Yardbarker: Boston College Eagles

Boston College Basketball Exhibition on Sunday

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:58:01 -0500

You can view Live Stats for this exhibition game here

BC will host St. Michael's in an exhibition game on Sunday at 2pm in Conte Forum. The game will be open to the public. I highly encourage all to attend this free event. This will be the first public glimpse of the 2009-2010 Boston College Men's Basketball team.

One thing to keep a close eye on is the emergence of sophomore Evan Ravenel. By all accounts, Ravenel is the most improved player this year and could become a solid contributor, especially since the Eagles are somewhat slim in the front court. If Ravenel has improved as much as his teammates have indicated, this would take a significant amount of pressure off of Josh Southern and would alleviate many of the problems that faced BC last season.

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Eagle All Access: BC Basketball Preview

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:11:50 -0500

The 2009-2010 Boston College Men's basketball team will have a scrimmage Sunday November 13 at 2pm in Conte Forum before opening up the regular season at home versus Dartmouth on November 18. The Eagles were picked 9th in the league in the Pre-Season ACC Media Poll, although if you watched any games last season it is obvious this team has the talent and potential to perform well beyond those expectations. Projected Starting Lineup C-Josh Southern PF- Joe Trapani SF- Corey Raji SG- Rakim Sanders PG- Biko Paris BC loses leading scorer Tyrese Rice from last year but Biko Paris and Reggie Jackson are more than capable of running the point for BC. They should give BC a strong defensive presence and good ball security. Biko came on strong late in the season and Reggie also played well as a reserve freshman last year. For two seasons now we have seen the raw ability of Rakim Sanders although to this point he has yet to string together much consistency. This year will hopefully be his breakout year. Rakim has tremendous athleticism and has added muscle which should help his interior game. Sanders will be able to over-power any guard in this conference. The key for him is to focus mentally and keep his focus throughout the length of the game. We need him to emerge as a top point producer this season. Corey Raji has found his niche on the team; as a tough, scrappy rebounder. Raji is a force on the glass, particularly on the offensive end. He is long and a quick jumper and should continue to have success inside against much bigger opponents. Joe Trapani is a versatile forward. His skill set and ability to knock down perimeter shots makes him a great fit for Coach Skinner's offensive system. Look him him to continue where he left off last year in terms of productions at both ends of the floor. Josh Southern could be the difference maker for this squad. BC desperately needs his help in the paint, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Southern has been slow to develop in his first two years but the staff has worked with him closely to improve his footwork and positioning down low. If he can give BC consistent 8-point and 8-rebound type performances this team could go very deep come tournament time. On the bench we have Jackson, Courtney Dunn, Dallas Elmore, Tyler Roche, and Evan Ravenel. Each player will likely see time this year, particularly Dunn and Ravenel. Dunn emerged as a great hustle player off the bench and Ravenel could fill that role too. Ravenel has more upside of the two and it will be interesting to see how he performs this season with an increased role. Roche will see time behind Trapani and Elmore will play the wing. I certainly expect this team to build off their 22-win output from last season. A finish near the top of the ACC should be expected from this group. This article was originally published at http://bcallaccess.com/. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

ACC Basketball Preview: At A Glance

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:19:11 -0500

Hey guys, so with Duke on deck on the football schedule and basketball season right around the corner, I wanted to get a little interest generated in hoops, so I decided to do a quick run-down of the ACC teams: Boston College (22-12, 9-7 NCAA 1st Round) Key Players: Joe Trapani, Rakim Sanders, Reggie Jackson The Skinny: Fresh [...]

Boston College Basketball Picked Ninth

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:22:37 -0500

The Boston College Men's Basketball team was chosen 9th in the ACC in the pre-season poll. Its hard to believe they are getting such little respect despite returning all but one of their players. I am sure this suits the team and coaching staff just fine, after all they should be used to getting overlooked in the conference.

FoxSports' Jeff Goodman wrote about the Eagle's practice sessions. It seems the team is focused and ready to go this season. They know they have to be more defensive minded and Sanders seems poised to step up. "I know that a lot rests on me, but I’m a smarter player now,” Sanders said. "I understand the game more, that I can get shots instead of forcing things.”
ACCSports.com posted a brief Q&A with junior forward Joe Trapani.

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Boston College Basketball Media Guide

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:03:45 -0500

The 2009-2010 Boston College Basketball Media Guide is now available online.

Coach Skinner talks about the team's outlook and it sounds like he has high expectation for this unit. I think we will see Dallas Elmore and Evan Ravenel step up and contribute more this season.

I will have much more on the Basketball team as the season grows closer.

