The House that Skinner Built

Catching up...

2006-11-28T16:51:00.000-05:00

I think it would be an understatement to say that this season has not started off as well as mot of us expected, but...it hasn't. Personally, the loss to Vermont did not cause me too much concern. It was clearly a game that BC should have won, but I chalked that one up to "$#!# happens." The Providence game on the other hand, caused me great concern. To my ears (I am yet to see BC play this year), it sounded like a lack of effort (oh yeah, and piss poor shooting). Hopefully, the Rhode Island game was a sign that things have been straightened out, however, I will reserve judgement. I think this week will tell us a lot about what to expect from this team. On paper, neither Michigan State nor UMass are as talented as BC, but neither were Vermont or Providence. For me to believe that the ship has truly been righted, BC needs to win both of these games, and one of them has be a fairly easy victory. We'll see where things stand come Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, BC finally got around to announcing the five signees from the Fall signing period. I have tried to stay on top of how each of the signees are going in their high school season but most high school hoops seasons are yet to start. An exception to this is Texas. Texas high schools get started early, and both Biko Paris and Cortney Dunn have a handful of games under their belts already. In the case of Paris, he is picking up right where he left off after averaging 16ppg as a junior. Through six games this season, Paris is putting up better than 20 points per for Cypress Christian in Houston. A similar point output increase has been exhibited by Dunn. Some be fans questioned what BC might be getting in Dunn, especially after learning that he only put up 10 points a game as a junior. As a senior, through five games, he's averaging right around 16ppg. Clearly, Dunn is not going to be a guy that BC asks to carry the offensive load, but its good to know that he can put up decent points in high school, where he likely has a two to five inch height advantage most nights. As high school seasons kick into gear, I'll try to keep everyone updated on the future Eagles.

College Hoops Net: BC Preview

2006-11-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

Though their information is not always the most accurate, I like College Hoops Net for the fact that every year they rank the entire nation, #1 through #336.

This year, though I think they have BC a little high, at #10, I think the season preview is pretty accurate. CHN did what no other preview has been brave enough to do, pick BC #2 in the ACC ahead of Duke. Clearly, things will be decided on the court, but I just think the Blue Devils have a lot of question marks that are being overlooked. In any event, here is how CHN ranks BC's opponents:

North Carolina - top 5 - no preview yet
Kansas - top 5 - no preview yet
Duke #15
Georgia Tech #22
Virginia #34
Michigan State #36
Florida State #45
UMass #51
Clemson #54
Virginia Tech #59
Maryland #70
NC State #107
Providence #118
Miami #121
Wake Forest #143
Vermont #148
Rhode Island #170
New Hampshire #186
Yale #199
Northeastern #232
Sacred Heart #248
Duquense #269
Fairfield #281
Hartford #319

Old news...Biko Paris commits

2006-10-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

Notwithstanding my pronouncement that BC was Dunn with the class of 2007, BC was still working on point guards in the class of 2007. That work paid off in the form of Biko Paris, a 6'1 195lb point guard out of New Orleans, LA by way of Houston, TX.

Articles of Paris' commitment are plentiful (Eagle Action, Texas Hoops, Rivals, Scout), but those stories don't give us much information on Paris as a player. For instance, none of those articles point out that as a sophomore at John Curtis in River Ridge, LA, Paris lead all of New Orleans in scoring at 28ppg, oh yeah, he handed out 7 assists per game as well. Also missing from those articles is that last year at Cypress Community Christian in Houston, Paris led the team in scoring at 16ppg and in assists with 5apg, while being named 1st Team 4A TAPPPS All-Sate. For the record, last year's CCC squad also boasted current UConn frosh Hasheem Thabeet and top 50 sophomore (now junior) Steve Tchiengang. How about 43%, thats the percentage of Paris' shots from beyond the arc that found the bottom of the net last season. Based on this, I think its safe to say that Paris can both score and distribute.

On thing I find interesting about Paris is questions about his weight. He is generally listed somewhere between 200 and 210 pounds, however, I came across a number of references to Paris dropping a few pounds this summer and thereby increasing his recruiting stock. As far as the recruiting websites go, the only thing certain about Paris is that the pundits don't agree. Among various sites, Paris is rated #95, 162, 200, and 309, and this does not include Rivals or Scout, neither of which list him in their rankings. However, with offers at various points of the recruiting process from Cincinnati, Miami, Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Virginia, I think its safe to say that he's an ACC caliber player. Coupling that with the evaluation abilities of the BC staff, and I suspect BC is getting itself a player in Biko Paris.

With the addition of Paris, BC's five man recruiting class is rising in the national rankings; College Hoops Update lists BC's incoming class at #18 in the nation, while Hoop Scoop has it at #16.

Its officially hoops season...

2006-10-16T11:39:00.000-04:00

I have been pretty good in staying on top of recruiting recently, but what I have not done is stay on top of how the team has looked in early pick-up games and individual workouts. With that in mind, I received permission from a couple BC faithful to pass along what they have heard and/or seen in recent weeks. Anyone who follows the BC message boards has already seen this info posted, but I thought I'd stick it in one place for all to see.

