Heights Hoop Update #6

By Andrew Linnehan

January 11 featured one of Boston College’s most impressive wins of the season as they took down a talented NC State team 74-66. After that Wednesday night game, the Eagles were 9-8 including a respectable 2-2 record in the ACC after losing all 18 conference contests a season ago. Since then, however, BC has dropped seven straight games, all to ACC opponents. Some games the Eagles were overmatched and were not able to keep pace with their superior opponent (Syracuse 76-53, Virginia 71-54). Some games the Eagles were overmatched but still competed formidably, but ultimately slipped out of reach as the game progressed (UNC 90-82, Louisville 90-67). Some games the Eagles were overmatched but were still nearly able to pull off upset wins (Miami 78-77, Virginia Tech 85-79, Wake Forest 85-80). The unifying theme? The Eagles are consistently overmatched in the most competitive conference in the nation; a conference that will likely have at least seven representatives in the NCAA tournament. Now, of course, no wins in nearly a calendar month is not the place Jim Christian or any of his players wanted to be. Was it expected? Perhaps. Even before conference play began, I wrote that January would be the most difficult stretch BC will face all season long. That is part of the growing pains of this astonishingly young unit Boston College has assembled. However, I firmly believe these seven losses are exactly why the Eagles are due for an impressive end to their 2016-17 season.

The January stretch featured opponents currently nationally ranked 4th (Louisville), 8th (UNC), 12th (Virginia), and 18th (Duke); teams that are a combined 75-18 (.807 winning percentage). With these elite teams showing no mercy to youthful BC opponent, it is impressive the Eagles were able to compete, as the losses to North Carolina and Duke were decided by 8 points each. If you include the other ACC opponents BC has been defeated by, their opponents combine for a ridiculous 135-49 record (.734 winning percentage). This is significantly the most difficult Boston College will be exposed to all season.

Contrary to the January schedule, BC’s remaining schedule also features ACC foes, but primarily the weaker opponents. Aside from Florida State (14), none of their seven remaining games is against a top 25 team. Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame (who the Eagles play twice), Florida State, Virginia Tech (second meeting), and Clemson combine for a 91-49 record (.650 winning percentage). This is still quite impressive, yet it does not equate to the quality of opponents BC faced in the first half of the ACC schedule.

With the Eagles’ exposure and ability to contend with the elite representatives of the ACC, BC will be able to accumulate various skills and strategies learned by the better competition to subsequently defeat the weaker teams they face in their upcoming conquests. A coach’s favorite cliche is “you learn more from losses than you do from wins”. In this case, the losses to superior competition will allow the wins to follow against weaker opponents. In a way, the Eagles are fortunate to have had the bulk of their schedule arise in the middle of the season as opposed to the end, as their progression will be more evident now.

In their losses to the ACC’s best, BC has suffered from deficiencies in turnovers, rotation on defense, and identifying quality shots. The Eagles had surrendered a total of 51 turnovers (17 average) in their games against Syracuse, Virginia, and UNC (note: all of which made it to the Elite Eight last year). Yet, in four games against Miami, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Louisville, they totaled 49 turnovers; averaging under 12.5 per game during that stretch. The Eagles’ development in caring for the ball has led them to be more competitive on a consistent basis. If BC can continue this significantly downward trend of turnovers, they will be more competitive against their weaker upcoming schedule.

Another silver lining to these recent losses is the emergence and further development of certain role players. With Jerome Robinson averaging 19.4 points per game and Ky Bowman being just one of four freshmen in the entire nation to have at least three 30 point games, it has been easy for opponents to identify these players as the primary focus of their strategy. Teams have sent double teams, relentless help defense, and full court pressure defenses to try to neutralize these talented players. However, this is exactly the reason why players like Jordan Chatman, Nik Popovic, and now Ervins Meznieks have stepped up.

