Heights Hoop Update #4
By Andrew Linnehan
2016 was a year of many L’s for an abundance of reasons, particuarly for Boston College basketball pertaining to ACC conference play. 20 L’s, as a matter of fact. In a row. However, 2017 has already shown to be a monumental step in the right direction for the once-impressive basketball program.
Prior to conference play, the Eagles certainly had some wrinkles to iron; the most important being their point guard play going forward.
As mentioned in the last installment, Ky Bowman and Ty Graves are two talented freshman point guards, yet they’re each flawed. Bowman tends to struggle with the consistency of his shot and turnovers while Graves, a player known for his shot, had been struggling to find his stroke over the course of the young season.
Coach Jim Christian was forced with a decision of who will be his guy to initiate the offense going forward. Bowman made the decision easier as he averaged 19 points a contest over his last four games prior to the beginning of 2017, highlighted by 33 points in the loss to Fairfield. Graves’ once started, and he soon saw his minutes turn to DNP’s in games against Fairfield and Providence. As if Bowman hadn’t already made the decision for Christian, Ty Graves immediately transferred to Saint Louis University, a recently successful basketball program that hopes to allow Graves to be a contributor. On behalf of Boston College, we wish Ty a successful career as a Billiken.
More importantly, Ky Bowman is our guy. And he’s here to stay.
With Bowman having earned his role as the starting versatile point guard, the Eagles were reeady to soar into conference play.
Win: Boston College 96 Syracuse 81 (8-6 overall; 1-0 ACC)
BC took no time to ease into ACC play as they played the Syracuse Orange just 12 hours into the new year. Although Syracuse is struggling thus far in the season, their prestige cannot be overlooked. Syracuse has the history of success being a successful program that saw the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Tyler Ennis, and Michael Carter-Williams. Although they hadd lost some main contributors, the facct that Syracuse had reached the Final Four as a 10 seed less than a calendar year ago mus be accounted for. Also, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim’s pressence and craft should never be overlooked.
Syracuse is notorious for thir pesky 2-3 zone defense that has given athletic teams fits over the last two decades. However, the 2-3 defense is vulnerable to 3 point shots, so BC’s efficiency from downtown would be imperitive to their success in this game. To have a shot at winning this game, the 3-point shots would have to be going down like rain.
And boy, did it rain.
The Eagles maintained control the entire duration of the game by exposing the Orange’s weak spots in the zone at the wings by quick swing passes around the perimeter. BC started hot from deep and refused to cool off as the finished going 16 of 26 from 3-point range. For those of you that aren’t math majors, that’s an ABSURD 61.5%, a percentage even the Golden State Warriors would be jealous of. BC fcused on spreading the zone and keep them constantly moving by their efficient and selfless passing. As a result, 28 of their 36 made field goals were assisted on.
The newly solidified point guard Ky Bowman tallied 30 points (11-17 shooting) including an astounding 7-8 from beyond the arc. He also ocntributed 5 boards and a game-high 9 assists. Although it was not his career-high for points, the fact that Bowman played so efficiently against a formidable defense like Syracuse made this his most impressive game of his young career.
Jerome Robinson continued his reign as one of the ACC’s mst lethal scorers by knocking in 22 points on 9-12 shooting (3-4 from deep). AJ Turner, Mr. Consistency, continues to amaze the analytically-minded basketball fanatics as he scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting with 6 assists and NO turnovers (Turner leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio). Freshman Nik Popovic came back strong on the scene as he exploited Syracuse’s interior defense an dialed up 11 points and 6 boards.
There is no denying that BC was feeling it from deep on January 1, however, it is easy to live-and-die by the 3-point shot. Today they lived, but if they fall in love with it on a day they’re not as accurate, then doom is lurking very quickly against any ACC defense.
So just like that, BC was 1-0 in the ACC; something they were not able to say last season. And with that win, the Eagles moved to 8-6, already exceeding their win total from last season. And so, for the first time in 20 basketball games, the Boston College Eagles beat an ACC opponent. That makes it like those 20 straight losses never happened…right?
Loss: Wake Forest 79 Boston College 66 (8-7 overall; 1-1 ACC)
Loss: #8 Duke 93 Boston College 82 (8-8 overall; 1-2 ACC)
For the sake of common results as well as sanity for you as a reader, these games will be summized into common themes. As many ACC schools are able to do, Wake Forest and Duke both boast remarkable history and alumni including (but not limited to) Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, JJ Redick, Jahlil Okafor, and Kyrie Irving.