Pick-up Games

A couple weeks ago, ShockDoct happened upon the the BC team running pick-up in the Plex, here are his thoughts and observations (note that Akida McLain and Tyrese Rice were not running)...

Sean Marshall...still had trouble finishing

Jared Dudley...looked like he slimmed down a little, and he definitely is now the leader on this team as he and marshall did most of the "coaching"

Sean Williams...looked much more comfortable around the basket than in years past, he had some post moves, but nothing amazing

Tyrelle Blair...one suprise for me was seeing him rebound on the defensive glass, other than that nothing that impressive, he's not nearly as explosive as Sean Williams

Marquez Haynes...simply amazing from both outside and driving into the lane, was quiet (not a lot of woofing) and lethal

Shamari Spears...is going to have to adjust to playing against taller guys (was mostly defended by John Oates) as he had his shot swatted a few times, he seemed to get frustrated as well. Shamari has a release on his face-up jumper, but does not have the brute force to power pass biggert players. He does have a similar build as Craig Smith, so if he puts in the time he could transform his body and become a monster

Tyler Roche...has a nice shot from the outside, but he is very thin and was not much of a factor anywhere near the basket

Daye Kaba...is a legit 6'4 and looks comfortable handling the ball

Individual Workouts and Expectations

Now that practice has begun, Quadruple Eagle/BC Addict gave us what he's heard this fall about player development and expectations...

Jared Dudley - Worked on thinning down and being a bit quicker for the season -- will be more of the prototypical 3 than in years past, I think. While he'll be the focal point of the offense, he hopefully will have enough options to help shoulder the load. I'm thinking somehwere along the line of 18 and 9 for Duds, including the clutch performances we have come to expect out of him. It's pretty impressive to note that in each year he's been here, his game has steadily improved from seasn to season -- that's really soemthing to say considering his performance as a Ffosh. He will get his points, he will produce, the question is his supporting cast, as I am not as worried about him shouldering the load of being "the guy"...

Sean Marshall - I've been waiting for Marshall to improve in some respect every season he's been at the Heights. Each year, I've been disappointed; thus, I'm not going to get myself too worked up with expectations here. He is what he is -- he'll get you 10 points, but his inconsistency will drive you nuts. He's a very hard worker, particulalry on the defensive end, and if he can take some of the scoring load off of Dudley and Rice, he'll really improve our chances for success (as well as open up the court for Sean Williams around the rim). I really think he'll go off against UNC or Duke, but play miserably against NC State or G-Tech...

Tyler Neville - may see the court as his game has improved and depending upon Haynes' ability to play the point and Marshalls production at the 2. He's not a bad defender and can hit a pull-up J...

Sean Williams - bad news first: has some tendinitis in his knee and has had trouble getting on the court lately. While hopefully this injury doesn't linger too long, it's a little nuisance considering the substantital overhaul in the team's type of play they will be installing for the coming season. On a positive note, the tendinitis demonstrates the absolute tenacity Sean has shown in trying to improve his game throughout the offseason. From Nike camps to the Power Gym, Sean has really worked hard to improve his game. Remember that hook against G-Tech last year because you'll see it plenty this season. If Sean continues to develop his post moves, I don't think it'd be out of the question for the TEAM to IMPROVE on last year's substantial success...

John Oates - will continue to start and get 10 minutes a game -- while many people scream for him to get off the court (including myself last year), he is important in two respects: first, he improves Sean Williams' ability to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble; and second, relaxes some of the shooters on this team when he hits the 20 footer...

Akida McLain - While much was made of the rumors this offseason surrounding the mercurial, but immensely talented McLain, I'm more than a bit concerned about some more rumors emanating from his camp this fall. While completely different from the whispers this summer, rumor has it, he has broken team/school rules and may miss a few of the early games this season. This won't affect the team too much, and depending on how it unfolds, may give Shamari some nice early season experience. I sincerely hoped Akida would return this year with an aggresiveness he previously lacked....I suppose we must wait and see how things turn out. Akida could become the key to turning this team into a final four contender...unfortunately he hasn't demonstrated the effort or willingness to do so thus far...

Tyrelle Blair - just a body that hopefully won't have to see significant minutes because in that case either Williams, Akida or Shamari will have gone down with an injury, suspension etc. He's depth for the frountcout -- pretty solid on the defensive end, but his offense leaves a lot to desired. Perhaps the most significant development with him in the last week or so has been the commitment of Biko Paris. I think the most likely scenario next year will be that bBair does not get offered a 5th year, barring some sort of frontcourt transfer...

Tyrese Rice - Our little Nick Van Exel shouldn't make too many people yearn for Lou this year. What we lose in veteran leadership, we make up big time in explosiveness into the lane, a more effective fast break and three point bombs. Lou picked up his game from the ACC tourney on last season, but his proclivity to disappear in stretches frustrated a lot of his followers throughout his career at BC. One thing about Tyrese, he never disappears. While he won't have Lou's spectacular A/T ratio, his point production and highlight-reel passes will hopefully make up for his at times turnover-prone game. This team will go as far as Tyrese Rice can take us. I know Dudley and Sean Williams will be critical to this team's success, but if this team wants to make a run at the Final Four, which I think it can, it must get consistent and at times spectacular PG play out of Rice. He is paramount to this team's run and IMO, he's up to the challenge. An injury to Rice would destroy this team faster than at any other position, including one to Dudley. Kaba is not ready to play at this level yet and Marquez is not a PG...