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Boston College 2009-10 Season Preview

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:55:24 -0500

ACC Season Previews Boston College Season Preview Record Last Season 22 - 12, 9 - 7 ACC Players Lost Tyrese Rice New Players N/A Projected Lineup Biko Paris, Reggie Jackson, Rakim Sanders, Corey Raji, Joe Trapani Schedule Highlights 12/2/09 @ Michigan, 12/30/09 vs South Carolina Boston College Schedule
Projected Statistics (Returning Players Only) Explanation of Statistic Projections

Name Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs % Correct Rakim Sanders 13.9 2.2 5.2 1.4 0.6 2.0 74 Corey Raji 12.3 1.5 5.8 0.9 0.8 2.0 70 Joe Trapani 12.0 1.6 5.4 1.0 0.8 2.0 85 Reggie Jackson 10.6 1.6 4.0 0.9 0.6 1.7 89 Josh Southern 9.4 0.8 5.4 0.6 0.6 1.4 85 Tyler Roche 7.4 1.3 3.8 0.9 0.3 1.3 86 Dallas Elmore 6.3 0.8 2.1 0.5 0.3 1.3 97 Biko Paris 4.8 2.6 2.0 1.0 0.1 1.3 88 Evan Ravenel 4.2 0.5 2.9 0.3 0.5 0.9 96 Cortney Dunn 2.5 0.3 2.0 0.3 0.3 0.6 94 Things to Watch

Tyrese Rice" target="_new">Tyrese Rice has been the heartbeat of Boston College for the past 4 years and now a new era is starting in Chestnut Hill. Former backup point guard Biko Paris" target="_new">Biko Paris enters the picture and brings a different repertoir to the lineup. Paris is not the shooter that Rice was, but he does bring the ability to pressure the ball. Joining Paris in the backcourt are known commodities Rakim Sanders" target="_new">Rakim Sanders and Reggie Jackson. Sanders had the second highest usage percentage behind Rice last season, so Sanders is the odds-on choice to lead BC in scoring. Reggie Jackson enters his sophomore season after a freshman campaign that saw him average 7.0 points per game. Jackson has shown a knack for putting the ball in the basket with a quick first step and a nice mid-range game.

In the frontcourt, Joe Trapani" target="_new">Joe Trapani returns for his 2nd season after a successful first season on Boston College's campus. Trapani flashed a versatile skillset in 08-09 with the ability to shoot from the perimeter or post his man up. Joining Trapani as a player who can play in and out is Corey Raji" target="_new">Corey Raji. Raji gives BC a defensive stopper, an athlete, but most notably an offensive rebounder who teams must note in their scouting reports to keep off the glass. If Al Skinner opts to go bigger, Josh Southern" target="_new">Josh Southern provides an option down low. Southern is limited offensively, but the big man is as good of a post defender as is found in the ACC.

Looking at the rest of the roster, Tyler Roche" target="_new">Tyler Roche will get time and can shoot the ball from behind the arc but is limited otherwise. The trio of Dallas Elmore" target="_new">Dallas Elmore, Evan Ravenel" target="_new">Evan Ravenel, and Cortney Dunn" target="_new">Cortney Dunn will have an opportunity to earn time but have yet to prove they can be solid contributors at the ACC level.

Boston College returns an experienced cast and should finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th in the ACC despite the loss of Tyrese Rice.

Fantasy Player to Watch

Joe Trapani burst on the scene in the ACC last season showing an ability score and a knack for getting on the boards. Another important trait for a fantasy scorer is the ability to get to the free throw line and make free throws. Trapani exceeded in this area as well making him a fantasy player to watch.

Last Year's Player Statistics Boston College Name GP Mins Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs FG% 3P% FT% Off Eff Tyrese Rice 33 33.4 16.9 5.3 3.8 1.4 0.2 3.8 41.3 34.7 85.6 0.0 Joe Trapani 34 29.1 13.4 1.4 6.6 0.6 1.1 1.9 43.3 36.4 79.1 0.0 Rakim Sanders 34 27.6 12.9 1.5 4.4 1.6 0.8 1.9 45.5 33.8 68.4 0.0 Corey Raji 34 27.4 9.9 1.5 6.1 0.7 0.1 0.9 49.5 7.1 68.9 0.0 Reggie Jackson 34 20.1 7.0 1.7 3.3 0.8 0.4 1.2 44.0 26.9 68.5 0.0 Josh Southern 34 22.7 6.0 0.9 5.1 0.4 0.8 1.3 50.3 0.0 63.9 0.0 Biko Paris 34 12.4 3.4 1.8 0.9 0.2 0.0 0.9 37.6 36.8 72.1 0.0 Tyler Roche 28 13.8 3.5 0.5 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.6 41.9 35.6 60.0 0.0 Cortney Dunn 29 12.7 0.9 0.1 1.9 0.1 0.6 0.3 42.9 0.0 57.1 0.0 Evan Ravenel 14 10.3 2.0 0.4 1.4 0.1 0.6 0.7 32.1 0.0 58.8 0.0 Dallas Elmore 12 9.2 2.7 0.5 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 48.1 22.2 50.0 0.0 Nick Mosakowski 3 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Team Stats

