Chip Kelly -- influencing BC football from 3,000 miles away

Outside of Lane Kiffin, no new coach is getting as much press as Oregon's Chip Kelly. Considered the latest college football offensive genius, Kelly is the next big thing. Lost among all the hoopla is that the only staff outside the Pac 10 with three of Kelly's former colleagues and proteges is Boston College. What does it mean when you have the pupils working under a different leader and coordinator. We will soon find out, but first let's look at the Kelly guys in Boston and what they bring to the table.

Ryan Day is the known commodity among BC fans. Just 30, he is considered the rising star. He reportedly turned down opportunities from Mississippi State, Florida, and the chance to join Jags in Tampa. Kelly even makes reference to Day joining him in Eugene if not for some timing and move issues. While at BC Day has been a very good position coach and a hard working recruiter. While nothing has ever been formally announced, it is rumored that he'll be the next offensive coordinator when Tranquill retires (for the third time).

Day gets all the pub, but Sean Devine has the resume closest to Kelly's. In fact, he took over the play calling duties at UNH when Kelly left for Oregon. While he never reached the offensive heights Kelly did in 2005, UNH was 17-8 in Devine's two seasons as OC and scored as often as most of Kelly's Wildcat offenses. Devine won't be calling plays, but he will be using the same blocking scheme as the Ducks. This is important as it provides continuity to Jack Bicknell Jr.'s (yet another former UNH assistant) teachings. Having spent the most time actually working with Kelly, you hope that Devine will share the same drive to learn about other offenses and relentlessly recruit. The BC OLine coaching job has been a great springboard in the past. Combine that with everyone looking for the next Chip Kelly and you have to consider this a great platform for Devine's career. If his veteran line plays well, he'll join Day as a hot coaching name.

The final branch of the Kelly tree in Boston is Mike Dawson. Dawson spent most of his time at UNH on the defensive side of the ball, so he had the fortune (or misfortune) of going against Kelly every day in practice. Those experiments, gadgets and new looks -- Mike Dawson saw them first. The UNH defenses were never dominant, but that might not be relevant for Dawson's new role as special teams coordinator. You'd hope Kelly's experimentation bug bit him and he brings fresh ideas and good excecution to a BC unit that he struggled under the past two staffs.

What does it all mean? BC has disciples of the hottest name in college football working under one of the most experienced Head Coach-Offensive Coordinator combos in DIA. These guys may all share Kelly's ambition and perspective, but a big reason for Kelly's success was the encouragement and freedom he received from Sean McDonnell and later Mike Bellotti. Will Spaz and Tranq do the same for their young turks? Ideally these guys will have the freedom and BC will succeed and eventually have a transition like Oregon's. How Spaz mentors and works with the UNH clique will probably be the biggest factor in the success of failure of his first two seasons. Let's hope he gives Bellotti a call.

Basketball Season Grades: Dallas Elmore and Evan Ravenel

Life as a player under Al Skinner is usually straight forward. You either play regularly or you don't. Skinner keeps a tight rotation and it only gets tighter as the games get more important. This year offered a variation from that model in the form of Dallas Elmore and Evan Ravenel. They played in 12 and 14 games respectively. Often when a young player gets benched like that in Skinner's world, their BC careers are over. They know future playing time is not coming so they transfer elsewhere. However, that doesn't seem to be the case with Elmore and Ravenel. Both didn't play for particular reasons and both have opportunities heading into next year.

Elmore only played 110 minutes. Most of it was against the weaker portion of the schedule, but when he played, he played well. He was productive enough and was a capable defender. He didn't convert many of his few 3 attempts (which was supposed to be a strength) but didn't seem lost or hopeless. He would have played more on a team that was less crowded on the wings. His PT was also hurt by the unexpected rebirth of Tyler Roche. If Elmore works on his handle and improves his outside shooting, he should see the floor more next season. Rice's departure means that minutes Jackson and Paris logged at the 2 spot will now shift to the point. Elmore will be behind Raji, Roche, and Sanders for minutes, but he can still be add a bit of size and a mid to long range touch that Raji doesn't have. If he needs a role model, he only needs to turn to Courtney Dunn. Dunn played even less than Elmore during his freshmen year, yet logged 368 minutes this season and saw action in 29 games.