Marquez Haynes - Steady improvement out of this kid, who should see the floor at least 20 minutes a game -- spending time behind both Rice and Marshall. He could become a crunch time performer, depending upon Marshall's production as Haynes is the team's superior on-the-ball defender. I love this kid's tenacity and can't wait to see it when he puts it on the floor and takes it to the hoop -- something nobody else on this team does outside of Tyrese. He also has a knack for weakside rebounds. Running the break with Sean Williams and Tyrese should result in at least a few ESPN top 10's. Expect Haynes to be a big contributor this upcoming season...

Shamari Spears - Looks quite good and will be a contributor on this team from day 1. While I highly doubt he starts (that's going to John Oates in my opinion), he should get plenty of minutes off the bench--maybe something in the range of 15-20. If he improves on the defensive end, and continues to show a knack for scoring around the hoop, perhaps he could get 20 + come the end of the ACC season. While he has a similar body build, let's not lable him too much with Craig Smith type expectations and comparisons just yet, we do not want him to fold under the pressure of following one of BC's all-time greats. Shamari is the one freshman we can guarantee that will be a contributor this season. The amount of minutes he plays, is likely contingent upon Akida's ability to focus on the court and keep his nose clean off of it...

Tyler Roche - An absolute lights out shooter who is a legit 6'7-6'8 (think poor man's Steve Novak with a slightly smaller build). Unfortunately, Roche needs to work on his shot with someone in his face, as he is not nearly the dead-eye shooter that Novak was with a hand in his eyeballs. With a year of seasoning in the gym and weight room, this guy could become an integral aspect of BC bball for the subsequent 3 years. Great attitude here as well...

Daye Kaba - doubt he'll do much this year...

Time permitting, I'll have more of Biko Paris' commitment later today.

Recruiting news...

2006-10-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

It appears that the Al Skinner and Company have adopted the recruiting philosophy of many other programs...sign as may people as you want and sort it out later. This assumption is based on the fact that 6'1 PG Biko Paris, from Cypress Community Christian School in Houston, Texas, is at the Heights this weekend on an official visit and is claiming a BC offer. Many fans felt that BC needed a point guard in this class, so the fact that they are recruiting one isn't suprising, what is suprising is BC's apparent willingness to take a fifth commit this fall even though only four scholarships are presently available for next year. Word is that a good visit for Paris this weekend is all but sure to result in his commiting to BC.

Though the general feeling among fans is that BC could get an additional scholarship from Sean Williams leaving school early, I believe a more likely scenario is that Tyrell Blair may not be given a fifth year. If he is unable to beat out Williams, John Oates, Akida McLain and Shamari Spears for mintues this year, there would be litte reason to bring Blair back the following season. With commitments from two post players, Blair's time to prove his worth is limited. Though I generally believe that you give a kid a scholarship until he exhausts his eligibility, I have no problem with BC pulling a scholarship from a non-contributing would be fifth year senior who has already graduated.

Oh yeah, in other recruiting news, I have a few more juniors that BC is involved with:

Melquan Bolding, 6'4 SF from the Bronx - BC has not had a lot of success recruiting NYC since pulling Uka Agbai out of Queens some eight years ago. If BC were to get the NYC ball rolling again with Boldingl, it is going to take one hell of a recruiting job, as he is likely to have his pick of Big East programs. In terms of Bolding's game, think Ryan Sidney with two extra inches of height.

Nate Miles, 6'6 SG from Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio, originally from Ohio - BC has little to no shot at landing Miles, who is a top 25 player in the class of '08, but you gotta like that the BC staff is not letting that stop them.

Jared Swopshire, 6'8 SF from IMG Academy, originally from St. Louis - Swopshire is a kid who is in the process of "blowing up." He is not on may top 100 lists, but by this time next year could be on most top 50 lists. He's a kid who has played close to that basket most of his life, but dominated on the 16-and-up AAU circuit this summer from the wing. BC was in early, but will likely have to fight off a who's who of college basketball to land this kid.

Steve Tchiengang, 6'8 PF out of Cyress Community Christian, yes same high school as this weekend's official visitor Biko Paris. Tchiengang, originally from Cameroon, is generally rated as a top 50 recruit, but that rating is based almost entirely on his potential rather what he has done thus far. In any event, Tchiengang has the physical attributes to be a monster at the next level and BC is in early with an offer. I can't say enough about my respect for BC's willingness to battle the Arizonas, Connecticuts, Floridas of the college basketball world, all of whom have reportedly offered Tchiengang.

Laslty, if you hadn't heard, 2008 target SG Garvey Young took in the BC/Maine football game a couple weeks ago with his father. Word is BC, thanks to its lead recruiter Bonzie Colson, is doing very well with Young.

