Basketball Primer: Tyrese Rice

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at the guy whose upside will determine the season: Tyrese Rice.

Tyrese Rice, G, 6'1, 190lbs

What you need to know
The storyline is that Rice came back because he was didn't want to leave BC a loser. The truth is probably that his build and game don't translate well to the NBA. Regardless of what his motivation is, hopefully Rice plays with a chip on his shoulder and gets this team into some postseason tournament. Rice carried this team for much of last season. This year he'll be asked to do the same but in more of a distributor role. But I still think we could see another 40-point game or two if he is really feeling it.

Strengths
Great shooter from anywhere. He won't be bothered by the new 3-point line. Showed he can score driving to the basket. Ice cold from the FT line. Can score on anyone in the ACC. Has the ability to take over games single-handedly.

Issues
Inconsistent defender. Has yet to prove he can shutdown the top guards in the ACC. Needs to make more of an effort to get his teammates involved in the offense when he is not making his shots.

Miscellaneous
Assuming he stays healthy, he should become the seventh player to score 2,000 points in his BC career.

Outlook
Rice is one of the best players in the ACC and can be one of the best players in the country. An improved defensive effort and getting his teammates more involved could be enough to swing BC's record over .500. If he can get BC off the bubble and into the tournament, BC could be a dangerous team just on his potential alone (see Stephen Curry's run with Davidson). I like Rice and hope he does round out his game and ends his BC career on a high note.

Basketball Primer: Returning Contributors

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a look at the returning contributors (Josh Southern, Corey Raji, Rakim Sanders, Tyler Roche, and Biko Paris).



Biko Paris, G, 6'1, 196lbs
Corey Raji, F, 6'6, 214lbs
Tyler Roche, F, 6'7, 215lbs
Rakim Sanders, G/F, 6'5, 225lbs
Josh Southern, C, 6'10, 242lbs

What you need to know
Outside of Rice, this is our experience: four sophs and a limited junior. The narrative is that these guys were good but not Dudley, Smith, Bell like great and hence BC's stumble. That is not entirely fair comparison though. Of the recent greats and freshmen standouts (you could include Sidney, Rice, and Williams) only Troy Bell started his career with a tougher schedule and fewer pieces in place than these guys did last year. Roche is the odd duck of the returning contributors. He's a JR and actually saw his role diminish as the freshmen progressed. Regardless of their varied upsides, these five do a lot of different things and balance many of the team's needs. All are solid. We need two or more to become very good.

Strengths
Southern, Raji and Sanders are all good rebounders. They have all been in the system a year or more now and understand where the ball needs to be. Paris is one of the better ballhandlers we've had in the past few years. Roche is allegedly a sharp shooter in practice.

Issues
None of these guys are particularly good defensive players. Despite Raji's shooting percentage, Sanders chucking it from 3 or whispers about Roche, none of these guys are good shooters. Southern may actually have the best touch.

Miscellaneous
Last year was the first time under Skinner that four different freshmen all played more than 290 minutes.

Outlook
General improvement means this team can compete for an NIT spot. If any of the guys takes a major leap forward, we are a bubble team. If they don't develop, it could be a long four years. I predict big years from Southern and Raji and think they'll be part of a fun season at Conte.

Basketball Primer: St. Francis Xavier Exhibition Game

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a look at how the team played in its exhibition game with St. Francis Xavier.

"Canadian basketball, eh!"

BC won 82-56

What you need to know
I can't get too excited one way or another about handling a Canadian team in an exhibition game. This is what we learned:
-- Starting line up was Southern, Trapani, Raji, Sanders, Rice. Jackson was the first off the bench followed by Paris, Roche, Ravenel and Dunn.
-- Rice only played 29 minutes.
-- BC killed them on the boards.
-- We let them hang around into the second half and then pulled away.
-- The team and Al treated it like an exhibition.

Strengths
It was a good debut for Trapani. He rebounded well and worked within the offense. Corey Raji also came to play and got points off of second chances.

Issues
Aside from the lack of intensity, the team also did not shoot well from the 3-point line (4 for 20). As a reminder, the NCAA moved the line back this year. I hope it doesn't take us too long to adjust.

Miscellaneous
Although it was founded as a seminary, it looks like St. Francis Xavier is now a public Canadian university.

Outlook
The only big takeaway was the starting lineup. I don't think it is set, but I bet that is going to be Al's rotation for the first few games. Raji was the only real question mark and if he keeps playing like that, he'll get plenty of minutes. We'll certainly know more after the first real games.

Basketball Primer: Freshman Dallas Elmore

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at one of the new pieces: Dallas Elmore.

Dallas Elmore, G, 6'5, 205lbs

What you need to know
This is tough to say before the games even start but Elmore is likely to be the odd man out this season. He'll be a wing player at the 2 and the 3 spots. That leaves him fighting for time against Raji, Sanders, Roche, and to a lesser extent when Paris, Jackson and Rice get moved to the 2 or when Trapani is used at the 3.

Strengths
One of the more athletic guys on the team. He can shoot from outside and move to the basket.

Issues
There are questions about his ball handling and his ability to rebound.

Miscellaneous
As the other Coloradan on the team, he is very familiar with Reggie Jackson. They played at the same level in high school and Elmore's career day was actually better than Jackson's playing against the same type of teams.

