Basketball Season Grades: Corey Raji

I didn't know what to factor into Corey Raji's grade. He showed guts and toughness by playing with a bad groin for the heart of the schedule. Yet he clearly frustrated fans and didn't progress as much as I would have hoped. At the end of the day it comes back to expectations and Raji didn't meet them.

The good news about Raji is that what he did well, he did very well. He's an instinctive rebounder who led the team in offensive [Corrected. Thanks, conlonc] boards. Having a guy who can keep those possessions alive is the key to Skinner's offensive system. Raji was good on the glass last year and only got better this year. In addition to being in the right place at the right time, he's also shown he can grab a ball in traffic and fight for those tough rebounds. Raji excelled in transition. He runs the floor well and is a good finisher on the break.

Raji's weaknesses were pretty evident -- he had 0 touch around the basket. He failed to convert on numerous opportunities close to the hoop. I have no idea what happened. Last year he had a very good shooting percentage by filling the stat sheet with putbacks and bunnies. Now it is like he is trying to get a ball through one of those small hoops you'd see at a carnival. Raji also struggled at times defensively. Big men got some easy baskets on him. Last year we often gave him a tough defensive assignment on wing players. This year other eagles got the call.

Raji has a great career ahead of him. Anyone who can rebound like that has huge value to any team. Maybe with the expectations a little lower next year, he'll step up his game.

Season Grade: B-

Slow news day

Not much going on BC wise today. Later tonight I'll have the latest basketball grades and upcoming this week there will be more on the Best and Worst of Spaz.

Austin Giles remains confident the DLine will deliver even without Brace and Raji.

Joe Lunardi thinks we will be a bubble team next year. The BCI guys are all over this. I think we are a lock to make the tourney and think we can potentially challenge for the conference title.

Rice impressing in Portsmouth and other links

Tyrese Rice helped his draft status by impressing scouts at one of the NBA's preDraft camps in Portsmouth. He is now considered a "riser."

The Browns invited Ron Brace to Cleveland for an interview/workout. They are considering him for one of their mid round picks.

Cathy Inglese got a new job. She is now the head coach at URI. Best of luck to her there.

Bruce Feldman ranks Herzy as one of those great players who will never win a Heisman.

More GDF: Gene gets an extension

BC announced a signed extension for Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo. The press release is below and my thoughts are after.

BOSTON COLLEGE EXTENDS CONTRACT OF ATHLETICS DIRECTOR GENE DeFILIPPO

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass (4-13-09)-- Boston College has extended the contract of Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo through May 2014, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, announced today.

In announcing the extension, Leahy praised DeFilippo for his success in enhancing Boston College Athletics as one of the most successful and respected athletics programs in the nation.

"Gene DeFilippo has provided tremendous leadership and vision to Boston College ’s athletics program, and he is also a great ambassador for our University,” said Fr. Leahy. "I am pleased that he will be with us for at least another five years."

Since arriving at Boston College in 1997, DeFilippo has been credited with strengthening the BC athletics program in a number of areas, including academic support, facilities and fund raising. During his tenure, Boston College student-athletes have consistently earned among the nation's highest graduation rates, resulting in the coveted Athletic Director’s Award for Academic Excellence during the 2007-2008 academic year. In addition, DeFilippo has spearheaded renovations to Conte Forum and Shea Field, added a new field hockey and a lacrosse/soccer field on the Newton Campus, and new field turf and an air-supported structure over Alumni Stadium that provides an indoor winter practice facility for all sports.

DeFilippo was also instrumental in the successful completion of the privately funded 72,000 square-foot Yawkey Athletics Center , which houses the football program and Learning Resources for Student Athletes, and provided critically needed space in Conte Forum for women’s athletics and Olympic sports.

Through his efforts, donations in support of BC athletics have grown steadily, with alumni, parents and friends contributing a record $21 million in 2008, a 10 percent increase over the previous year and a 200 percent increase from 2003.

Furthermore, DeFilippo oversaw the successful transition to full membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference, thereby enhancing the University’s visibility on the national stage and helping to significantly increase athletic revenue in support of BC’s 31 varsity sports.

“I am extremely fortunate in that the only job I want is the one I have here at Boston College ,” said DeFilippo. "I look forward to working with Fr. Leahy and the University community, our student-athletes and staff towards our goal of making BC Athletics the best it can be.”

Prior to coming to Boston College , DeFilippo served as director of athletics at Villanova University from 1993-1997 and has worked in athletics administration at the University of Kentucky , the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg , and Vanderbilt University . He also coached football at Vanderbilt, Youngstown State University and Tennessee .