BC Targets in the Class of 2007

2006-10-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

With the fall signed period quickly approaching, and BC's fall class wrapped up, I figured I'd take a look at the players that BC did not land. As is the case every year, BC -- as well as every other major conference school in the country not named Duke or North Carolina -- targeted three to five players for each available scholarship. My understanding is that each of Rakim Sanders, Corey Raji and Josh Southern were among BC's top five targets in the class, and frankly, I don't believe Al Skinner & Co. have every had that sort of success in recruiting.

As of the writing of this entry, to my knowledge, there is only one player (Josh Owens) that BC seriously recruited who has not committed anywhere. Taking a look at the schools to which the following players committed confirms that BC is continuing to make strides in recruiting. Gone are the days when BC goes head to head with the likes of Ivy League, America East and MAAC schools for recruits. Also gone are the days when BC would miss on options A and B to be left with C or D. Don't get me wrong, BC has done something right in recruiting to get where they are, and the strategy is not really changing, the difference is that BC is landing more of the players at the top of their board. With this in mind, here are the players that BC missed on:

Players who reportedly received offers from BC:

Eli Holman, C (Indiana) - listed BC among final three before committing
Jamelle Horne, SF (Arizona) - committed as a junior, but listed BC
James Johnson, SF/PF (Wake Forest) - listed BC in final five
Jeff Jones, PG/SG (Virginia) - BC was in final six or seven
Laval Lucas-Perry, PG/SG (Arizona) - BC was in final seven
Demitri McCamey, PG (Illinois) - never gave BC serious consideration
Keaton Nankivil, PF (Wisconsin) - BC was in final three
Jeff Teague, PG (Wake Forest) - BC was in final two or three
Julian Vaughan, C (Florida State) - did not list BC during latter stages of recruitment

Players that BC recruited by never offered:

Matthew Bryan-Amaning, PF (Washington) - never really considered BC
Dele Coker, C (St. John's) - wanted a BC offer that never came
Jared Cunningham, SF/PF (George Washington) - BC only evaluated him
Larry Davis, SG (Cincinnati) - considered BC until the end
Darnell Dobson, SF (Pittsburgh) - BC's interest waned
Justin Holiday, SF (Washington) - never seriously considered BC
Dorenzo Hudson, SG (Virginia Tech) - mutual interest never went anywhere
Richard Jackson, PF (Syracuse) - committed to early for BC to be a player
Jamelle McMillian, PG (Arizona State) - BC tried to get in too late
Todd O'Brien, PF (Bucknell) - wanted a BC offer that never came
Tyrone Shelley, SF (Pepperdine) - schools offered early then backed off
Shane Walker, PF/C (Maryland) - BC only evaluated him
Jerrell Williams, SF/PF (LaSalle) - early BC interest waned
Sean Williams, C (Syracuse) - BC only evaluated him

Based on recent articles on the Scout network, it appears that BC may still be in the market for a point guard in the class of 2007. Two kids who have expressed an interest in visiting BC are 6'3 Donnell Beverly out of Leuzinger HS near Los Angeles and 6'2 Kareem Nitoto out of San Leandro HS in northern California. At this point BC does not have any more scholarships available, but unexpected turnover is a way of life in college hoops, so BC appears to have spring options should someone transfer or declare early for the draft.

Around New England...

2006-10-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

The people who put on this summer's New England Elite 75 camp have updated their website New England Basketball Services and have a lot of good information, including rankings, on New England's prep/high school classes of 2007 through 2010...

Speaking of the New England Elite 75, I came across this audio file and MRB.org's write up on the event while surfing the net. In the audio, Lee Academy's Coach Parker reviews his top 13 performers from the Elite 75. Among interest to BC fans will be #1 Rakim Sanders and #12 Erik Murphy. I don't want to call names or point fingers, but Coach Parker seems to be a bit of a homer in putting one of his own players, Corey Bingham, in the top 13 even though he didn't make the All Star game (top 20 players) at the event. Also odd is that Coach Parker has Alex Oriaki at #4 on the list when pretty much everything I've read about the event suggests that he did not have a particularly good showing...

Draft Express scouting the ACC

2006-10-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

So far this preseason, the m0st in depth preview of the ACC that I have come across is from Draft Express. After taking a look at the bottom and middle two-thirds of the conference last week, Draft Express' look at that top four is now up. Predictably, BC was select third in the conference behind the Tobacco Road tandem.

Taking a look of Draft Express' preview of BC, there are no glaring mistakes or omissions (well maybe their reference to Jared Dudley being "deadly" from the outside). On of the more interesting things in the preview is their suggestion that the starting line up with be Tyrese Rice, Marquez Haynes, Sean Marshall, Dudley and Sean Williams. While I do expect this line-up to see the court a fair amount this year (especially if we don't get consistency out of Akida McLain and Shamari Spears), I'd be extremely surprised if this five starts. I'll stick with my current pronouncement that John Oates starts next to Williams in the post.

