Basketball builds on win streak

Although this is the cupcake portion of the schedule, it is nice to be in the middle of a basketball win streak. With their win over Dartmouth, the team has now won five in a row. The team started slow, but pulled away for a convincing statement game. Here are my thoughts on the past two games and what we need to do once ACC play begins.

Likes
-- Finally making their 3s. We know Jackson can get hot. Now it looks like Heckmann and Rahon can also make multiple 3s. If we are ever going to be a quality team, they will all have to make a lot of 3-pointers.
-- Good movement on offense. The team finally seems to have some actual motion in our motion offense. I don't know if Donahue is trusting them more or if they understand the offense better or if it is because of Rahon and Hanlon, but the team moved and passed with a purpose. This led to more quality shots.
-- More solid minutes from Odio. He is not an ACC quality big man, but he's all we got with Van Nest and Clifford at less than 100%. But it is good to have an energy guy and his defense is improving.

Dislikes
-- Ryan Anderson's passive play. Like the 3-point conversions, if we are going to win any ACC games, Ryan Anderson is going to have to dominate. His play wasn't poor during this stretch and his stats are good, but he needs to be better.
-- Huge defensive lapses. We had them against Dartmouth and Holy Cross. That can't keep happening. A defensive lapse against Dartmouth may lead to six or eight points. Against Duke, you can be down 20 in the blink of an eye.
-- No size. As much as I like what Odio is doing, he is not enough. If Clifford never gets better we will be lucky to win two ACC games.

Combine invites and other links

There has been a recurring debate as to why our OLine has fallen apart: is it coaching or talent? The NFL doesn't think it is a talent issue as both Emmett Cleary and John Wetzel have been invited to the NFL Combine. Neither had a great season, but both have great potential and NFL size. I hope they both do well. As we know from past BC invites, going to the Combine doesn't guarantee anything, but it is a good indicator of what NFL people are thinking.

The New York Times posted a Jerry York feature. 

Patch Alber may be done for the season.

Women's basketball lost to Florida State.

The men's team beat Holy Cross. I will have a more developed post on them this Monday. 

The Patriots waived former Eagle Ron Brace. The BC star never clicked in New England's varied schemes. Hopefully he catches on somewhere.

Alone at the top

Jerry York is now college hockey's winningest coach. He moved into sole possession of the most wins with an uneventful win over Alabama-Huntsville. It doesn't get easier though, as BC will face Minnesota on Sunday.

BC will hold a celebration to honor York January 18. In the run up to the event I will have more on York and his impact on BC. Congrats to York and all the teams that contributed to his wins. Let's hope he can soon start adding more championships to his resume.

Weekend preview: BC sports start back up

After a little post-Christmas lull, BC sports start up anew Saturday. For some it will be about another championship charge, for others it will be about setting a course back to respectability.

Hockey takes on Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday as part of the Mariucci Classic. Hunstville is terrible and shouldn't pose much of a threat. Sunday is a different story. BC takes on Minnesota. The Gophers are the No. 4 ranked team in the country and should serve as a good barometer. The game is televised (check your local sport channels).

Basketball faces Holy Cross. BC has won three in a row and desperately needs to keep that momentum going. BC only has a few more chances to pad the win total before ACC play.

Football remains in a dead period for recruiting, but that doesn't mean Addazio is not at work. The staff cannot travel, but they can still host recruits and have limited phone contact. As the lower level bowls wrap up, I expect Addazio to finalize his staff. A slew of coaches will now be looking for new jobs, and some NFL staffs will get fired on Monday. There are plenty of good guys out there.

Wanted: Any 5th year transfer in FBS

Bruce Feldman's tweet about Florida Offensive Lineman Matt Patchan being interested in BC got me thinking. Why stop with just guys Addazio has a relationship with? Addazio and his staff should be making a grand push to get any interested and eligible fifth year to come to BC next season. It is a stop gap measure that could pay a nice dividend in Year 1.

The current recruiting class is not well regarded. The new staff is doing its best to fill the holes, keep the committed guys interested and find a few diamonds in the rough. It is what any transition staff does. But most freshman are not going to come in and have an immediate impact. An older, more mature and developed player might. Since BC rarely takes Junior College players, the only way to get older players in the program is by exploiting the NCAA's graduated player transfer policy. This allows a player with eligibility and his degree to transfer without restriction to another program (there are a few academic stipulations attached too). It is the policy Montel Harris used to play at Temple without sitting a season. If BC adds a few 5th years this year, this recruiting class might get a boost and we might get enough talent to win six games and go bowling again.