Wake Forest was a good challenge for BC as well as an indicator of where the Eagles truly fall in the hierarchy of the ACC. The Demon Deacons are a solid team that boasts a 10-7 record to date, but are certainly beatable. Wake Forest relied on their ball movement and tenacity on the boards to succeed against the Eagles. Wake Forest shot decently at 47.4% from the field and 6-15 from deep, but gained their biggest advantage on the glass as they outrebounded BC 39-26.
A wise man once said teams “live and die by the 3-point shot” (that wise man being me, about 4 paragraphs ago). Just as we saw the Eagles shoot the lights out on their way to pummel Syracuse, the Eagles shot their way into a ditch against Wake Forest. BC became far too reliant on their 3-point shot, as 30 of their 58 field goal attempts were 3-point shots. The Eagles knocked down just 6 of their 30 3-point field goal attempts. They lived by the 3 agains Cuse, but euthanized themselves with the same approach against Wake. It is clear that if the Eagles wish to compete on a consistent basis, theyy must become moree disciplined on offense and not settle for 3’s as often as they did against Wake Forest.
Bowman’s stroke cooled off, as he and Jerome Robinson had 14 and 20 points respectively, but shot just 9-29 from the field and 2-13 from deep. Popovic was a rare bright spot in the game for the Eagles as he continues to develop. He has seen his minutes increase as Mo Jeffers has inserted himself into fould trouble in the last few contests. He scored 11 points (4-5 FG) with 4 rebounds.
As for their battle against Coach K’s Blue Devils, it was simply a matter of being overpowered and outmatched. Duke is one of the few teams in the nation that present perhaps a stronger backcourt than BC’s Bowman and Robinson duo. Luke Kennard is as special and efficient of a scoring threat that you will find in the entire nation with his utility belt consisting of hard drives to the basket, deep 3 point range as a set shot or off the dribble, and unhuman length for his 6’6″ frame. Their other starting guard, Grayson Allen, was fresh off his suspension handed down by Duke for his recurring tripping incidents (did he also trip BC forward Connar Tava? More probable than not). Allen is just as talented as he is gritty and a pest, and is one of the toughest two-way players in the nation.
Their frontcourt, consisting of Jayson Tatum (6’8″) and Harry Giles (6’10”) were ranked the fourth and top high school recruits in the entire country a year ago, respectively. These two freshmen studs complement the 6’9″ Amile Jefferson to round out their forwards. Duke, per usual, attracts top recruits all over the country and finds players that are able to contribute to every facet of the game. They are a blanced team who saw 7 players score at least 9 points against BC.
The Eagles clearly got the message from Coach Christian to limit the 3-point attempts to those that are in rhythm, as they reduced their 3-point attempts to 14 (hitting just 3) after launching an excessive 30 against Wake Forest. BC shot efficiently from the field, nailing over 50% of their shots. However, the Eagles once again contributed to their own demise as they suffered 21 turnovers, led by Tatum’s 4 steals and Allen’s 3.
Some bright spots of the game were Robinson and Bowman further solidifying their newfound tandem scoring attack as they had 21 (8-18) and 19 (8-15) points. Senior center Mo Jeffers opened some eyes for his performance against his high-profile matchup and likely lottery pick Harry Giles. Jeffers finally avoided foul trouble and was able to demonstrate his impact on the game. He hit 3 of his 4 shoots for 8 points, but more impressively snatched up 12 boards.
Although Duke is an elite team an prestigious program, they had clearly been struggling as of late as shown by their double digit loss to Virginia Tech. With Duke on the ropes, it was BC’s chance to toss a haymaker. Unfortunately, the turnovers (5 for Robinson and Bowman each) allowed Duke to sneak out of this one.
We saw an encouraging progression in becoming more disciplined with their shots and not settling for 3’s. Now, it is time to clean up the turnovers.
Win: Boston College 74 North Carolina State 66 (9-8 overall; 2-2 ACC)
The Eagles were faced with another star recruit in Dennis Smith Jr. of NC State, ranked as the 5th national recruit for his high school class. He is averaging nearly 20 points per game and is routinely seen on SportsCenter for his explosive jams. With the Wake Forest and Duke games still leaving a bad after-taste, it was apparent that Coach Christian expressed what the Eagles had to do to improve and win this game: limit 3’s to responsible and effcient opportunities and limit turnovers.
BC focused their defensive efforts on Smith, the player who was most likely to attack the Eagles. Smith is averaging 20 points on nearly 14 shots so far this season, yet Boston College was relentless in their pursuit to prevent Smith from hurting them and daring another player to step up. Bowman, a hard-nosed defender with a football background, took the bulk of the load of defending Smith and contained him to 15 points on just 9 shots.