On the recruiting front, Draft Express lists BC's incoming freshman class, plus Tyrell Blair, as 10th in the ACC, while the commits from the class of 2007 are currently #6 in the conference.

Recruiting: BC vs. New England

2006-10-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

Someone suggested that I take a look at BC recruiting in the context of Al Skinner and his staff's failure to land many of the top home grown prospects. Clearly, there are a lot of kids who play in New England prep schools who aren't from the region and have no allegiances to New England (think guys like Jarrret Jack from Maryland or Richard Roby from California) so they are not included in this survey. Also not considered are kids from Connecticut because they grow up watching their State U. As such, this is limit to players from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hamshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Further, I am only going to look at players who played at the high-major level and A10.

Anyone who follows BC hoops closely knows Al Skinner's take on recruting local players. On a number of ocassions, Skinner has been quoted as saying that he is going to be careful when he recruits a local player because its a lot harder to sit on the bench in front of your friends and family. My interpretation of this is that he is only going to go after local kids that he is sure can play on the Big East/ACC level, whereas he might take a chance on a kid from outside the region. With this in mind, I'll go back to the high school class of 1999 (partially because pre-1999 information was hard to come by and also because Skinner's first two classes were not recruited under the greatest of circumstances), and compare the players BC signed to the best of what New England had to offer.

High School Class of 1999
BC signed: Uka Agbai, Troy Bell, Andrew Dudley (transferred to St. Peter's) and Erik Witt (never played at BC, back injury)
New Englanders: Leland Anderson (Michigan, transferred to Providence), Matt Bonner (Florida), Tony Robertson (UConn)

In '99, BC was still struggling and was not really in a position to battle the big boys for recruits. Interestingly, the most highly regarded of BC's haul was Drew Dudley who had a number of offers from the A10 and a couple from the Big East. Troy Bell chose BC over Tennessee and Xavier, but if you recall, Buzz Peterson (I think he was Tennessee's coach at the time) did not think highly enough of Bell to be on campus during his official visit. Agbai chose BC over powerhouses Columbia, Monmouth and Sienna, while Witt was an unknown German.

If I remember correctly, BC heavily recruited each of Anderson, Bonner and Robertson, and was a contender for Anderson. Matt Bonner and Tony Robertson went on to have excellent college careers, though its safe to say no BC fan would trade Robertson for Bell. Although he never lived up to expectations, I think its safe to say that we'd all trade Anderson for Dudley and/or Witt. As far as Bonner for Agbai, I'm not sure I'd do it. Bonner was (is) obviously more talented than Agbai, but Uka was BCs emotional leader for five years and I wouldn't trade that for the additional production Bonner provided.

BC vs. New England - PUSH

High School Class of 2000
BC signed: Andrew Bryant (transferred to Oklahoma Baptist - or somethign like that), Udo Hadjisotirov (transferred to Maine) and Ryan Signey (transferred to Kennesaw State - or something like that)
New Englanders: Anthony Anderson (UMass), Neil Fingleton (North Carolina, transferred to Holy Cross) and Scott Hazelton (UConn, transferred to URI)

The class of '00 was the one that helped BC turn the corner, well at least Ryan Sidney. For some reason, Udo was only a player when he had Bulgaria written across his chest (remembe the 35 he dropped on Canada in the World University Games), and while Bryant was good for a few moonballs three-pointers a game, he was horribly limited in his abilities. Even with the shortcomings of Udo and AB, when Ryan Sidney had his head screwed on right, he was one hell of a basketball players, afterall, how many 6'2 guys go for 20 and 20 against Michigan?

As far as the class of '00 New Englander's go, though there were two McDonald's All Americans (the game was in Boston), the best college player was the other kid. The only player that BC recruited was Neil Fingleton (yes I know he is from England so I broke my rule about home grown talent) and they lost an extended recruiting battel when the 7'5 Brit chose UNC over BC. Neither Anderson, who sat out his first year as a partial qualifier, nor Hazelton had the academics to get a serious look from BC (I am not one of those BC fans who pretends that our standards for athletes are anything like those for non-athletes, but BC does require more than most schools). Anderson put together a good career at UMass, while Fingleton succumbed to injuries and Hazelton succumbed to a lack of talent.

BC vs. New England - BC

High School Class of 2001
BC signed: Nate Doornekamp, Jermaine Watson, Kirstin Zoellner (transferred to Albany)
New Englanders: None

In '01, BC signed what would turn out to be a three year starter and an energizer/defender off the bench and both had solid though unspectacular careers at the Heights. Oh yeah, there was also Das Big Man (my favorite nickname in recent BC history). Considering that there was not a single high major player other than Watson from a New England state other than Connecticut, I can say that BC spanked New England's @$$ in this recruiting class.

[ASIDE: It was an excellent year in Connecticut as the state produced Marcus Cox (UConn), Ryan Gomes (PC), Mark Konecny (Syracuse) and Rob Sanders (PC).]