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A message from the hoops coaches brought to you by Andy Katz

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:36:00 -0500

Ignore Jay Bilas'* dismal predictions in this ESPN piece for a moment and note what Andy Katz wrote in his "Key Players" section: 3. Evan Ravenel, So., Boston College: One of the reasons the Eagles didn't add a single player to their roster was because of the faith they had in Ravenel. He didn't play much last season, but the staff is confident he can develop into a solid contributor if he commits himself to Al Skinner's system. It'll need him to be, since the we...

Your first confirmed Summer League invitee is...

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:18:34 -0500

Your first confirmed Summer League invitee is... Former Boston College point guard Tyrese Rice.

Will's World: Eight teams in the NCAA tournament?

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:00:56 -0500

With just a handful of games left in the regular season, things have taken shape in the ACC. UNC is the leader in the conference, a game clear in the loss column of Clemson and Duke, and two games ahead of Wake Forest and the surprise of the season, Florida State. As far as I'm concerned, those five are locks. It gets a little dicey after that. Boston College, Maryland, and Virginia Tech are all in the mix.

I like Boston College's chances to get in. They have been playing very well this season, and it hasn't completely been the Tyrese Rice show. The Eagles have also been getting some solid contributions from Joe Trapani, the team's leading rebounder, Rakim Sanders, and Corey Raji, among others. They have some big wins against UNC, Duke, and Florida State. They have also shown the ability to win on the road, with a 5-4 record away from their home court. Plus, they also have a neutral court win against UAB, who is also on the tourney bubble. Overall, the Eagles are 20-9, with two games left, at NC State and home for Georgia Tech, which to me equals a 22-9 record and a 10-6 conference record. And 10 conference wins should get them in, even though they have that really bad loss to Harvard.

Maryland is right behind them in the conference at 6-6 and 17-9 overall, and just like Boston College, have a really bad home loss on their schedule, which was to Morgan State. The Terps do have the big win at home against UNC, where Greivis Vazquez basically put the team on his shoulders and carried them to the upset win. Aside from that, Maryland also has a neutral court win against Michigan State when they played a non-conference tournament early in November. The problem with Maryland is that they have failed to show up quite a few times, in particular a 41 point loss to Duke and a 29 point loss to Clemson. If Maryland is going to get in to the NCAA tournament, they will need to win their remaining four games on their schedule: home for Duke and Wake Forest, at NC State and at Virginia. With the way Maryland has played, they could just as easily go 4-0 or 0-4. If they can win out and go 10-6, then they're a lock. But lose out, and there's no chance. If they split those reamining four games, they will have to have one of those home games to help boost the resume.

Virginia Tech is also 6-6 in the conference and 16-10 overall. Unfortunately, the Hokies have lost three straight, and are falling out of the NCAA tournament picture, and need wins fast. They don't have many impressive wins on their schedule. They did beat Wake Forest on the road when Wake was ranked number one, and did beat Boston College at home, but that's really it. They had a bad loss against Georgia, who fired their coach not long after that win. I've been a little disappointed in the Hokies this season. I though they would be a sleeper team in the ACC. Aside from Malcolm Delaney, A.D. Vassallo, and Jeff Allen, no one else scores for them. The fourth highest scorere on the team doesn't even average five points per game. And when Jeff Allen missed the Virginia game, they weren't really in the game at all.

As for the remaining schedule for the Hokies, they have four really tough contesets: at Clemson, Duke and UNC at home, and at Florida State. I have a hard time thinking they can win at Clemson, but I think they have a chance in the other three games. I think they will need to at least split to be a thought in the tourney picture. They might have to win three to be in the mix.

I think it is possible for the ACC to get eight teams into the NCAA tournament. Right now, I think it's more likely for seven teams to get in, but if Virginia Tech can get hot and win some games, then eight teams from the ACC is certainly possible.