Outlook
I always like to think our next recruit will be a Dudley-type. But Skinner keeps a short rotation which means that if you arent't good enough early you may be shown the door. Whisper is that Elmore is decent but will be the third option at the wing. I hope he outperforms that assessment and becomes a solid producer.

Basketball Primer: Sophomore Cortney Dunn

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's look at one of the returning players who needs to improve: Cortney Dunn.



Cortney Dunn, F, 6'8, 234lbs

What you need to know
There's a lot of Dunn looks better talk around BC basketball. That doesn't mean much though because he was so overmatched last year. He barely got on the court and supposedly struggled in practices. There is promise though. Al has a way of encouraging kids to seek other pastures when their self assessments don't align with his. Since Dunn is still around and the buzz is encouraging, we can expect him to see the floor in the beginning of the season. If he holds up, he has a chance to become a regular.

Strengths
Good height and build on a team lacking frontline size. Can rebound.

Issues
Not much offensive game. Might not have the defensive skills needed to guard ACC big men.

Miscellaneous
Dunn was shot twice at a Dallas Mall while still in high school. (Yeah, that puts things in perspective doesn't it?)

Outlook
Dunn's one of the wildcards heading into the season. I am not expecting much. If he doesn't become a contributor on a team with so few established big men, then there isn't much hope for his JR and SR years. If he can give Al ten solid minutes a night this year, then he has a future ahead of him and the team might exceed expectations.

Basketball Primer: Freshman Evan Ravenel

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at one of the new pieces: Evan Ravenel.



Evan Ravenel, F/C, 6'8, 260lbs

What you need to know
Ravenel was a late bloomer who gained a little more attention as a high school senior. Unfortunately not all of the attention was good. Ravenel was suspended for three weeks last January for getting in the face of an official. He's a bit undersized for a big man but uses his body and weight well. Because of our lack of depth on the frontline he could be thrust into the regular rotation.

Strengths
He is a good rebounder. Supposedly has a good work ethic and motor. Better athleticism than you'd expect from a guy of his build.

Issues
Still raw offensively. Will be asked to guard bigger men throughout his career.

Miscellaneous
Ravenel was featured in this "dunk of the day" last fall. He's not exactly skying like Sean Williams, but he's graceful.


Outlook
I don't expect Ravenel to be a starter or even major contributor this season. However, unless Al goes small and up tempo on a regular basis, Ravenel will get some minutes. We don't need points from him...just rebounds, rebounds, rebounds. If he shows he can bang in the ACC and improves his post skills a bit, there could be decent upside for him at BC.

Basketball Primer: Transfer Joe Trapani

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at one of the new pieces: Joe Trapani.


Joe Trapani; F, 6'8, 218lbs

What you need to know
Trapani was actually around last year. Unfortunately he had to sit out a season after transferring from Vermont. The buzz is good on his ability and he should be a contributor (if not a starter) right away. Given his size and shooting touch he'll be more of a wing player. But he can play closer to the basket and rebounds at a similar rate (8.07 per 40 minutes) to the departed Spears (9.10 per 40 minutes) and Blair (8.48 per 40 minutes).

Strengths
He can shoot from outside, yet is also capable of picking up garbage points in the flex. Although it was Vermont, he proved that he can compete at this level.

Issues
Not a great foul shooter considering how well he strokes it from outside. We'll ask him to guard big men, which could be a problem considering his frame.

Miscellaneous
He scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as a freshmen guard when Vermont upset BC in Conte in 2006.

Outlook
Trapani is another reason for optimism this season. Unlike other newcomers, he has played in the offense and with these guys for a year. With him in the rotation, we become much more skilled offensively. Defense remains an issue (but it always is with Al). If he can help get us back to our productivity levels of old on offense, then we can certainly improve our ACC win total.

Basketball Primer: Freshman Reggie Jackson

Al Skinner is coming off his worst year since the Troy Bell turnaround. He has a solid nucleus of young returning players, some new faces and a star in Tyrese Rice. Can it all come together and get BC back in the postseason? We will soon find out. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at one of the new pieces: Reggie Jackson.

Reggie Jackson; G, 6'3, 193lbs

What you need to know
Once again Skinner and staff find a player from outside the region looking to play at the highest level. Unlike some of the other Skinner finds, Jackson comes with plenty of accolades. He won numerous awards and is considered the best prospect out of Colorado in many years. He is big enough to play either guard spot.

Strengths
A shooter and a scorer. He'll hit his FTs and nail a 3 on a kick out. He is quick and athletic and should be able to keep up in the ACC.

Issues
His ball handling skills are raw so he probably won't be able to spell Rice at PG when teams are pressuring. How good is his defense?

Miscellaneous
The whisper campaign on his upside already started this summer. That has always been a good indicator of future success. He's got a golden name. I imagine fans yelling "Reg-gie, Reg-gie" after every 3.

Outlook
I don't think he'll start Day 1, but I think Jackson will be a major contributor this season. I actually expect his first season to mirror Rice's freshman year: quick points of the bench, plenty of floor time and groomed for future leadership position. If he starts right away, that is just another sign that he can do big things. Regardless, he brings shooting to a team that is lacking enough consistent outside threats.