Bowman's departure confirms Christian's lame duck status

After BC's season fizzled out, some speculated that Ky Bowman might return in an effort to improve his standing among NBA scouts. Obviously he felt that leaving now made the most sense. While some disagree with me, I think Bowman's departure seals Jim Christian's fate at BC.

The only good news for Christian is that BC's little depth is on the perimeter. Some combination of Tabbs and the incoming freshmen will be able to backfill Bowman's minutes and some of his productivity. What is unknown and in my opinion unlikely, is that any will command enough attention to change what the other team does. Bowman had some off nights, but every time he had the ball, he shifted what the other team would and could do defensively. That opened things up for others and when needed, Bowman could just keep the ball and get off a decent shot.

And yet even with someone as skilled and respected as Bowman, Christian couldn't piece together a winning season. How will he now with less experience and arguably less talent? Maybe Pop's D improves...maybe Tabbs takes a huge leap and stays healthy...maybe one of the new guys proves to be great. But here we are again hoping that everything breaks Christian's way in order for BC to have a competitive season. Hoping is not how you build an ACC program.

Ironically Bowman's saga at BC can be seen as an indictment against Jim Christian's ability to run an elite basketball program. Finding Bowman deep in the heart of ACC country is the type of skill a staff at BC needs. We need to find guys others overlook and turn them into stars. The diamonds in the rough concept was the foundation of Skinner's best days and was critical to some of BC's best teams in the '70s and early '80s. But finding those guys is only Step 1. A truly successful coach would find those types and then actual build a roster and a program around them. Christian has shown he is missing that skill.