Boston College Edges Florida State 72-67

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:46:08 -0500

It wasn’t pretty, but Boston College will take it. BC overcame a very sloppy and sluggish start to beat the #25 ranked Florida State Seminoles 72-67. It was a game BC “needed to win” according to Coach Skinner, and greatly helps the team’s tournament chances.

The first half was marred by combination turnovers, errant passes, traveling violations, steals, and missed dunks by both squads. The two teams combined for a remarkably high 20 turnovers just in the first half.

Boston College fell behind as they struggled to penetrate Florida State’s aggressive defense. The Eagles were trailing 16-4 before coach Skinner called a timeout and inserted Biko Paris into the lineup.

Biko may have had the biggest impact on this game as anyone, and as Tyrese Rice described, he was the “real hero of the game. Paris made his impact felt immediately upon entering the game. He slashed into the Seminole defense and hit two layups.

It took about 10 minutes for BC to get it going offensively, but once they did they came surging back. Tyrese Rice found a cutting Corey Raji for the lay-in to cut FSU’s lead to 22-19 with under three minutes remaining in the half.

Rakim Sanders would then proceed to drain a three-pointer knotting up the score at 22 a piece. On the next possession Sanders stole the ball at half court and threw down a sensational windmill slam giving the Eagles the lead.

Florida State’s Toney Douglas would rattle home a three shortly before the half giving the Seminoles the 25-24 lead at the break.

Tyrese Rice sunk a three-pointer, his first points of the game, to open up the second half. The Eagles would take the lead in the opening minutes of the half and they held onto it the remainder of the game.

A three-pointer from Sanders put BC up 37-31. On the team’s next possession, Sanders was fouled while attempting yet another trey. He would make all three free throws giving BC a nine-point edge. A few minutes later, Sanders would score on a nifty reverse layup to put BC back up by three.

With seven minutes to play, BC’s Joe Trapani buried a three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down making the score 60-54 in favor of BC. On the following possession, BIko Paris drove to the hoop sinking a tough layup while drawing the hard foul. He would miss the free throw, but get his own rebound, and eventually Paris would finish with the driving lefty lay-in. This turn of events gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 64-54.

Florida State quickly made up the ground with three consecutive baskets, including a pair of Douglas three-pointers, the second of which brought FSU within two.

Boston College and Florida State would trade free throws on the next few possessions. The Eagles held onto a slim 68-67 lead with a little more than two minutes to go.

Rice had a chance to add to the lead at the free throw line, but he missed the front end on the one-and-one. Rakim Sanders grabbed the offensive board but Rice missed a three. Paris would grab Rice’s miss, but Sanders then forced up a three of his own, giving Florida State the ball with the chance to take the lead with just over a minute remaining.

Florida State, instead of drawing up a play for All-ACC guard Toney Douglas, went to their 7’1 freshman Soloman Alabi. With Southern fouling out earlier in the half, Alabi attempted a hook shot over the much smaller Courtney Dunn. The shot bounced off the rim and Sanders snagged the crucial defensive board.

Tyrese Rice was quiet for much of the game, but the clutch senior came up big once again sinking a big-time three from the top of the key. His shot gave the Eagles the 71-67 lead and effectively closed the door on the ‘Noles.

Joe Trapani led the way for the Eagles with 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Trapani was pleased with getting “another win over a top 25 team”, adding “we had a mission today.”

Rakim Sanders had 16 and a game high 9 boards. Sanders was very active defensively with three steals and a couple of blocks. Rice had 11 points, all of which came in the second half.

Biko Paris had 10 points off the bench. Paris said of his efforts, “I knew I had to make a difference tonight”, and that is exactly what he did. He and Rice played extensively together in the second half, which Coach Skinner was very pleased about. Rice added that Biko “adds another playmaker on the floor” and allows him to play off the ball more.

Tyler Roche was out for the game with the flu.

Coach Skinner shied away from tournament speculation, but he did say the team is “clearly in control of what happens to us.” This win improves BC’s record to 20-9 and 8-6 in the ACC.

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Boston College Upsets Duke

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:40:50 -0500

Enhanced Box Score

For the first time since 1985, the Boston College Eagles have upset the Duke Blue Devils 80-74.

The atmosphere in Conte Forum was electric as the Eagles dazzled the sellout crowd. Fans packed the arena early and created a hostile environment throughout the game. The victory brought upon a massive rush of students as they stormed the court in celebration.

Rakim Sanders got the Eagles going early, scoring nine of BC’s first 11 points. Duke quickly pulled ahead 19-13 before Joe Trapani hit his only three of the game to bring BC back within a possession mid-way through the half.

Duke proceeded to go on a 10-2 run, pushing the lead to double digits. The Blue Devils led by as many as 13, 37-24, with two and a half minutes to play in the half.