BC vs. New England - BC

High School Class of 2002
BC signed: Louis Hinnant, Johnnie Jackson (transferred to Ohio) and Craig Smith
New Englanders: Rashid Al-Kaleem (Florida, transferred to D2 American International College), Keith Butler (Temple, transferred to Depaul), Nik Caner-Medley (Maryland), Torin Francis (Notre Dame), Marshall Strickland (Indiana)

The class of '02 was a good one for New England, but a great one for BC. Its funny that as far as recruiting rankings go, Johnnie Jackson was BC's top signee, but the other two wound up being four year starters. I could say a lot about the underappreciated Hinnant and the All American Smith, but anyone reading this is aware of all of that.

In terms of the players New England produced, it was a good class, even in BCs eyes. Though BC never make a play for Butler, they went hard after Al-Kaleem, Caner-Medley, Francis and Strickland, and was in the final two for Al-Kaleem, Caner Medley and Francis. Unfortunately for this New England class, for the most part they were not able to live up to expectations (see a pattern developing?). Al-Kaleem left Florida after a year never to be heard from again, Francis injured his back as a sophomore and was never the same player, Butler is what BC though he was, SOFT, and Stickland, though an adequate college PG, simply did not become the player expected. Conversely, Caner-Medley was a much better college player than expected and had a fine career in College Park. [ASIDE: Of the New Englander's discussed in this blog entry, Nik Caner-Medley is my #2 biggest regret that BC missed on.]

BC vs. New England - BC

High School Class of 2003
BC signed: Jared Dudley, Devon Evertsen (transferred to Fordham then off the map), Steve Hailey (signed with Northeastern, but now in the ABA) and Sean Marshall
New Englanders: Will Blalock (Iowa State), Dwight Brewington (Providence, tansferred to Liberty), Mike Jones (Maryland), Demetris Nichols (Syracuse), Courtney Sims (Michigan) and Nick Stafford (Dayton)

The BC class of '03 has two players who will finish their BC career having started every single game they played in at the Heights, and two guys who wasted their opportunities. Jared Dudley is simply an amazing basketball player. He is neither the quickest nor most athletic, not a great shooter or defender, but at the end of every game, he's filled the stat sheet and contained the guy he's guarding. When all is said and done, Dudley will be one of the top five scorers in BC history. Sean Marshall, though much maligned by BC fans, has put together a very solid career for himself.

Of the New England classes considered, this is by far the best, partially its depth. While no one has had the career that Jared Dudley has, there is just no getting around that all of them have been significant contributors at their respective schools. Unfortunately for BC, though this New England class was talented, grades prevented Skinner from purusing a number of them, namely Blalock, Brewington, Nichols and Stafford. BC entered the Jones recruitment late, and although he gave BC a serious look, there was just too much ground that BC couldn't make up. The player in this class that BC really wanted was Sims, and for a while, it looked like BC would get him. As I hear it, someone was in Sims' ear about BC not being the place for a black kid and that allowed Tommy Amaker (one of the worst coaches in the history of basketball coaches) to sneak in and steal him. Without a doubt, Courtney Sims is the one kid discussed herein that I wish had come to BC. I truely believe BC would have won last year's national championship with him on the team.

BC vs. New England - New England

High School Class of 2004
BC signed: Akida McLain, John Oates, Gordon Watt (transferred to Purdue) and Sean Williams
New Enlanders: Charlie Burch (Providence) and Luke Bonner (West Virginia, tranferred to UMass)

Though no member of BC's class of '04 has had a truly substantial career to this point, the New England class was simply not very talented. Yes, BC offered a scholarship to Luke Bonner, but I doubt that there are many BC fans who would take young Mr. Bonner over either the Maneater or the Fly Swatta.

BC vs. New England - BC

High School Class of 2005
BC signed: Marquez Haynes, Evan Neisler (transferred to Drexel) and Tyrese Rice
New Englanders: Jeff Adrien (UConn), Antonio Anderson (Memphis), Farnold Degand (Iowa State, transferred to NC State), Kendric Price (Michigan)

Considering that this class is only entering its second year of college, its too early to rate, but there appears to be some stars in the making both from BC (Rice and Haynes) and New England (Adrien and Anderson). At the time of his recruitment, I was a bit disappointed that BC was not a more serious player for Degand, but considering what we have in Rice, I'll take that trade anyday. I know that BC would have loved to have landed Adrien, but they dragged their feet a bit in his recruitment. Anderson is a good player, but after six years of high school, he still didn't have the academics to get into BC.

BC vs. New England - advantage New England

In undertaking this exercise, I noticed an interesting trend, there is not a single class where the entire class stayed at BC, just as there is not a single New England class where every player stayed at his original school. Unfortunately, its just the nature of the beast that is college basketball.

All in all, I think this exercise disspells the myth that BC needs to keep more top talent home. With only a few exceptions (namelyMatt Bonner in '99, Nik Caner-Medley in '02 and Courtney Sims in '03), in each year that BC missed on a New England player who could get into BC and that BC wanted, they got a player at that position who had as good, if not better, a college career: Troy Bell vs. Tony Robertson, Uka Agbai vs. Leland Anderson, Craig Smith vs. Torin Francis (though I would not have minded seeing them play together), Louis Hinnant vs. Marshall Strickland, Jared Dudley vs. Demetris Nichols, Sean Marshall vs. Mike Jones, Sean Williams vs. Luke Bonner.