A 1973 graduate of Springfield College with a bachelor of science degree, DeFilippo earned a master's degree in educational administration from the University of Tennessee in 1974.

DeFilippo and his wife, Anne, are the parents of three children: Christine, John and Mary.

During the Jags firing I found myself at the center of a lot of BC speculation, gossip and positioning. While it was clear Gene had Father Leahy's ear and support, he is not universally loved and supported. There are many serious donors who have been turned off by him and who felt he mishandled the Jags firing and subsequent search. Some friends of Gene also wondered if the whole saga hadn't taken a lot out of him and if he would hang it up before his contract ran out. This extension brings more clarity to all the speculation. Gene obviously still has enough support around BC to get this extension. And he seems like he wants to hang around BC for a few more years.

Personally I think the extension was premature. Gene is currently under contract until 2011. Was he going anywhere? Did we need to give him more money given the current ticket sales and donation challenges? Also, what happens if the Spaz decision proves to be a poor one? Gene will get much of the blame for that. If things don't go well that means we could be buying out a football coach and AD.

At the end of the day I think Gene has been a good AD. But this premature extension speaks to some of the same issues that have surrounded his tenure: he has too much power and is unchecked in his decisions too often.

Regardless of the money, politics or personality, this now means Gene will probably hire our next football coach, basketball coach and hockey coach. Let's hope he gets wise with age and leaves us in good hands.

Basketball Season Grades: Biko Paris

In football the most popular guy is the backup quarterback. In basketball the backup point guard doesn't usually generate much excitement or longing. Yet this year you'd hear plenty of people wanting to see more of Biko Paris. The thought was the team was better with him at 1 and Rice at the 2 spot. While we will never know if Paris would have made more of a difference, we do know that Paris was very productive in his role this year.

Even though he is the closest thing we had to a point guard, Paris wasn't just a distributor. In the final weeks and in the ACC tourney he proved he could make big outside shots. Paris is also careful with the ball. His assist to turnover ratio was the best on the team.

While I think he'll play well in his expanded role next season, Paris still has room for improvement. He struggles a bit in the press. He doesn't take risks defensively but isn't particularly strong or able to just down top guards. We have no idea if he will sustain the same level of productivity if he starts logging 30+ minutes.

This is a glowing review for a guy who was only seventh in minutes played. He wasn't a game changer, but his steady hand and solid production was just what this team needed and will be a good foundation for next season.

Season Grade: B

Baseball keeps bringing it and other links

Easter weekend means slow news around BC. Fortunately we have baseball and BJ Raji.

Baseball blasted Wake in the first game of a double header and then won the series by winning the second game. BC is now 9-6 in the ACC.

BJ Raji won't be at the NFL Draft. Smart move from his agents. If he went to the draft and slid even just one slot out of the top 10, BJ would be the focus of tons of negative publicity.

SI tried to spin their unofficial retraction on the Raji story.

BJ was one of the players featured in the NFL.com's draft capsules.

Martinez update and other links

Former BC pitcher Joe Martinez took a line drive to the head (video is not for the faint of heart) in the Giants game Thursday. All the latest reports indicate he will be okay.

Nathan Gerbe won the AHL's rookie of the year award. Another Eagle Cory Schneider won the 2009 Bastien Memorial Award. It is given to the AHL's outstanding goalie of the year.

In this mailbag Jamie Newberg thinks BC's recruiting will be better under Spaz. I am not concerned either way and think the "new coach = better recruiting" is another crutch of the recruiting sites (although I like Newberg a lot).

Andy Katz -- who is easily the most plugged in national writer when it comes to BC hoops -- is very optimistic about next year's team. If Katz is saying and thinking good things than that means the staff is confident too.

UNC's National Championship win increased BC's ACC related revenue.

SI buries Raji story and other links

SI, which first reported the Raji drug test story, has now removed it from their web site. No explanation or formal retraction was given. (Legal issues perhaps?) This saga is beyond strange. Who know what twist it will take next?

BCeagles.com posted a Q&A with Lars Anderson.

Baseball beat URI to improve to 20-11.

Basketball Season Grades: Tyler Roche

In an earlier Basketball Grades post, I referenced the rebirth of Tyler Roche. A few folks scoffed. I think I was on the mark. How else would you describe a guy who was ignored for the first few weeks by the coaching staff, written off by most BC fans and then became a solid contributor?