The Eagles would close out the half strong. A Tyler Roche three cut the lead down to 10. Tyrese Rice would add a three of his own and a jumper with 20 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, Duke faltered down the stretch missing their final 5 shots of the half. BC would enter the break trailing 37-32.

BC quickly closed the gap following a Rice three-pointer and a conventional three-point play by Trapani. His free throw would pull BC to 39-38. Duke led 46-42, when Coach Skinner drew up a lob pass to Trapani. The play was executed perfectly by Josh Southern who found a high-flying Trapani for the alley-oop dunk.

The next stretch would be crucial for the Eagles as they lost their prior two games when they fell apart around the 10-minute marker in the second half. This time, however, the Eagles would not crumble. They answered each Duke score with a basket of their own. This would continue for the next three minutes until Reggie Jackson once again came up huge. The freshman drained a fade-away three to give the Eagles their first lead at 56-55. It was their first lead since they led 2-0 at the start of the game.

Duke came back within one at 62-61 when Tyler Roche sunk another three pointer, this one to put BC ahead by four. Duke’s defensive pressure would force a pair of Trapani turnovers on BC’s next two possessions as Duke made up some ground.

Trapani’s layup would put the Eagles up 67-64 with three minutes to play, but Duke refused to lie down quietly. Jon Scheyer hit a tough baseline jumper to give Duke the momentary lead. Trapani followed with a pair of free throws after getting fouled while grabbing a crucial offensive board, but Gerald Henderson rattled home a shot to give Duke the 72-71 lead with just under two minutes remaining.

Following a BC timeout, Tyrese Rice sunk a long range three-pointer to put the home squad back on top 74-72. Duke’s Singler then missed both his free throws, but grabbed his own offensive rebound off the second miss and converted the put back to tie up the score.

Boston College got the ball back with under a minute remaining. Freshman Reggie Jackson, unfazed by the pressure-packed situation, penetrated the zone defense and hit a floater with 50 seconds to play to give the Eagles the lead, this time for good.

Duke would miss all their desperation shots and Rice and Trapani would each hit a pair of free throws, as students piled down onto the court level in anticipation of the final buzzer.

The key down the stretch was rebounding for the Eagles. BC was out-rebounded for much of this game, but the team fought and scrapped for each and every board as and prevented Duke from getting multiple looks at the rim. Raji and Trapani both did an excellent job on the offensive glass as they extended possessions and took valuable time off the clock.Tyrese Rice paced the team with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Rice’s three-pointer to open the second half put him over the 2,000-career point milestone. He becomes the 7th BC player to reach this plateau; the last player to score that many points was Jared Dudley, who was in attendance at the game.

Joe Trapani scored 20 points and hauled in 7 rebounds to compliment Rice’s efforts. Rakim Sanders was quiet in the second half, but finished with 14 in the game. Reggie Jackson continues to shine on the big stage. Jackson contributed 15 points off the bench, including the eventual game-winner. His production proved to be the difference in this contest.

This win could have huge implications for BC down the stretch come “Selection Sunday.” BC now has two wins over top-five opponents. They improve their conference record to 7-5 and 19-8 overall.

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BC Basketball | Looking ahead

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:28:19 -0500

After the team's big win last night, Boston College's conference record stands at 5-3, good for 5th place currently. It is very hard to speculate on ACC games considering the parody in the league, but I'll give it a try anyways.

It was nearly universally assumed that BC needed at least 8 conference wins to get on the bubble. 9 or 10 conference wins would almost assuredly earn us a seed in the NCAA tournament. BC's remaining games are as follows:

2/4 @ Virginia

2/8 @ Wake Forest

2/10 Clemson

2/15 Duke

2/21 @ Miami

2/24 Florida State

3/4 @ North Carolina State

3/7 Georgia Tech

BC should be able to get past Virginia and Georgia Tech with wins. Games at Miami, North Carolina State and home against Florida State are winnable, but hardly gimmes. The week of February 8-15 will be a difficult stretch for the Eagles. They face 3 highly ranked opponents in a span of seven days. Beating Wake on the road will be very difficult, given their size and ability to run the floor. I think BC may be able to pull off a win over Clemson or Duke at home, but they will certainly have to earn it. In the end, I think 4 wins is within reach, with a very good chance of winning 5 of our remaining games. If BC can continue to win the battle on the boards, they should be in every game they play here on out. BC controls their own destiny here, and if they can win 4 or 5 more games, they have a great shot at the post season.

