Slam is not nearly as optimistic about our upcoming season.
The men's soccer team is one of the hottest in the country.
The ACC named Victoria DiMartino Freshman of the Year award in soccer.
ESPNBoston profiled Luke Kuechly.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Andy Katz gets us ready for hoops and other links
Andy Katz is back with a profile of the basketball team. As usual Katz gets candid quotes from the staff and takes a very positive outlook on the team. Clearly no one around BC is concerned about the depth or lack of new recruits. Katz sees BC as a tournament team but doubts we will challenge for a title. I don't think we win a National Championship this season, but I do think we can make a run in the ACC Tourney.
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21 comments:
Please keep these "Midwestern kids" coming. Wow!
Thanks Luke for playing such a huge part in making sure our season is successful - when all the wise-guy experts picked us to wipe up the rear.
A truly refreshing article about a BC kid who has every dimension of college scholar athlete in perfect pitch. We're lucky at BC to have young men like Luke Keuchly who chose to be Eagles, get the picture and understand what the Heights is about.
Makes us proud--imagine the possibilities.
Yeah, that slam article is ridiculous. They do a breakdown of the team and point out where the "bright spots" could be, including detailed analysis of a number of players, talk about Rice, past BC players to go to the NBA, but somehow, in a season preview, manage to not once mention Rakim Sanders, arguably the best player on the team.
i almost wish that atleagle had't posted the slam article. completely ridiculous. any preview that spends the first third talking about someone who is no longer even in the program has to be considered non-credible from the outset.
i'm optimistic about our chances this year...i think experience is often overlooked during the preseason only to become very apparent in february and march, if not sooner
When I see so much left intact in a college program, it screams to me "March Madness Run." This will be the most interesting test of Skinner's career at BC. If he pulls off an NCAA bid and deep run with 10 guys on scholarship, he will be hailed as a genius on a whole different plane than in the Nat'l-Coach-of-the-Year season (2000-1) or the 20-0 start season (2004-5). It's just unfathomable to many of the "experts," insiders, and diehard fans that a guy could succeed in the NCAA, especially in the ACC, with only 10 guys on scholie. But going against the grain is how he's rolled all along, and it just keeps working.
Skinner's remarkably underappreciated, and as far as I can tell it's because he's never made that big tournament splash. But as a guy who went to school during the tenure of Jim O'Brien (a guy who DID make a tournament splash), I wouldn't trade Al for Obie in a million billion years. I love what Al's done for the basketball program and the school. I know going in to every season that we'll probably win 20 or more, will be in the thick of things for March Madness, and ultimately can hang with anyone in the country.
One more thing: anyone notice that the team still has only one senior on it? And that it's the role player Roche? If they contend but fall just short this year, next year's team will be the most hyped in recent history, and justifiably so.
The thing about having so few guys in the program that worries me is that an injury or two could utterly demolish this team's fortunes. Pretty small margin for error we've got. Here's hoping for health.
On top of that, Darius, Al can - right now - sign as many as four scholarship players for next fall. He already has two commits (PG Heslip and F Noreen), but should add at least one more. So not only will next year's team be experienced, but it will be that much deeper.
Luke Skybacker! The force is with him!
Andy Katz...what a real sportswriter looks like. ESPN take note. If only their football coverage was as good.
Last year's tourney bid was warm-up for the next two years...we said it at the time...that's why it was critical to get the bid, even if we lost. We needed to get the sophs the experience with the season on the line.
Pretty interesting quotes from Paris and Jackson about the team without Rice. Kind of mirrors what many of us have been saying in the wake of his departure. Team ball.
Eight guys to a rotation is all you need in a 40 min game.
Going with O'Brien probably would've landed us on probation at some point. We win.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...BC basketball can and should shoot for a nat'l championship w/o the restrictions the football team seems to be constrained by.
Of course, we'll be having the attendance discussion again when Conte is half full for a Thursday night conference game, just as we did last year.
It's the economy. Right.
Anyway, these next two years can be HUGE building blocks for BC's future in basketball. While I'm not a fan of the "bowling for baskets" that seems to define our style a bit too much, I am much more optimistic about the long-term health of the bball program than I am the football program.
That could change if we haven't learned how to inbound the ball in the last 8 months. Or attack a press.
Good Andy Katz. Good.
CT is right. This year is huge to provide experience and see who can take their game to the next level. The '10-'11 season will be a even bigger, Final Four potential season. Basketball is fine long term since Al's got a good model in place, will stay until his girls graduate and then probably hand off to one of his past assistants like Coen, Cooley or Duquette.
Agree with CT on Katz-- he doesn't just recycle the "conventional wisdom" that finds a way to perpetuate itself in other sources. He gets the story himself and forms his own opinions. I always learn something about BC basketball when I read his articles about the team, which is very impressive from a national writer. If only our local guys coudld do the same.
That's the real comparison that needs to be made. Katz is tremendous....and makes the Globe look pathetic (again). The Globe's college coverage is not even worth evaluating.
Scout just reported on ESPN that the Eagles have landed Wing recruit Papa Samba Ndao. Add this to Brady Heislip and Kevin Noreen and we have a pretty good class for 2010.
Here's ESPN's take:
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=103&page=briefingroom&season=2010
Now we just need the pep band to learn to play Dave Matthews Band's "Pantala Naga Pampa" for every time he heads to the free throw line.
To-may-to To-mah-to
i am elated we landed Papa Samba Ndao. The name alone is worth a scholarship. I can see this guy being a fan favorite.
Wish I could get into basketball. Bores me.
aside from the interesting name, what's so great about this guy?
Seems like we beat out only TCU and SMU -- 2 not-so-good hoop schools -- for this lad. No one else from ACC, BE, B-10, etc was even interested.
well at least we can enjoy the name...
ESPN recruiting thought highly of the kid, for what that's worth.
@ mod34b: I have no idea about this kid, but it's worth noting that no one else from any of those major conferences were interested in Smith, Dudley, Rice, Bell, etc. Al has earned the benefit of the doubt from me when it comes to recruiting.
"Seems like we beat out only TCU and SMU"
He's a Somalian kid who I'm guessing has religion pretty high up on his list...seeing how JC is really the only thing these three schools have in common.
All reports are that the kid is a nice looking prospect who needs to be developed a little bit...which is right in Al's wheelhouse.
It’s not difficult to figure out which basketball preview is more accurate and informed when one writer attended practice, had conversations with all the players and coaches, and includes candid quotes. Meanwhile, the other preview spends jokes about the New England weather, doesn’t mention Rakim Sanders, and came nowhere close to observing practice or conducting interviews.
What is Totten talking about when he calls the PG situation a “platoon?” Biko is the starting point guard; Reggie will relieve him. How is that different than every other team throughout the country? Obviously he didn’t watch Biko play point guard with regularity (and success) down the stretch last year. Where does he rank UNC? They have NOBODY on the team with significant PG experience. I guess they should be below BC.
The thing that does worry me is injuries. Yeah, you only need an 8-man rotation, but if one guy gets hurt, how will the team compete?
I agree that the future holds great potential, but this is not a building-block year. This team has experience and could be on a serious roll by March. I will be disappointed if they don’t make it to the second weekend of the tournament.
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