The Basketball team played George Washington Sunday in a private scrimmage. As often happens with these things, results and comments got out. Everyone says that GW won handily. They were up by 30 at one point and according to this George Washington message board, subbed in their bench late and still won by 20. This is to be somewhat expected. BC is a very young team that hasn't played together. And each coach has different goals for these sorts of scrimmages.
There was some good news. People who saw and who talked to the staff, said our team looks talented. There isn't a question if it is ACC-level talent. They clearly need to add weight and get used to each other, but these kids will grow together.
The other good news is that all agreed Jerome Robinson was the best player in the gym (GW's squad included). Robinson was a late bloomer in a competitive high school area, so it should be no surprise that he keeps getting better. Is he good enough to carry BC from Day 1? Probably not, but he's one of the guys who will hopefully be an All-ACC Freshman.
More news will leak out as the season approaches. For now, I think we just have to be patient and hope the talent blossoms early.
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an uninspiring preview of what is to come from the hoops squad
yeesch, a big success would be to reach .500 in ACC play.
For the last 5 seasons, BC has not had a winning ACC record.
Note to Brad Bates: Why must we have such pathetically low expectations for BC's major sports? Fix it or leave.
Did anyone else just get the "test drive" email from BC offering free tickets for the basketball opening game? Not a bad idea to get some butts in the seats, but it's sad that the program has deteriorated to the point that they have to beg people to come... for free... on opening day.
That's great news on Robinson, and certainly consistent with other leaking news/notes on him and he'll obviously start at The 2. AJ Turner's talent is also pretty universally praised, although he may not be as ready for prime time as Robinson right now (hear he needs 20 Lbs) but at least we know there will be Experience AND Talent at PG and then two extremely talented freshman wings. Owens as a starter at The 4 is intriguing. He needs to play lock down defense and rebound and only score on put backs and really that's it. With his athleticism, I believe he can do that quite well and the fact is he simply doesn't need to be relied on for offense. For what they want him to do, he could be effective. His minutes at The 4 also adds depth to the position where they will need it at The 5, since Idy can b/u Clifford and protect against foul trouble at Center. I'd expect we don't see the Twin Towers (Clifford & Diallo) together on the court for more than about 10 minutes a game and if that happens it means Owens can handle The 4 and the plan is working. Hearing Clifford is as healthy as Freshman year. The fact is they will have very little depth (Idy, and some not ready for prime time frosh) and be incredibly inconsistent. Seems like Christian will need to keep a Defense First mindset with this team. As athletic as the starting 5 is, that part of the game should come first. Hearing Barnes-Thompkins' Defense is also ready at this stage so he will get minutes. Milon and Reyes may see minutes but in an ideal world, they wouldn't be counted on as freshmen.
I looks as though the team is at the very beginning of being on the right path.
I wish them the best and hope the frosh can adjust to the big- time grind. That's what it is - a grind, and a big change for a young freshman.
Let's hope ours adjust rapidly.
Bando 87
Owens is too small to guard ACC 4s, but was the same story last year w/ Heckman. The major powers had a field day w/ put backs against us last year, I guess we'll see more of the same this year. I hope some day we actually have a team that can match up properly.
I hear you that he'll be guarding players taller than he is. I heard he bulked up, added 15 lbs, and he's always had the athleticism, vertical leap, etc. He's also been practicing exclusively at the 4 for a while and working on his game to play that spot. I guess we'll have to see how it works out but just because he's 6'5" doesn't necessarily mean he can't do it. I was at BC when 6'5" Roger McCready was playing Center (against Ewing, Pinkney, and Wennington) and that was a mismatch beyond compare. This one may actually work but it is surely wait and see for sure...not a slam dunk I know.
Popovic just committed. Can we still add Tshmanga?
Thanks for the update Bando
agreed, thanks for the update BANDO.
ugh, hard to get excited for this squad.
freshmen who could contribute (in order of most likely to least likely): Robinson, AJ Turner, Diallo, SB-T, Milon, Meznieks, JC Reyes
the committed HS seniors i know nothing about other than AJ Graves, who apparently is pretty damn good. hopefully Sagay and Popovic are good pickups as well.
this is a strange time, basically a repeat of Donahue when we had 7-8 underclassmen. hopefully these dudes are better. as we saw with Donahue, just one NBA caliber guy (Hanlan) and nothing else is not enough, we need to get 6-7 ACC caliber players to have a shot.
the 16-17 team will likely be:
PG: Robinson (SO), Graves (FR)
SG: SB-T (SO), Milon (SO), Sagay (FR)
SF: AJ Turner (SO), Meznieks (SO)
PF: Owens (SR), Popovic (FR)
C: Diallo (RS-SO), JC Reyes (SO)
at the very least, we SHOULD finally have the requisite ACC size, length and athleticism.
come on JC! turn this program around
If you want to see a very good BC team, go to a men's or women's ice hockey game.
El MIZ
I'm w/ u, size matters
El Miz...Bold prediction here, but our 16/17 Starting PF will be Sagay.
Bando - is Sagay starting at the 4 a good thing or a bad thing? he looks like an athletic guy but only 6'6. since you seem to have the inside scoop, any word on any of the other folks? is Reyes a project? what can we expect from Meznieks? are you hearing what I'm hearing about Ty Graves (i got his name wrong before, shows you what i know) being a legit top 100 recruit?
Definitely no inside scoop, just reading as much as is out there...
Sagay is already 6'8" and, perhaps still growing. Everything people are saying about Robinson now (best player on the floor), they may be saying about Sagay in 12 months and Robinson will be on the floor then too. :)
Reyes is a project in the sense that he's 18 and doesn't have an ACC (upper) body yet, but hopefully fills out. He could be pressed into minutes this year. Not really sure what to expect from Meznieks so looking forward to the eyeball test for him and most of these guys. Have heard Graves is a legit Top 150 and still improving. Cheers.
Was hoping Diallo at 6-11 would make a big difference but I read he has limited offensive skills. Have to start focusing on recruiting people who can consistently make easy shots under the basket. The last couple years we blew so many open shots within three feet it was pathetic. The thing I remember most about Abrams and Smith - they were automatic on open layups and taking advantage of defensive lapses and any dumb luck that came their way.
Nappy
Those guys were gems. We still could use a big body even if somewhat limited offensively. Think Agbai, or the ultimate Sean Williams
It's at least promising if the young crew we have can show potential. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I could enjoy a losing season if these guys grow and give real hope for being a heck of a good team in three or four years, as long as they can steal a few in the ACC this year. I'm thinking back to when Skinner took over the roster of nothing after Jimmy O'Brien left for Ohio State - those were three pretty down years before Al built a hell of a program (though nothing I have seen says this guy is close to the coach Skinner is).
Blist
Yes, we want o see if these guys show the competitive toughness we saw out of Troy and the others his freshman year. They lost allot of games but had the attitude. They came out on fire the next year. You'd have to look far and wide to find a coach in Skinner's class, what a tragedy. Go Kenesaw ST.!
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