There is really no downside to the 5th year path. They have their degrees so BC's academic concerns and focus on graduation rate is not an issue. Addazio doesn't lock up a scholarship for four years on a player who might not perform. Taking a fifth year doesn't prevent him from filling out a huge class in the 2014 recruiting cycle. A few players might be put off by a "new guy" coming in above them, but in those cases winning wins out and competition can help change the culture. If you don't want a 5th year coming in and taking your playing time, then play better and practice harder.

None of the 5th years are without baggage. If they were perfect they wouldn't be available. But for a program like BC, it is all about the short-term upside. If a guy can help make the transition smooth and not interrupt the rebuilding process, there is no reason not to take him. Addazio saw what Montel Harris could do. Let's hope he brings that lesson to BC.

Matt Ryan makes Pro Bowl and other links

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters and Matt Ryan was the lone BC guy to get the invite to Hawaii. While I tweet on the topic, I rarely mention the media narrative building around Ryan. Even here in Atlanta -- where you figure the fanbase would all be defenders -- there are still plenty of Matt Ryan critics. The Pro Bowl is a nice honor, but no one aside from some true believers (like most BC fans) will put Matt in the "great" category until he wins something in the postseason. UPDATE: Chris Snee was also named to the Pro Bowl.

Nick Clancy signed with an agent and is projected to be a late round pick. 

In case you missed it, ESPN's ACC crew predict we won't be bowling in 2013. I am not ready to make a prediction one way or the other yet, but our schedule is now pretty favorable. 

A rising Massachusetts baseball star committed to BC. He won't graduate from high school until 2015. 

Olivier Hanlan was named Co-ACC Rookie of the Week. 

Bruce Feldman likes the staff we are building. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. Thank you for your support. Let's hope Santa brings us another National Championship in Hockey and some better results in football and basketball this year. Regular blogging will resume December 26th. For now, please enjoy your family and friends.

Addazio feature and other links

In case you missed it, the Globe featured Steve Addazio this weekend. The Temple angle was interesting and shows how loyalty and dedication is all about perspective. I don't hold it against Addazio for leaving on Temple after two years. 99.99% of coaches would have done the same.

Four players from the Women's Ice Hockey team received invitations to the U. S. National Team Winter Camp.

Penn State is still coming after BC recruit Myles Willis. He says he's still committed to BC.

Basketball holds off Providence

I don't know if the basketball team has turned a corner. But Saturday's win over Providence was very encouraging. They made some shots, executed in the final minutes and got good games from all the critical players. Here are my thoughts. As always, leave yours below.

Likes

-- Ball movement. The team played well and it started with smart, purposeful passing. I really liked some of the decisions Rohan and Jackson made.

-- Anderson finishing near the basket. Great mix of strength and touch. He converted a huge basket late.

-- Solid minutes from Odio and Caudill. With Van Nest hurt and Clifford far from 100% we need these two guys to provide some energy and solid defense. They did.

Dislikes

-- Defensive switches. I don't know if it was poor communication or Providence being quicker, but our guys had lots of issues on defense. There were multiple times when 

-- ESPN3's feed. I've been a big proponent of ESPN's online service, but today was not good. There were multiple stretches in the second half when the stream died. If they want fans to accept it as an alternative, they need to make sure the performance and quality are good.

-- Guard depth. The freshmen were good, but I don't love the idea of them playing all 40 minutes. This is one of those stretches where we could use Jordan Daniels.

More Addazio staff announcements

Another day, another round of staff announcements. Rumored candidate and friend of Addazio -- Frank Piriano -- will be Tight Ends coach. Leonard has a decent resume with a mix of college and NFL stops. He was with Temple last year.

The more critical hire is a different Temple guy. Addazio is bringing his strength and conditioning coach Frank Piraino over to BC. The S&C guy now serves as an important bridge between monitored sessions and the offseason workouts. Piriano came up in the Florida program, so you can assume he follows the Urban Meyer school of thought -- with a focus more on speed than size. It is probably closer to what we did  under Jags vs the TOB/Spaz philosophy.