I am sure that I may have missed a player or two from New England, but please, don't bring up any walk-ons, low major players, New England transplants or any of the like. Okay, I'm ready to defend myself...BRING IT.

Recruiting Top Players

2006-09-20T11:08:00.000-04:00

In a comment to an earlier blog entry, someone posed the question: "is it really that important to recruit top players?" The simple answer is it depends what your expectations are of the program. Over the past few years, BC has consistently recruited borderline top 150 caliber players (guys like Louis Hinnant, Sean Marshall, Sean Williams) while filling out the roster with kids who were for the most part overlooked (as in Ryan Sidney, Jared Dudley, John Oates). This has worked out for BC, but I believe that this can only take the program so far.

There is little doubt that BC's coaches are excellent talent evaluators and talent developers, however, in theory, when you start with a more talented player, the ceiling for that player is going to be higher. It is easy to point to and remember the successful "diamond in the rough" recruits, no one is going to forget Dudley or Craig Smith or Troy Bell anytime soon, however, there are a lot of players that didn't pan out that we conveniently let slip from memory. I am not even talking about the early years when Al Skinner took chances on kids like Timos P. (remember him, he was the Greek big man that BC gave a scholarship to, supposedly, sight unseen when Costas Maglos decided not to return for his senior year) or Brian Ross, who had no business playing in the Big East. I'm taking about guys like Andrew Dudley and Udo Hadjisotirov and Kirsten Zoellner, each of whom was unknown but thought to have the potential to play at this level. Just as BC has uncovered its share of stars, its also turned up some black holes.

On the other hand, recruiting top players provides a sort of insurance. The only way a kid gets ranked highly is by playing well against other top players. This means that a lot of recruiting analysts have seen the kid play and that his game has been dissected. Clearly, this does not mean that every kid is going to live up to the hype, but it does mean that the kid has shown something that people like. Prior to the Class of 2007, the only consensus top 100 player BC recruited was Jermaine Watson. Though he never lived up to the hype of a top 75 player and didn't start a single game in his BC career, he was a good and productive player who was an integral part of three NCAA tournament teams.

There is little question that Skinner's strategy has been very successful for BC...at least from November to February. Prior to this past March however, what BC had not been able to do was get out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. If as a BC fan, you expect perennial NCAA tourney appearances with an ocassional appearance in the second weekend or beyond, then there is probably no need for BC to recruit a higher caliber player. However, if you want the Sweet 16 to be the norm, and to be talked about as a Final Four contender on a regular basis, BC has to recruit top talent. Top players want to play with top players...top players gets you on television more often...being on television more often gets you more respect (as long as you win)...and more respect gets you into the NCAA tourney in those down years (think 2002-03) and it gets you the bump in seed (twice in the last five years BC has gotten a lower seed than I thought they deserved), it gets you the Tourney site closer to campus (remember BC going to Cleveland and Syracuse playing in Worcester). What I'm saying is that there are a lot of things outside of wins and losses that having top recruits effects.

Contrary to what some people may think, I am not advocating that Skinner & Co. recruit a different type of player, hell, even if I were they wouldn't do it. I am simply suggesting that BC continue to look for kids that fit the system and the mental make up that the staff looks for, however, they need to land more of those types of kids who are also ranked in the top 100. Clearly, this is not something that is lost on the BC staff. Over the past three to four years, more and more often BC has targeted top 50 caliber kids; they simply have not landed many. As the current recruiting class makes clear, this is a process. First, you get a few kids to pay attention to your pitch...then you get a kid or two to invite you in for a home visit...then you get a few campus visits...and finally, you land some of these kids. This is what has happened with BC, and it is this year that the staff finally broke through when they landed Rakim Sanders and Josh Southern. Hopefully, this year's recruiting class is a sign of things to come.

Looking Ahead

2006-09-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

Barring an unexepted complication or defection, BC is all set in with the Class of 2007. In Rakim Sanders, Corey Raji, Josh Southern and Cortney Dunn, BC has a class that, from a recruiting services standpoint, is head and shoulders above the classes that BC has signed in recent years. For some time, many BC faithful have been saying, if Al Skinner can do what he is doing with diamond in the rough types, just image what he could do with top 100 type players. Well, its time to show and prove. In the Class of 2007, BC has two consensus top 100 players in Sanders and Southern, as well as a consensus top 200 player in Raji, and a wildcard in Dunn. The interesting thing is that with the exception of Sanders, BC will not NEED any of these players to step in and be big contributors from day one. However, for BC to continue its recent success, each of the four members of the high school Class of 2007 will have to be contributors by their sophomore year.