The other player to get an incomplete was Evan Ravenel. He also looked promising in his debut stretch. In the second half of the season he didn't see the floor. The school will never provide an official reason for the DNPs, but the recurrent rumor was his bench time was related to struggles in the classroom. When he played he showed good defensive instincts. If he can become an efficient rebounder, BC would suddenly have more options on the front line.

With no impact player scheduled to arrive at the Heights next fall Elmore and Ravenel are all we have in the way of new blood and new looks. If they do the right things on and off the court there is no reason to think that they won't both be regular contributors next year. For now they get a pass on 2008-2009.

Season Grade: Incomplete

Final Four, Frozen Four, WNIT Semis!

The women won again! I am not trying to generate false enthusiasm. I am genuinely excited for the women's basketball team. Like the men's team they faced many questions heading into the season. New coach, still young team, etc. They didn't have the highs that Al's guys did, but they put together a nice season. There was disappointment about the NCAA snub. They could have packed it in. Instead they are playing good basketball and are headed to the Semifinals of the WNIT. Unlike the men's NIT, there's no trip to MSG. Instead they get another home game at Conte Wednesday against South Florida. Go out and support the women.

Eagle Insider continued their Q&A sessions with incoming freshman. This time we learn more about Mike Naples.

Here is another BC student blog. Good luck and welcome to the fray.

Tough day for baseball and other links

After shelling Clemson Friday, BC looked to win another ACC series on Saturday. However, the Tigers won both ends of the double header.

Francois continues to gain NFL interest.

I answered a few questions for ACC Sports about the end of the basketball season and Jags-Gene-Spaz.

Women keep trucking in WNIT and other links

The BC women beat St. John's yesterday to advance to the next round of the WNIT. They host Georgetown Sunday. If you haven't been to a women's game this year, go out and support the gals. They are the only ones still playing!

In football news, Steve Aponavicius is officially coming back and Harris has a new number.

College Football News started posting the first of their spring previews.

Nick Petrecki is passing on his final two years of eligibility and will turn pro. He's part of the Sharks organization.

Is anyone surprised that HD doesn't think BC will be in the top half of the division. This will be a running theme from most writers this spring.

USA Hockey added BC stars Kelli Stack and Molly Schaus to their roster.

Sorry Indiana or Kansas but when it comes to college hoops you are not as popular as BC! Clearly this wasn't a great poll or based on TV ratings or dollars spent. But I'll take it. (Thanks to BC Mike for the link.)

Holy Cross upsets the baseball team and other links

We don't play them in major sports, but Holy Cross still loves to play spoiler to our teams. The Crusaders took the baseball team down a notch yesterday. As a side note, we really need to add them back to the basketball schedule.

Speaking of schedules, the basketball team might get Villanova back on our slate. This makes sense in many ways and I am sure our Philly area fans would enjoy the short road trip.

His combine performance hurt his status, but Kevin Akins is still getting strong consideration from NFL teams.

Could Ryan being throwing to Purvis again? The Falcons took a look at one of Matty's favorite targets.

HD held a Q&A with Montel Harris. I'll have more thoughts on this later.

Tourney in Boston and other links

Boston, in large part because of BC's work as a host school, is holding an NCAA regional for the first time. It looks like it will be a big success financially.

The expectations will be a little different for the basketball team next year.

Nathan Gerbe is hoping to extend his strong season into the playoffs.

How cool would it be for Jamie Silva to show up at your school's career day? (Thanks to John for the link.)