Still no announcement regarding other holdovers. To me that indicates it is unlikely that other Spaz guys will stay on with Addazio. 

Frye, McGovern confirmed by BC

The two most often rumored staff members became official when BC announced that Addazio hired Justin Frye as Offensive Line coach and former Defensive Coordinator Bill McGovern will transition back to Linebackers coach. Frye is a bit green to get such a critical position for BC, but I think he will benefit from working under Addazio (himself a former OL coach). As one of the younger members of the staff, you have to assume that Fyre will be a key recruiter.

Bill McGovern staying on is more complicated. Addazio will be the fifth BC coach McGovern has worked under and that should carry some weight. McGovern is beloved by former players and many went to bat for him this go around. He's obviously well liked and is now a BC parent, so I respect his relationships and ties to the school. It is important to have people like that around the program. However, McGovern is the embodiment of many of the issues of the last ten years. We need new ones and going 2-10 confirms that. Once a valuable recruiter, McGovern has been sidelined a bit as Spaz's DC. Is he ready to hit the road again and become our man in New Jersey? Can he work with Don Brown after serving as DC last year? How will he adjust to the demotion? These are all big factors. I am happy for McGovern that his professional life didn't disrupt his personnel life too much. He doesn't have to uproot. But I hope he buys in to his new role. It will be critical for Addazio's success.

Brown vs BC, an education

There will be much to study about Don Brown over the next few months, but I thought a good place to start would be in his games against BC. The Eagles have faced his defenses four times, winning three games. But the win-loss record doesn't capture Brown's side of the ball and the chaos he caused.

2004: BC vs UMass

We won this game 29-7, but Brown gave Paul Peterson fits. Peterson threw three picks and only completed 16 of 30 passes. As expected, Brown blitzed often and forced Peterson into some rushed throws. The game was close and BC only really pulled away when our defense started making plays. BC also went heavy on the run in the second half.

2007: BC vs UMass

BC was flying high coming into this game and the fans got a real wakeup call. After going up early BC stalled out and UMass cut the lead to three points. Matt then put the game away with an efficient drive. The problem was between the strong opening and the strong close, UMass knocked Ryan around. The game recap recounts: "Ryan was sacked once, roughed once illegally, forced to scramble three times and knocked down on a half-dozen or more other plays." UMass held him to 204 passing yards, with 24 completions on 42 attempts.

2009: BC vs Maryland
This was a low-scoring game that BC won despite Maryland having multiple chances to comeback. We also got to see the risk of Brown's blitzes. BC scored on a 66-yard touchdown when Shinskie hit Larmond in stride on the blitz. Once Larmond beat his man, no one could come over to help. Another recurring theme of BC taking on Brown's D was our ability to run the ball. Montel Harris had 142 yards.

2010: BC vs Maryland
This was a weird game in that Maryland got up early, BC calmed down and Rettig tried to lead a comeback. What I remember and appreciate is that even as BC climbed back, Brown didn't go into prevent. They kept coming. They also picked off Rettig twice. 

Pray for the Gallup Family

Longtime BC staffer Barry Gallup lost his daughter to cancer. Keep them in your prayers.

Get your New Mexico State tickets! They're going fast!

Blauds broke the news that BC filled its open schedule slot with New Mexico State. The home game will be played in November and BC's home schedule now includes Army, Stony Brook and New Mexico State. That lineup is not going to help ticket sales. While I wanted BC to find a power program for the open spot or consider a road game payday, I can live with New Mexico State. If we have an outside chance at a bowl game, we need another W from somewhere. NMSU shouldn't be very good and by November we should have all of our transition issues resolved. You can't really spin any other benefits. There is no recruiting advantage nor media interest. But the ACC screwed up our schedule and Bates made the best of it.

Don Brown as DC, Defense in for whole new look

Bruce Feldman is reporting that Don Brown will be the new Defensive Coordinator. This is a strong hire on many fronts.

Brown knows New England inside and out having worked at both UMass and UConn. He was also a successful head coach at UMass, winning nearly 70% of his games. Addazio only has two years of head coaching experience. Having a seasoned coordinator who has been a head coach should be a stabilizing force and provide a good sounding board. Brown also has experience coaching in the ACC, as he was the DC for Friedgen's final two seasons.

