will definitely be a cause for greater concern. Coach York always acknowledges the Beanpot as a great litmus test to see if his teams are close to being ready for postseason tournament play. Well, let's see it . . . will the "sleeping giant" defending national champs be awakened?

Tranquill's old boss weighs in

Here is a Q&A with John Bunting that has been kicking around for a few days. In it Bunting heaps praise on our new offensive coordinator. He also speculates on how BC will deal with Tranquill's age when recruiting players.

"You had to be there"

The crowd looked great and sounded great and by all reports was great last night. Hopefully this win and this environment gets people on the bandwagon for the stretch run. We have some huge home games coming up and we need Conte crowded and loud.

Thanks to Chris for the pic.