With the youth movement and Trapani's transfer complete, Roche was sitting on the end of the bench early in the season. As he would later tell the media, the former starter felt frustrated. He knew he could contribute. But I am sure the staff had many of the same old fears regarding Roche: can't make the shots in game and is limited defensively.

Eventually he got on the floor and stepped up. He started knocking down his 3s. He didn't shut anyone down, but became a serviceable and fundamentally sound defender. Although not as tall or as versatile as Trapani, Roche served as a good sub when Trapani needed a rest.

Now just because he improved doesn't mean he doesn't have flaws. He made some curious decisions inbounding and doesn't have a great handle.

Roche will never be an all conference player. But the grade is in part based on expectations. He exceeded them this season.

Season Grade: B

Baseball Beanpot, latest on Raji and other links

No luck with anything Beanpot related for BC. The baseball team lost to struggling UMass in the opener of the Beanpot. They allowed the Minutemen to score three runs in the final two innings. BC plays Harvard in the consolation game next week.

The Raji parents have now come to B.J.'s defense on the drug test issue. In the Globe Reiss tries to get to the bottom of it all. The confusing part for me is that Raji's agents are now on the offensive saying they haven't heard from the NFL and using the NFL's silence as confirmation that test story was bogus. Yet I've read in a couple of places that the NFL doesn't release the test info to teams until April 20. So they are going around claiming innocence and there is a chance that they could still be burned by an NFL report. I think it is best that they all just take a wait and see and B.J. focuses on his team interviews.

Herzy is on the Lott Trophy watch list.

Softball beat Providence twice on Tuesday.

We have a winner

Congrats to "Matt Ryan's Hair" for winning the Eagle In Atlanta NCAA Tourney pool. He correctly picked 47 of 63 games and beat out 188 other blog readers. Drop me a line so that you can claim your prize.

Raji claims innocence via Facebook

Initially Raji's new agents protested the SI story and said he was innocent. BJ, who did not issue any public statement, updated his Facebook status Monday with this "Correction not guilty...Break that news."

He still is not issuing any formal denial or rebuttal, but it is implied from the Facebook post that he is innocent and has been cleared in some capacity. Yet as of Monday night there were no new stories related to the case or any leaks on the blogs or message boards. The only news was another press release from his agents still claiming he is innocent. Regardless of what Raji says in the coming weeks the story probably won't go away nor impact his draft status much.

(Thanks to Brad for the tip.)

Play football with Matt Ryan

Matt is having a football camp here in Atlanta. Although I can think of a dozen our so alums who would gladly play catch with him for a few hours, this is only open to kids 7-14. Matt is also providing a discount for the children of BC alums (see details below).




I am glad to see Matt doing this sort of thing. After he is done with these kids, do you think he'd hold a session for Davis, Tuggle and Boek?

Basketball Season Grades: Reggie Jackson

If you look at Reggie Jackson's stat line for the year, you wouldn't come away thinking he was a difference maker. Yet he was vital and did everything well without his weaknesses being exploited.

Any discussion of Jackson has to center on the Duke and North Carolina games. In both he stepped up and was unafraid to have the ball in his hands late in the game. That poise -- against college basketball heavyweights -- is an encouraging sign of things to come.

I also think Jackson's energy and defense were critical. The wiry guard mixed it up close to the basket for 14 blocked shots. Jackson also pushed the tempo off of turnovers. In a program that requires a lot of self motivation, Jackson provided a much needed spark.

If you are going to fault him for anything, it was his outside shooting and occasionally getting lost on defensive switches. But as I mentioned earlier, even those problems never cost us a game.

Jackson outperformed expectations and looks to be a key for the next three years. Next season he'll have to step up his game to fill some of the void left by Rice, but grading him on what he did this year, I give him high marks.

Season Grade: A-

Scrimmage stuff and other links

BC held its first scrimmage of the spring. New coach, new staff, same storyline. The defense dominated. Dominique Davis struggled. From the few fans that attended, they said BC used mostly no huddle and many of the snaps had the QB under center. I wouldn't read too much into any of this. We have a long way to go until the opener.

CT linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis -- who originally committed under Jags -- is back in the fold.

Rice is now on the preDraft circuit and picked up Most Outstanding Player honors in a Detroit All Star game.

Although we only have three active QBs in the NFL, that is more than most schools. (Thanks to Miinn for the link.)

Win some, lose some: both baseball and softball split doubleheaders Saturday.

Roster updates and other links

BC released the latest football roster. Bios for all the new coaches are included. On the player front the news is really only in the omissions and new positions. John Elliot and Chris Hayden-Martin are off due to injury (and likely done as football players). No word on what happened to Jerry Kelly. The attrition rate is a reminder of why I don't like the practice of banking scholarships.