This is a clear change in our approach. If Spaz was a bend but don't break, Brown is the opposite. He blitzes early and often. It might not provide the consistency of the good Spaz's defenses, but the approach will be aggressive and hopefully fun to watch.

Ironically Mark Whipple insisting on Brown over Spaz as his DC was one of the reasons Whipple didn't get the job in 2007. Now things have come full circle. I don't know if we have the players to carry out Brown's designs in 2013, but at least this is a signal that Addazio is going to pave his own way and change the approach on the field.

Reading the tea leaves on the staff and other links

Wide Receivers coach Aaron Smith will not be retained by Addazio. We know that via a recruit's twitter. Blauds hints that McGovern may return but not as DC. BC has removed all links to the coaches bios from the roster page. I will wait to comment on McGovern or any other holdover once the staff is officially in place. I will stand by my belief that Addazio needs to clean house. I know Addazio has complete autonomy but there is always going to be pressure (real or implied) to keep certain guys. At BC that means Gallup, McGovern and Washington.

Crystal Ball Run was one national college football blog that killed Spaz every chance they got. They are cautiously optimistic about Addazio.

Another metric and another indicator of how bad BC's offense was under Spaz.

In case you missed it, here is the Globe's feature on Bates.

Addazio's pitch to Lowrie

As I mentioned, it appears like we are targeting a 3rd QB for this class. I also suspected that one or two of our current QB commits might look elsewhere. It seems like Mackay Lowrie is now firmly on board with Addazio (nice job by the growing BC 247 site). This is how Lowrie described Addazio's plan for QBs:

"We talked about the offense quite a bit," said Lowrie. "We talked about what he's looking for in a quarterback and how he wants a guy that can move around in the pocket, do some QB-read stuff."

That doesn't come out and say we need dual-threat QBs, but the read and mobility talk do indicate more of a run-based offense. I just hope we are not rigid in the first few seasons. You can adapt an offense season to season yet still keep the same core plays and philosophy. What we need is some efficiency, scoring and excitement.

BC needs OT to beat UNH

Some of Al Skinner's best teams won games only making two 3-pointers. The difference though is that those teams weren't designed to take or make lots of 3s. This one is. Despite going not making one in regulation, they hit enough in OT to beat a bad UNH team. The win gets them back to .500 and hopefully builds some confidence. Here are my other thoughts:

Likes
-- Huge game from Ryan Anderson. It looks like his gimpy ankle is healed. He moved well today and put up huge numbers. He also made some good defensive plays.
-- Heckmann's athleticism. He had a few nice defensive plays late and did this.
-- Rahon handling it late. Donahue said he has the best feel for what they are trying to do. At least someone does.

Dislikes
-- Shooting. You can talk about talent issues or understanding the system, but the shooting is inexplicable. These guys used to shoot and now they can't buy a basket. We also supposedly have great shooting instructors on staff. Someone needs to figure out what is going on!
-- Defensive lapses. How is this still happening. They tightened up down the stretch but left themselves in a huge hole because no one on this team plays consistent defense.

Recruiting news: decommit and more 3rd QB news

One of BC's highest rated recruits, Ohio Running Back LeShun Daniels decommitted and is now headed to Iowa. This one hurts. Running back is a position of need and emphasis for Addazio. Daniels had the chance to come in right away and contribute. Seeing players waiver is natural though and only more predictable when there is a coaching change. Fortunately Addazio is out trying to find another back.

One other thing that is more apparent is that BC is probably taking three QBs in this class. BC just offered a scholarship to South Carolina Dual Threat QB Michael Julian. We need QB talent but not three in one class. I know BC is honoring all of Spaz's commitments, but I expect something to give with the two QBs who verbaled to Spaz. It is clear Addazio is headed in a different direction. I just hope BC manages the roster and expectations well in this process.

Kuechly ROY? and other links

As his tackles pile up, many NFL pundits are realizing that Luke Kuechly should win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Carolina is out of the spotlight, but if Luke keeps up this pace, he will lead the league in tackles.

The Football team handed out their awards the other night. Emmett Cleary won the Scanlan Award and Amidon was named MVP. Congratulations to them and let's hope our next football banquet comes next January after a bowl win.

Here is more on Jags where his friend and new boss specifically deal with his departure from BC.

BC offered a scholarship to Florida Safety Darrion Owens.