Remember Tom Dienhart and his ongoing spin for TOB? He's back overstating TOB's accomplishments and diminishing the latest BC coach. What does a BC coach have to do to register with this guy? And how does TOB keep having losing seasons at NC State yet keep moving up these lists?

Women win and other links

BC beat BU to advance to the third round of the WNIT. Doesn't change what happened Friday night, but hey, we beat BU and won a basketball game. The Eagles take on St. John's next.

This blogger thinks that Al Skinner is the fourth best coach in the ACC. The only guys ahead of him have won national championships.

Catching up with new father Dan Koppen.

Stars, Skinner, and winning differently next season

This season validated many things around BC basketball. It showed that last year was a temporary setback due to rebuilding. It showed that BC could win in the ACC with a young team. And finally it showed that BC could win if Rice got more of his teammates involved. But as we all read in the run up to the tournament, opposing coaches and fans still felt Rice was the key to the team. Friday night USC stopped Rice and therefore stopped BC. But I don't think any of us believe it was that simple.

Rice is now gone and Skinner's squad will be very different next year. For the first time in a long time BC won't have a proven star returning. In fact next year will be the first time since 1999-2000 that BC will enter the basketball season without a player who has earned league honors. None of the super sophs, Roche or Jackson have been named to ACC rookie teams, defensive teams or all conference teams. The only player to get any sort of recognition is Joe Trapani, but that comes with a major asterisk since his America East All-Rookie Team honors had nothing to do with his BC career.

Stars have served Skinner well. Each year he took his scheme and adjusted it to the talents of his best players. He also let the under recruited, late bloomers lead the team emotionally and through example. Despite our occasional frustrations with how the team deferred to these different stars, the program worked. BC kept finding and installing great players and kept winning.

The current mix of players breaks that model. The six sophs (and even Reggie Jackson) are a different breed of BC recruits. They are not McDonald's All Americans, but all had solid offers from major conferences. None were as unheralded as Bell or Dudley. They also all came in together. Prior to that BC had small classes that saw usually just one star emerge. These guys have a bond that prior classes didn't. They also will share the load in ways previous teams did not.

I don't mean to limit any of the guys we have returning. I think more than one will get all league honors before their BC careers are over. You could argue that Sanders and Jackson were overlooked this year. But there is no one yet who has shown the consistency to be considered a star. Some of the clutch moments are a good foundation for stardom. You need a pile of game changing moments to be considered a star.

I actually think the team concept will take BC further than any of the previous Skinner years. Next year Al will have one of the most experienced, versatile and deepest teams in the ACC. Not dominant in any facet, but good enough in all. And most importantly, unless there is a late flyer or some one has a change of heart, BC will not be bringing in any significant recruit. Barring transfers and a little more Ravenal and Ellmore sprinkled in, what you see is what you get for BC basketball. Can they do it? I think so. In a way, I think they outgrew Rice this year. Friday's struggles were a learning tool and a transition. These guys now have the off season to bet better, work together and show that there is more to BC than just a star system.

Baseball brings a bright spot to the weekend and other links

It wasn't all bad news this weekend. The baseball team captured another ACC series, this time winning two out of three in College Park. Former BC pitcher Joe Martinez is hoping to make the Giants starting rotation.

The late push was not enough for the men's hockey team. They did not get an at-large invite to the NCAA, so Jerry York's current streak of Frozen Fours will come to an end. Like the basketball team's bounce back, I am pretty sure that

Tony Barnhart took an early look at next season's Atlantic Division.

Julian Benbow was a breath of fresh air to the Globe's basketball coverage this season. He filed a final report on Skinner's hopes for next year.

A day later

Still not ready for any real analysis, but wanted to weigh in quickly on the debate going on in the comment section of the previous post and on both message boards. Friday night was frustrating and the second half was not a good 20 minutes of basketball, but on a whole, this season was a huge success. We are ahead of schedule with our six sophomores. We hit a hot team and didn't fight back. That stinks, but overall there is a ton of encouraging things to take away from this past month and this season. I think Al is the perfect coach for BC and actually under appreciated. Is he perfect? No. But he is a great coach.

