Mike Sagay End of Year Player Review
By Ben Neuwirth
First posted on Bostoncollege.247sports.com
247 Sports will be doing a recap of the 2016-17 Boston College Men’s Basketball Season, going over where each player improved throughout the year, their best performance of the season and what we hope to see them add, heading into the 2017-18 campaign.
Mike Sagay came to Boston College from Oakdale, Connecticut, ranked 370th in the country as a recruit, and sporting a massive 6’7” frame that had fans on the Heights dreaming of his potential. His first season was mostly spent learning the ropes of what it is to be an ACC basketball player, the ins and outs of Coach Jim Christian’s system as well as how to train and develop his body the right way. While Sagay only saw 67 minutes on the court, throughout the season fans saw him take on a bigger and bigger role, culminating in him getting minutes in each of Eagles’ last 7 games. He was able to get out of the deer-in-the-headlights phase that many freshmen are unable to move past and played some quality minutes down the stretch as an athletic wing with a good looking shot, passable defense and an improving feel for the game.
2015-16 Stats:
N/A
2016-17 Stats:
4.5 MPG
2.0 PPG
0.9 RPG
0.0 APG
37.9 FG%
57.1 3P%
40.0 FT%
8.1 PER
44.4 TS%
77.0 ORtg
108.0 DRtg
Best Game:
12/3/16 vs. Dartmouth 88-70
15 Minutes, 5 Pts, 1 rebound, 1 steal
2-6 FG, 1-2 3P
Sagay showed his 3-and-D potential against Dartmouth, playing a career high 15 minutes, while contributing a steal and a three to the Eagles’ victory over the Big Green. Sagay didn’t get a lot of burn this season, mostly due to the plethora of wings on the team, as AJ Turner, Jordan Chapman, Garland Owens and even Ervins Meznieks were ahead of him in the pecking order, however he showed poise and was solid on the court, a difficult task when you don’t know when you’ll get your next minutes. He has the athleticism to hang with the ACC competition and while he’s been prone to falling asleep on occasion, overall his basketball IQ is very good. He was a reliable option for this game and hopefully can build off of these performances.
Looking Forward:
With 3 more years of eligibility remaining, Sagay should play a key role in the rebuilding of the BC program but he needs to keep improving. While he shot 57% from downtown, it was only on 7 total attempts and his mediocre free throw and field goal percentage suggest that his shooting still needs some work. With two drive-and-dish guards, Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson, Sagay will get plenty of opportunities to shoot open shots. If he wants more playing time he needs to make them. On the other end, he simply needs to improve his focus. There were a handful of times when Sagay would completely lose track of the man he was guarding, almost always leading to a bucket. BC is losing their best perimeter defender in Garland Owens, if Mike wants to grab some of his playing time it’ll be crucial that he becomes a positive defender, if not the Tony Allen caliber his physical tools suggest is possible. Quietly, Sagay has also become one of the best rebounders on the Heights, his 8.4 boards per 40 minutes was right behind Owens for 5th on the team. BC was last in the ACC in opponent defensive rebounds and if he can keep up these numbers, similar to Garland, it could been another way to find playing time. Sagay will need massive improvements if he’s to become a rotation player on next year’s team but the tools are there and his head seems in the right place. If he commits this summer don’t be surprised to see Mike as one of the key cogs on next year’s squad.