In the last article, I mentioned how Jordan Chatman is BC’s purest shooter and to look for him to find his stride in the coming games. Needless to say, Chatman has been hotter than a Walsh apartment in August. Since the 78-77 loss to Miami, Chatman is 17 of 24 from long distance, highlighted by an outstanding 9 of 11 performance in the 85-80 loss to Virginia Tech. Chatman’s ability to find where the defense is vulnerable and create set-shot opportunities for himself has propelled him to be BC’s secondary scoring boost. He has even found his role adjust from the second or third guy off the bench to a starter. Chatman is a talented shooter and will continue to keep opposing defenses honest. With Chatman’s expanded role and hot shooting streak, defenses will be able to take some pressure off Robinson and Bowman, allowing all three of BC’s scorers to contribute to their greatest capacity.

Nik Popovic also continues to improve on a night-to-night basis. He has always been credited for his impressive fundamentals and back-to-the-basket post moves, but his improvement in regards to his range and defense has become evident. Pop has proven that he is capable of knocking down mid-range and even uncontested 3-point jump shots. With this addition to his arsenal, defenses will have to be cognizant of Popovic’s whereabouts at all times or else he’ll make you pay. His ability to knock down deeper jump shots will also create more opportunities for his teammates who strive getting to the basket, like his fellow freshman Ky Bowman. If Popovic is able to pull his big defender towards the perimeter, it will allow guys like Bowman and Robinson to attack the basket with less obstruction. However, Popovic has become his own worst enemy as he’s seen his playing time decrease at the end of games because he seems to constantly be in foul trouble. Pop must play more conservative defense, because in games like Wake Forest when the Eagles could have benefited from his offensive presence in the post late in the game, he was unavailable due to foul trouble.

In BC’s latest defeat against a talented Louisville team, Coach Jim Christian turned to an unorthodox contributor at the end of the first half: Ervins Meznieks. Meznieks is a sophomore from Latvia and has seen very limited playing time so far this season, with the majority of games being DNP’s. Meznieks is an athletic and hard-nosed 6’7” forward who plays very similarly to Connar Tava in the way he defends as well as boxes out. In minutes that typically go to AJ Turner or Garland Owens, Meznieks found his way into the game. Meznieks had an immediate impact against the Cardinals as he tallied 5 points including a 3 pointer, a couple rebounds, and even drew a charge in just four minutes before the conclusion of the first half. With AJ Turner’s recent struggles and Meznieks ability to block out bigger defenders as well as knock down perimeter shots, look for Ervins to continue providing the Eagles with quality minutes.

As these secondary players continue to expand their role, BC will be able to not rely on bulk scoring from Robinson and Bowman in order to compete. The Eagles are becoming a gradually becoming a multidimensional team with multiple players that are capable of impacting the game in various ways.

With BC improving on a nightly basis, expect them to round out this season with a few more wins. Their next game comes against the Pittsburgh Panthers (12-11, 1-9 ACC) in a battle for the basement of the ACC. Pittsburgh has suffered their worst season in recent memory, highlighted by a 55 point loss to Louisville back on January 24. They have been playing better as of late, including a 2 point loss to UNC and an 8 point loss to Duke. Even with their improvements, they have still dropped 8 straight contests. Like BC can be, Pitt is also very top heavy regarding their scorers. They have the top 2 scorers in the ACC with 6’7” Jamel Artis (20.7 PPG) and 6’9” Michael Young (20.4 PPG). These talented bigs pose a constant threat so it is crucial that BC focuses on neutralizing at least one at all times. Mo Jeffers, Connar Tava, AJ Turner and Nik Popovic have their hands full tonight and it is essential to stay out of foul trouble. On the bright side, BC has the clear advantage in the backcourt. Robinson and Bowman are the strengths of BC’s team while Pitt alternatively relies on their frontcourt to compete. Look for Bowman and Robinson to have big nights as long as they do not force shots. Although Boston College hasn’t defeated Pitt since the 1997-98 season, that streak is in serious danger to be reversed on Wednesday.

Tune in to WZBC Newton 90.3 FM or the FM link at wzbcsports.com on Wednesday night at 7:00 for the call of BC-Pitt.