Everyone take breath. This will be a long offseason and we can breakdown all aspects of this team.

Done

We played our style in the first half. They played their style in the second. It didn't help that we spent long stretches in a daze. Thank you Tyrese Rice for four good years. I wish your era had a different ending. I'll have more on him, this season and the future in the coming weeks. More thoughtful game commentary this weekend and hopefully some good hockey news (the hockey game took a turn for the worse quickly).

In-game comments post: USC (NCAA Opening Round)

Last hurrah or the start of something big? We will find out shortly. Oh, and there is a pretty big hockey game too. Let's go 2-0 tonight!

I will not be online during the game. Leave your comments below.

Shaughnessy on the bandwagon (sort of) and other links

Shaughnessy filled this article with plenty of backhanded compliments. Despite the cheap shots, I think he is right -- BC is the only true big time program in Boston for football and hoops. I also think Dan's tone has softened since his son became an Eagle.

Craig Smith is still not over our last trip to the Metrodome.

A few more facts about the game.

We are not a top seed, but Baldwin is considered one of the power players in the tourney.

More on BC-BU from NESN.com. (Thanks to Nick P. for the link.)

I doubted at first, but now I believe that BJ could go top 5.

NCAA Tournament Game Watches

I didn't get many notes about Game Watches. Please be sure to send any additional events or post in the comments.


Minnesota PREGAME
The Restaurant Max (1st floor of Hotel Minneapolis)
215 4th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612. 340.0303
**Complimentary Valet Parking after 4:00pm
www.therestaurantmax.com

Atlanta Game Watch
Stats
300 Marietta St
Atlanta


Denver Game Watch
Wyman's No. 5.
2037 E. 13th Ave,
Denver, CO 80206
(303) 996-0842

New York City (unofficial) Game Watch
Hairy Monk
25th and 3rd Avenue

Philadelphia Game Watch
Field House
1150 Filbert St
Philadelphia, PA

Guest Hockey Blogger: Mook gets us ready for BC-BU

Mook's back and he's got some opinions on BC's huge weekend against BU. A good showing can get us off the NCAA bubble. Here are his answers to my questions.

1. BC has played well the past two weeks. What is the difference between now and their midseason swoon?

Mook Williams: Goaltending, skating, and offensive philosophy.

John Muse is smelling the postseason, and that raw scent turns him into a monster between the pipes. This guy plays for clutch games, and probably can't even fake it during the middle of the season. Everything about Muse looks better recently, from his positioning to his reflexes. Muse is sharp right now, and of course a sharp goaltender will make a world of difference for any hockey team.

BC is skating like they should be. There is a lot of power in those strides, and they are beating defenders at a much higher rate than during the midseason doldrums. THIS is what we have all come to expect from BC teams, year in and year out. Watching them move up and down the ice last week, oftentimes right past UNH defenders, was a thing of beauty.

And maybe going hand-in-hand with the boost to their skating comes an improved and more practical offensive philosophy. Guys are getting into the slot more, getting in front of the goalie, and not trying to make the fancy play. There appears to be less cycling and more aggressive lines taken straight to the net. Now cycling typically is a trademark of a good Jerry York team, but perhaps this year the coaching staff realized that it wouldn't work with this group of players, and have simplified things. I watched this team generate about seven odd-man rushes in the third period against UNH in Game 1 of that short series. Although they converted none of these rushes, the fact that they kept generating them, and kept focusing on getting to the slot and the net, was very impressive. I'm excited to see this brand of hockey against BU.

2. BC is 0-2-1 against BU this year and only scored 3 goals total in the games. Was there anything positive to take away from the earlier meetings?

MW: There wasn't anything positive, and I mean absolutely ZILCH, to take away from the third game. BU completely dominated BC in every way.