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Boston College holds off NC State 79-68

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:02:39 -0500

Enhanced Box Score

BC executed efficiently on both ends of the court in the first half. Boston College took command of the game halfway through the first half. With the score noted at 17, Tyrese Rice scored 5 points in a row, and after a Wolfpack layup, freshman Dallas Elmore hit a three pointer to put BC up 25-19. It was Elmore’s only basket of the game. BC was able to amass a double-digit lead in part due to a strong defensive half, particularly in the post, and great fundamental rebounding. The Eagles crashed the offensive glass hard and out hustled NC State for the ball. The team managed to grab a total of 22 offensive boards in the game which allowed for several second chance baskets. With the clock winding down in the first half, Reggie Jackson put up an errant three-point attempt, however Joe Trapani was there to grab the board and get the put back before time expired. Boston College led by fifteen at the half, 42-27.

Rakim Sanders nailed a three coming out of the blocks in the second half to stretch BC’s lead to a game high 18 points. North Carolina State then proceeded to make a furious comeback, scoring 16 straight points at one stretch, bringing North Carolina State to within 3 points at 47-44. Tyrese Rice was finally able to stop the bleeding when he swished an open three to make the score 50-44. After North Carolina State answered with a three pointer of their own, Reggie Jackson brought the crowd to their feet with a one-handed slam in transition.

When North Carolina State closed the lead to 3 points at 56-53 with 7 minutes remaining, BC countered by sinking 6 consecutive free throws. The nail in the coffin occurred with 4 minutes left when Rice found a wide-open Joe Trapani for three, which put BC up 67-58. Corey Raji capped off the win with a thunderous fast break slam with 1 minute left in the game.

Corey Raji played one of the best individual defensive efforts we have seen all year. He managed to hold North Carolina State’s Brandon Costner, who averages 15 a game, to just 6 points. Raji also hauled in a game high 12 rebounds, including 6 offensive boards in the winning effort. His performance in the paint, combined with Trapani’s 10 rebounds and Southern’s 7 were the main factor behind BC’s 46-25 rebounding edge in the contest.

Tyrese Rice was the offensive star in this game. He had his entire repertoire working in this game; he hit threes and outside jumpers, and also finished with his patented runner in the lane. Rice made several jaw dropping circus shots around NC State’s big bodies down low. Rice took control when BC’s lead was slipping and he stepped up in a big way.

Rice also got help from Joe Trapani and Rakim Sanders, both of whom have come on strong of late. They each added 12 points, and Trapani notched his 6th double-double of the season. Reggie Jackson contributed 10 points as well. BC continued their hot free throw shooting as a team, going 16-19 in the game, which included a perfect 10-10 down the stretch.

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Boston College Falls to Miami 77-71

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:36:52 -0500

Enhanced Box Score

The Boston College Men’s Basketball team finished off a tumultuous week by falling at home to the Miami Hurricanes 77-71.

After a back and forth 1st half that saw several different lead changes, BC went into the break trailing 38-33. BC fell behind early in the 2nd half trailing by as much as 8 points four minutes into the 2nd. The Eagles were able to stay in the game thanks to the clutch shooting of Rakim Sanders who hit 4 three pointers in the game and finished with 18 points. Reggie Jackson continued to impress in conference play by chipping in with 14 points, including 9-10 at the free throw line.

The problem offensively for Boston College was the team shooting. The Eagles shot a pedestrian 36% (20-55) and made only 33% of their three point attempts (9-27). Tyrese Rice had a game high 21 points and 8 rebounds, but was a meager 6-18 shooting from the field, which includes 3-12 from behind the three-point line.

Boston College managed to hold Miami’s leading scorer and 1st team All-ACC selection Jack McClinton to just 12 points before he fouled out late in the game. However, the team’s perimeter defense struggled, which allowed the Canes to hit 40% of the threes they attempted. Miami used a balanced attack to keep the Eagles on their heels. They had 5 different players in double figures BC was also unable to get big stops defensively, especially late in the game. Sanders provided one of the few defensive highlights of the game with yet another stellar block.

The Eagles had several chances to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation. With the team trailing by 3 points with a minutes left, Miami missed a jumper but grabbed the offensive rebound and Miami was able to score and extend the lead to 5 points. After Rice and Jackson each made a pair of free throws and Miami converted a layup, Tyrese Rice then drove the lane hard with down three points and 30 seconds remaining but was called for a questionable offensive foul, much to the dismay of the Boston College team and fans. Rice described it as a “bang-bang play”, while coach Skinner was a little more critical of the officiating, saying of the offensive foul calls, “I learned it different I teach it differently.” That was the second charge call of the game against Rice. Miami connected on 7 of 8 free throws in the closing seconds to put BC away.