McGovern spoke with HD. He repeats what we know: it's Herzy and the youngsters.

The baseball game against NC State was postponed. There will be a double header Saturday.

The BCI guys posted this already but for those who missed it, Cablevision will be adding ESPN U on more of their systems. I get the U through DirecTV now and although the broadcasts have a low rent feel, it is nice to have all the games on the big screen.

Reefer madness: Raji adds twist to his draft day story

Every Draft Guru and ESPN talking head owes BJ Raji a big thank you. His stupid mistake just provided a second act to his draft story and fodder for the endless on-air debates that surround the NFL Draft. He's gone from this year's Mamula to this year's Warren Sapp.

After the season ended Raji was considered a late first rounder. Then he dominated the Senior Bowl practices. Buzz built. Then they actually played the Senior Bowl and looked even better. The media and NFL started taking notice. Raji followed this performance with a very good combine and Pro Day. Detroit even floated taking him first overall. This skyrocketing reminded many BC fans of Mamula's assent.

Now word leaked that he failed a drug test prior to his combine. This will only remind people of BJ's past issues. Do you spend a first round pick on a guy who hasn't shown consistent effort? Do you give millions to a guy who battles his weight? Do you build your defense around a guy who had problems in the classroom? Do you want to deal with the headache of having your new star deal with the drug question in every interview for the next 12 months? Do you want to take a guy who was too dumb, or oblivious, or undisciplined to avoid pot for a few weeks prior to a scheduled drug test? All these types of questions surrounded Warren Sapp in 1995 (ironically the same draft as Mamula).

In the end I think Raji will have a draft day similar to Sapp's. He'll slide a little further than he would have prior to the leak. He'll be embarrassed and over analyzed. And he will be a steal for whatever team gets him. He'll make good money but not as much as he would have a month ago. If he becomes a good pro no one will care. If he is a bust, everyone will say "I told you so."

Some regulars may wonder why I chose to focus on the media angle instead of BJ's boneheadedness. Partially because I don't think it will matter and partially because I am resigned to guys doing stupid things. They're human and just because you are a good football player doesn't mean you are a good decision maker. BJ's did a stupid thing and nothing I say can change that or bring a fresh take. My only hope is he changes his behavior and learns. But given his track record I think he'll remain talented and reckless.

Mock drafting BJ and other links

It is Mock Draft season where you see the endless possibilities of who will land where. This version has the Packers taking Raji 9th overall.

The BC Crew team had a strong weekend. The Varsity team went undefeated against New England Rowing Conference rivals New Hampshire and Rhode Island. (Thanks to John for the link.)

This may not seem like a big deal, but the men's tennis team is ranked for the first time in school history. Congrats to the guys.

Another big day for Tony Sanchez as the baseball team beat UConn. They take on NC State at home this weekend. Not sure what the weather will be like, but come out and support what looks to be one of the best BC baseball teams in some time.

The softball team won both ends of a double-header against Holy Cross Wednesday.

Joe Martinez won the Giants Spring Training award. Let's hope it is a sign that he's going to have a big season. (Thanks to Michael for the link.)

End of the line for BC women hoops

The women's run through the WNIT ended tonight against USF. The game got away from them in the second half and they could never claw back in. It would have been nice to win something this spring. Regardless, the postseason experience will hopefully serve a a foundation for next season.

Critiquing Dinich and other links

(Sorry for the long break between Monday and Tuesday's posts. Every once in a while real life interferes with blogging. I'll try to get back to a more consistent schedule in the coming weeks.)

My connection with Heather Dinich has been sort of an inside joke among the blog crowd and on the BC message boards. But the reality is her work frustrates me to no end. Take her article on the BC qb battle. This simple piece represents the problem with ESPN's conference blogger concept. She offers no new information to the die hard BC fans and it's probably a little too long to engage a fan of another ACC program. I understand the limitations and time constraints of blogging. I know Dinich works hard. I just wish she would try to take new looks on old topics or at least get better quotes. She has great access, yet doesn't have Spaz (or Tranq) saying anything new about any of the QBs. It is a missed opportunity. I have plenty of missed opportunities on this blog, but this is a hobby and an outlet for me. She gets paid to blog. Hopefully I will have a Q&A with HD in the future and she can better explain ESPN's direction with these blogs.

The baseball team pounded Northeastern Tuesday.

Here is more on Petrecki's signing with San Jose.