As for the 1-1 tie . . . that outcome could have been a lot worse for BC were it not for the play of John Muse, who had a fantastic game that night. He showed that night that if he's on, he can equalize all that impressive talent and size coming off the BU bench.

The 3-1 BU win on BC ice was capped off with a BU empty net goal, so the game was a lot tighter than some may assume. The game featured tight checking and conservative play, and lots of iron hits by BC. Shot totals were kept low, and the ultimate game winning goal was scored on a penalty shot by Chris Connolly. This game may be the best indicator of what we can expect on Friday night. BC needs to turn the hit posts and crossbars into goals if they want to win, as BU doesn't yield many great scoring opportunities.

3. What is the key to this weekend?

MW: John Muse is the most important player on the ice for BC. BU is so talented, that you KNOW that Muse is going to have to make some great stops to keep BC in the game. In front of Muse, BC's blueliners need to maintain the grit and physicality that they displayed against UNH. I saw a much edgier BC defense corps (Petrecki excluded, that man always lives on the edge out there) against UNH, with guys like Anthony Aiello liberally applying lumber to the Wildcats whenever they got near Muse. This nasty attitude needs to continue, provided that the BC Dmen keep everything between the waist and the shoulders.

And finally, keep the simplified offense going. Drive and cut to the net every chance you have, and get as many pucks on BU goale Kieran Millan as possible. Make him feel the pressure of being in the Hockey East tournament semifinals, a place where Muse has already thrived.

Getting on the board early is always important, but WOW will it do wonders for the Eagles on Friday night if they can get there. Getting the lead on BU will take BU out of its conversative defensive shell, which can often be tough to crack. BU normally gets away with this type of play because they have enough talent up front to get the job done without any gambling.

Something hardcore BC hockey fans are wishing for but will never receive: GET THE FORWARDS OFF THE POINT ON THE POWERPLAY. As a BC hockey observer, I just don't feel comfortable with those guys out there. It opens us up to dangerous shorthanded opportunities (UNH scored 2 shorties in Game 1 last week), and I do not think that the forwards on the point give BC that much more of an advantage then having defensemen play there. But, alas, this adjustment will never happen.

4. What is your prediction?

MW: BU wins 3-2 in OT and ends BC's season. But hey, BC may just be on another magic run right now, so this prediction is not made with much confidence. I think this game will make the Hockey East slogan "Great Hockey, Guaranteed" completely on point. Keep in mind that BC has its whole season to play for (it ends with a loss), but BU already has a #1 NCAA tournament seed locked up. With a BC win, they might be in the tournament even with a loss on Saturday night (although many other games will have to break in a certain way for this to happen). IF BC wins this game and the following one on Saturday night, you can book them for the Frozen Four in Washington DC. No one will be able to stop that kind of momentum. Drop the puck.

Obama picks BC in opener and other links

Even though his brother-in-law coaches out west, the President is down on the Pac 10. So much so that he has BC beating USC before losing to Michigan State in the second round.

New notes from Spring Practice: Albright and Tennant will both miss practices but should be okay for fall.

Biko Paris has an extra bit of motivation facing USC. The Trojans dropped him as a recruit once they had a chance to sign OJ Mayo.

Doug Flutie was a hit at a recent speech in North Carolina.

Guest Blogger: Conquest Chronicles

I imagine most casual fans can rattle off a few nuggets or quick scouting report of USC football. But what do any of us not on the West Coast know about USC basketball? To find out more about our upcoming opponent, I asked Laughing Stock from USC blog Conquest Chronicles a few questions about the Trojans. His answer are below.