One interesting observation from the game was that Skinner chose to play Tyler Roche down the stretch instead of Joe Trapani. Trapani struggled shooting 2-7 and finishing with just 8 points, well below his season average. Skinner played all 11-scholarship players on the roster in this game, perhaps trying to get some energy off the bench with Southern and Trapani unable to get their offense going in this game.

Corey Raji, perhaps the unsung hero of this team, played only 9 minutes in the game after sustaining what Coach Skinner said was a groin injury. No report on any possible timetable for his return.

This is the team’s second consecutive home loss and almost assuredly will knock them out of the top 25. The Eagles fall to 13-4 on the season and 1-1 in the ACC. Boston College returns to action Wednesday night when the host #4 ranked Wake Forest at 9pm in one of the biggest home match-ups of the year.

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Roy on Marcus Ginyard, Wake Forest

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:39:51 -0500

You could call this one the Marcus Ginyard press conference.

The bulk of questions and discussion surrounded the status of Marcus Ginyard.

Do you expect Marcus to practice today and do you have an idea when he might play again?
“I don’t know. I’m very – you pick the adjective – frustrated, concerned. But I just thought and Marcus thought that he would be farther along at this step. We are even discussing holding him out for a little bit and just letting him rehab and seeing if he can get back to that point where he was in the past. And if that’s the case, we’ll be a heck of a lot better off. Again, the guy was our defensive player of the year.

“You look at our club right now – is there anybody that we can put out there that can make life miserable for the 6-foot-3, 6-foot-6 guy on the other team? And I don’t know that we have. He hasn’t practiced 50 percent of practice yet. Not a single practice that he’s had since he came back that he’s practiced at least half the time. There’s some times when I’d like to have a healthy Marcus Ginyard out there and we don’t have him.”

Is the problem that there is pain in the foot, or is it just conditioning?
“I don’t know that you can put a finger on it, but I’ll say it to you this way – is it the Marcus Ginyard that you’ve seen the last three years? And that’s what I’m standing on. In practice, I don’t see the offensive rebounds. I don’t see the steals.

“I put him in the game the other night against Boston College down the stretch, and who else did I put in with him? Do you remember the substitution? Bobby [Frasor]. Why did I put those two guys in? Because they were going to get to the right spot. Not necessarily because when they got there, they had the most.

“Because if you were to list Wayne, Bobby, Danny, Marcus – who would you put as the least athletic of that crowd? Bobby, but he was going to get to the right spot and we were trying to trap and those kinds of things. Marcus, mentally, he knows where to go, but when he gets there, he doesn’t have a heck of a lot in the tank.”

Is there any situation in which you could envision red-shirting him?
“Right now, I’m trying to get Marcus ready to play for our team. Period. You guys look at it yourself – isn’t there sometime that you’re going to want a healthy Marcus Ginyard? And that answer is every day. But you also open your eyes yourself and look at it and we don’t have that right now.”

Has he practiced this week?
“Yes, he’s practiced every day this week. He will practice today. After today, I don’t that, well, I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. I really don’t. I’m just being honest. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. But I will say this again – he has not practiced 50 percent of any practice all year. So that means that he won’t practice 50 percent of practice today, either.

“We’re trying to… I don’t know, guys. We’re in unchartered waters. What was he operated on, Oct. 8? So I’m thinking on Dec. 3 [is when he will play]… And I don’t think the doctors would have told me I was wacko at that time…

“There is one f’ing source – that’s frickin’, don’t put anything in there that’s not there – and I don’t know.

The transcript tends to trunctuate some things. I listened to the audio and he was fairly testy faced with the persistence of the reporters trying to get an explanation. Also not mentioned here is Roy saying that Ginyard basically was out August and September with a high ankle sprain which was unrelated to the stress fracture. Ginyard then had the surgery at the beginning of October and missed whatever time associated with that. That is a lot of time to not play basketball.

On a side note, this sort of reminds me of my junior year of cross country at UNC Greensboro. I started team practice in August with a good summer of training behind me but developed tendinitis in my knee and missed around two weeks of running having to do the bike instead. When I returned I practiced well but in my first meet at Western Carolina I did not finish. In subsequent meets I found that for 1-2 miles of the five mile race I was fine but after a certain point my body shutdown. Through the rest of the season I was posting times that were 2-3 minutes worse than any race I had run in the previous two seasons. My coach tired various pre-race routines to try and shake me out of the funk but in the end nothing worked. For whatever reason I never got back to the level of running I had been out for two years and never figured out why. I left the team and went to work in the SID’s office during my senior year not wanting to put myself thorugh another season like that one.