Offensively, BC refrained from shooting ill-advised 3’s and only those in the natural flow of the offense. They ultimately sank 6 of their 15 3-pointers; a healthy 40%. Robinson, yet again, surpassed 20 points and notched 24 on 9-17 shooting with 5 assists, Bowman contributed 19 (6-10 FG) with a team-high 7 rebounds, and Connar Tava had one of his best games of the year with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Most importantly, the Eagles surrendered 13 turnovers; a tremendous improvement from 21 against Duke.
As if this loss was not bad enough for the Wolfpack, they just became the only team Boston College has beat in both football and basketball. This wolfpack clearly doesn’t bite.
Loss: Syracuse 76 Boston College 53 (9-9 overall; 2-3 ACC)
Syracuse was able to get their revenge in the Carrier Dome this time around. Unlike the first time, the 3 ball was not nearly as successful for the Eagles as they shot 8 of 22 compared to their ludicrous 16 of 26 in their last matchup.
Unfortunately for BC, yet another game was coughed up due entirely to the turnover battle. Not only did Syracuse’s zone force 20 turnovers, but Boeheim’s boys limited themselves to just 6 turnovers the entire game. These turnovers allowed the Orange to take 10 more shots than the Eagles. When you’re -14 in the turnover battle and -10 in the shot category, it is nearly impossible to pull out a win.
In their lowest scoring game of the season, only one Eagle was able to squeak out double digit points, and I’ll give you five guesses to guess who it was…Not Jerome. Not Ky. Not AJ. Certainly not Matt DiLuccio (love ya Matt). But Nik Popovic. Remember him? The 6’11” freshman hailing from Bosnia-Herzegovina that had the game-winning tip against Auburn at the Garden? Yeah, him. He had a team high 13 points (5-8 FG) and 7 boards. So, in his two games against Syracuse, Popovic totaled 24 points (10-18 FG) and 13 rebounds. With seniors Connar Tava and Mo Jeffers in their last year of eligibility, look for Popovic to continue giving Boeheim heaaches for the next few years.
The Road Ahead
The unforgiving ACC will be in full throttle this week as BC basketball fans will be treated with the entrance of #16 Virginia Wednesday at 8:00 (be there) and #11 North Carolina at noon on Saturday (also be there). These are two of the finest programs the nation has to offer, so the Eagles will certainly have their hands full.
However, Jim Christian is great at learning from his players’ mistakes and preaches to them how to effectively improve for their next battle. After a disappointing loss to Syracuse, expect Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman to lead or Eagles out to a fiery and vengeful pair of games. With UVA and UNC’s athleticism and defensive intensity paired with fundamental basketball, it will be inmperitive to limit turnovers to prevent fast-break opportunities.
After heartbreaking losses to Florida State and Pittsburgh, Virginia saw their ranking plummet. This former 1 seed in the last two tournaments have something to prove against BC. UNC, on the other hand, has siginificantly turned around their season. After their perplexing loss to Georgia Tech to bring them to 12-3, the Tar Heels have won 5 in a row. With sensational and experienced players like Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, and Joel Berry II, North Carolina is not a team anyone should want to play while they’re hot.
Predictions
Virginia 82 Boston College 68
Where BC struggles, Virginia is best. Virginia is dangerous as they shoot 49.9% from the field (12th best rate nationally), hit 41% of their 3’s (9th best nationally), and only surrender 9.8 turnovers per game (4th best nationlly). I expect Virginia and their offensive efficiency to be a little too much for the Eagles to handle. If their statistics remain consistent, the Cavaliers will have a field day offensively as they usually do. Hopefully the Eagles will take some notes on how Virginia maintains an efficient offense while protecting the ball.
North Carolina 90 Boston College 65
Bad timing for the Eagles for this one. North Carolina has been on a tear recently, scoring 94.4 points per game during their 5 game win streak. This is UNC’s first game since their win against Clemson on Monday, so hopefully the Tar Heels will be unfocused and unmotivated for their 12:00 Saturday game. More likely than not, Roy Williams will use these extra days to appropriately prepare for the Eagles. I expect the Tar Heels to run away with this one.
Final Words
18 games into the season, the Eagles are sitting at .500 once again. Although this is a step up from last year’s record-setting (not in a good way) 7 total wins and 0 ACC wins, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Offensive efficiency and discipline, rotation on defense, consistency, rebounding, and most of all turnovers continue to haunt BC. The good news is that these are all fixable adjustments.
Unlike last year, this team has the talent required (Robinson, Bowman, Turner etc.) to actually compete with just about every team in the conference. Fun fact: prior to the loss at Syracuse, during league play so far this year, Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman are averaging a combined 42.8 points per game. That seem like a lot? It is. It’s the highest 1-2 scoring duo in the entire nation. With Robinson and Turner being just sophomores, Bowman and Popovic being just freshmen, THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR OUR EAGLES.