1. Why did the Trojans struggle so much on the road? How much do you think the trip to Minneapolis will impact the team?

CC: For a little background, the Trojans didn't so much struggle on the road as they struggled to close on the road (which I guess might be te same thing, but just bear with me). Very winnable late game situations were blown against Oklahoma, Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, and Stanford. USC also gave up double digit leads in losses to Seton Hall and Missouri on Neutral courts. SC was very competitive in pretty much every game, except for the game at Pauley Pavilion, but for some reason they just could not maintain their composure in late game situations away from home. The only explanation I can come up with is that Tim Floyd simply lacked players who were willing to step up and carry the team through difficult situations. Daniel Hackett began to shoulder that load as the season went on, but it is only recently that Demar Derozan and Taj Gibson have shown a willingness to bite back in those pressure situation. Hopefully this means that the players have overcome those road woes, but we'll only really know how the trip affects them once they hit the courts.

2. The outside opinion seems to be that this year's team is very different from last year's Mayo-led version. Aside from not having Mayo, how is this team playing differently? Who has filled the void? Has the style of play changed?

CC: The team is really only different in so far as what left when Mayo declared for the draft early. Last year OJ was the go to scorer and primary outside shooter while also sharing ballhandling duties with Hackett. The outside shooting has diminished somewhat as Dwight Lewis can be somewhat mercurial to the say the least, but Derozan has a silky smooth jumper that seems to extend out to just inside the three point line. There were a lot of struggles early on with turnovers due to the lack of a secondary ball handler and the transfer of backup PG Angelo Johnson, but Hackett has improved as the season has gone on and the TOs have been reduced dramatically since the beginning of the season. Finally, while it is sometimes painful to have no true go to scorer, the Trojans are a very balanced team offensively and feature four players who score in double digits which make them a difficult team to defend.

3. What is the key to stopping the USC?

CC: The key to stopping USC is not so much in stopping them, but not allowing their D to stop your team. The Trojans rely heavily on their defense and are 17-5 when their opponents score less than 70 points. If BC is taken out of their offensive game plan and has to force shots then they won't win pure and simple. SC's bread and butter has been defense all season long, and the main goal out of the gates will be to stop the Eagle's top two or three scorers. To stop USC, Boston College will need another player outside of the regulars to step up and provide offense As Tyrese Rice will have a tough time carrying his team to victory on his own.


4. What is your prediction for the game?
CC: I predict a close SC win. I have always been a fan of guys like Ken Pomeroy, Jeff Sagarin, and John Gasaway, and all of them have USC as favorites over Boston College based on their various metrics for ranking college hoops teams. More importantly though, I think SC matches up very well size wise and has a ton of momentum heading into this game. USC could certainly come out flat and prove me wrong (trust me, they've done it before), but even Vegas picked the Trojans as the favorite to win.

Tim Floyd stuff and other links

Tim Floyd doesn't have the greatest reputation in college basketball. The man is known for doing what it takes to get recruits, whether it be signing their friends as a package deal or hiring family members. But we BC fans shouldn't cast the first stone as Preston Murphy had prior relationships with Southern and Sanders. He's been great as Director of Ops and is seen as a rising coaching talent, but having an in with Al and two highly touted recruits didn't hurt his chances for getting the job three years ago.

Floyd thinks the game will be physical. All this physical talk is funny to me. First, I don't think we are nearly as physical as we were a few years ago. I also don't think we have ever been as physical as some of the old Big East teams or Bob Huggins teams or even the Washington State teams that USC faces annually. But let the Trojans think that. It can't hurt.

Vega is moonlighting back on the BC beat and had a nice article on Sanders. Rhode Islanders are paying close attention to Sanders' first shot at the big stage.

Spaz confirmed my prediction from yesterday -- he is unlikely to name a starter until summer.

BJ is in Detroit today meeting with the Lions. I hope he goes No. 1 overall, but I don't think Detroit is going to take a risk like that after what they've been through the past decade.

Finally this is one last image from the ACC Tournament. Matt really is a good sport.

Mega game watch potential

Attention regional BC Club folks: please be sure to send me your info for Friday night. And if you are trying to drum up interest from a sports bar or from your local BC fans, remind them that they can watch the hockey and basketball games at most bars.

Image courtesy of BC Mike.