All of that is to say that I hope Ginyard is not going through the same thing. This sort of thing happens from time to time. Certain players have an injury and regardless of how mentally tough they are or how hard they work, that “something” which divides the elite players from everyone else gets lost. Hopefully that is not the case but I have my fears.

As for the rest of the press conference:

Roy says he spent some time at the end of the CofC game telling the starters sitting on the bench that they need to bring it every single night. He also said he should not have to do that with an experienced team but it is what it is.
Prior to the BC game, Roy had a bad feeling about it. Turned out he was right but as he pointed out he thought they would play great versus Kansas and he was dead wrong.
Roy thinks the Heels will be ready to play well on the road but then again says you have no idea who things will turn out until it starts.
The better defensive play in the 2nd half against CofC was a result of the Heels executing what had been worked on in practice. He also said not all situations where the other team scores is the fault of the UNC defense saying that Rakim Sanders drilled two threes with Tar Heels playing as well as they could play him on defense.
Wake freshman Al-Farouq Aminu was very high on Roy’s wish list during recruiting.
Roy still hates theunbalanced schedule. Don’t we all, Roy, don’t we all.

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BC Basketball Wins Again

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:03:23 -0500

Enhanced Box Score

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) BC defeated San Francisco in a game that was featured as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight. BC won handily 84-62 behind a solid overall team effort. Joe Trapani led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds in one of his best all around performances of the year. He hit 4 three pointers in the game to go along with a pair of blocks. Tyrese Rice scored 21 to go along with his 9 assists and committed only 1 turnover for the game. He showed great poise and leadership during the game, an encouraging sign for the team. Corey Raji continued his hot shooting by going 8-12 from the floor to finish with 16. Freshman Reggie Jackson turned in one of his best games of his young career adding 13 points and 8 boards. Jackson is becoming a valuable and consistent 6th man for Coach Skinner. Rakim Sanders and Josh Southern were both quiet offensively. Sanders played sparingly due to foul trouble, but Southern continued to struggle to get involved within the offense.

The Eagles improved to 11-2 and face Sacred Heart Wednesday at home at 2pm.

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Boston College Basketball: A "Work In Progress"

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:36:06 -0500

Enhanced Live Box Score

As Coach Al Skinner put it, this team is still "a work in progress." After a sloppy 67-55 win over South Carolina-Upstate I would have to agree with him.

BC fell behind early due to sloppy defense and turnovers. They forced too many passes into traffic down low. On defense, they got caught switching late off screens and picks giving Upstate some open looks. BC gained the lead before the half when they put in a lineup of Elmore, Roche, Raji, Dunn, and Paris. Roche led the way with 4 three pointers during this stretch. Skinner put in this group to bring "a new energy into the game."

BC was able to get several double digit leads, only to lose them. SC-Upstate hung around until Rice re-entered around the 5 minute mark and Roche promptly hit his 5th 3 of the game. Tyler finished with a career high 17 points (5-7 from three point land). BC also got 16 points from Trapani and 13 points and 12 boards from Raji.

Coach Skinner acknowledged the team did not show up to play today and may have overlooked a winless squad on a Sunday afternoon. Skinner said this team is "not talented enough" to simply show up to play. I have to agree with him here, but then again, I probably wouldn't be too motivated to play a winless team at 1 pm on Sunday in front a couple hundred spectators. Obviously we want to see BC crush every inferior team they play, but we know this is unlikely to happen because of these various factors. I am not too concerned about the team's play today and I think we rebound against with a much better effort against Providence.

Key Stat of the Game: 0

Zero, as in the amount of points Tyrese Rice">Tyrese Rice scored this game. He didn't seem to be trying to score, as he was very passive offensively. BC still won, but we need Rice to score to win against better opponents its plain and simple. Coach Skinner was more concerned about Rice's 6 turnovers than his 0 points. He said his turnovers were an "indication of doing not enough or too much."

Highlight Reel: Sanders hustling back to swat a fast break dunk attempt by SC Upstate. It was a tremendous display of athleticism and jumping ability.

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Looking at the BC Flex Offense

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:11:05 -0500

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Terps Lose - No One's Surprised

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:26:51 -0500

Yeah, basically the title explains it all. A collection of responses from throughout the web.

Boston College's Flex Motion Offense

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:43:12 -0500

Al Skinner has used the flex motion to great success leading the Eagles to five-straight NCAA tournament berths, not an easy feat given they competed in the Big East and more recently the ACC power conferences. Players like Craig Smith and Jared Dudley have been perfect for this system.