One of the most significant results of BC having its recruiting class finished in mid-September is the coaches can now turn their full attention to recruiting the current high school junior class. While their competitors are working on the senior class, BC can start visiting its junior targerts. As things currently stand, BC will have four scholarships to give to the Class of 2008. If BC were to have no roster turnover other than players completing their eligibility and graduating, BC's returning players for the 2008-09 season (when the high schools class of 2008 would be frosh) would include:

Seniors: Tyrese Rice, PG, and Marquez Haynes, PG/SG

Juniors: Daye Kaba, PG/SG, Tyler Roche, SF, and Shamari Spears, PF

Sophomores: Rakim Sanders, SG, Corey Raji, SF, Josh Southern, PF and Cortney Dunn, C

With this roster in place, I'd guess that the four available scholarships would be targeted for a point guard, a shooting or combo guard, a combo-forward (capable of playing both small and power forward) and a center. Based on the players that BC is currently targeting in the Class of 2008, I think the staff's views are in line with mine. However, depending on who BC is able to land, and when they commit, I would not be surprised at all if BC only used three of its four available scholarships.

With the caveat that this list is likely to get much longer before it gets shorter, the following is an alphabetical list of players that BC is known to be recruiting in the Class of 2008:

R.J. Evans, SG - Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, CT - Evans is a scorer supreme, not necessarily a great shooter, but he has shown a knack for putting the ball in the basket...the question with Evans is can he do enough other things to play at the highest level, and right now, the jury is still out, but BC and a host of other high major programs will keep and eye on his this year to find out.

Ashton Gibbs, PG - Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ - Gibbs is a top 25 player and top 5 PG in the class...though he has always listed BC among a laundry list of schools, I will not hold my breath on this one.

Draymond Green, combo-forward - Saginaw HS, Saginaw, MI - Green obviously is a high school teammate of BC commit Josh Southern...at a burly 6'8, Green is capable of playing in the post or on the perimeter and it is this versatility that has lead to an early offer from Michigan State...when things are all said and done, Green will likely have his choice of schools, but he currently lists a top 5 of BC, Kentucky, Michigan State, Tennessee and Xavier, that list looks a lot like Josh Southern's, hmmmm.

Lewis Jackson, PG - Eisenhower HS, Decatur, IL - I list Jackson here, but BC has little or no shot at this kid...the diminutive PG has long favored Iowa (who has offered) and Illinois, and most pundits believe that a commitment is likely to come sooner rather than later.

Jarrett Mann, SG - Caravel Academy, Middletown, DE - Mann is a master at the lost art of the mid-range jumper...though not the quickest or most athletic kid, he understands the game and where to get shots...on the recruiting front, Mann is, pardon the pun, a wanted man, holding offers from BC, Georgetown, St. Joe's and Virginia, as well as significant interest from Rutgers, Villanova and others.

Andrew McCarthy, combo-forward - Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Subbury, MA - At this point in his development, McCarthy lacks to strength to play in the post in college and the athleticism and quickness to play on the perimeter, but what he had that most players his age lack is SKILL...McCarthy is successful at the prep school level and will be at the college level because he understands positioning and angles...McCarthy has commented that he "dreams of playing for BC" and though he has a long way to go in his development to make that happen, if he hits the weights and works on his body, it is a goal that is achievable.

Chris Prescott, PG - Northwest Catholic, Hartford, CT - I've heard confliciting reports on whether Prescott has a BC offer, but based on the fact that BC didn't take one in the class of 2007, I'd expect Prescott to have an offer very soon if he doesn't already...Prescott had been known primarily as a shooter (with in the gym range) prior to this summer, but he demonstrated this summer that he could run a team, as he did with the Connecticut Young Gunz, and his stock is benefitting from it...based on our proximity to home and depth, or lack thereof, at point guard, I expect BC to be a player for Prescott, along with Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Massachusetts, Rutgers and Syracuse.

Henry Sims, PF/C - Mount St. Josephs, Baltimore, MD - Sims is a bigtime player and has the offers to match...boasting offers from the likes of BC, Clemson, Kansas and Maryland as well as interest from Georgetown and Louisville, BC will have to battle uphill in Sims recruiting, however, the early start should help them out.

Jamal Turner, PG - Thayer Academy, Boston, MA - Turner is a kid who has shown flashes of having the ability to play at the ACC level, but at this point, its anyones guess as to whether he puts everything together and becomes a bigtime player...Turner has indicated that he'd love to play for BC, but BC is in a wait and watch mode.

Jeff Withey, C - Horizon HS, San Diego, CA - Withey is a big time national prospect who's stock dipped a bit this summer, however when I dipped, I mean he is now considered a top 50 player in the class rather than top 25...BC is prominent on Withey's list with the likes of Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, and UCLA, and the hope is that his being from the same high school as Jared Dudley will somehow weigh in BCs favor.

Garvey Young, SG - Georgetown Prep, Washington, DC - Young is an intersting player in that he could really blow up this high school season...he plays on a smaller AAU team, the Maryland Madness, where his father is the coach and does not play in as many of the large national tournaments, nonetheless BC, Clemson, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Virginia Tech are well aware of who Young is, and hopefully, the early interest and attention will help BC out in the long run.

If I had my choice today, based on what I know able these players and their current leanings, I'm be very happy with a class that consisted of Prescott, Mann, McCarthy and Sims.

BC Dunn with the Class of '07

2006-09-19T13:10:00.000-04:00

As the job that pays the bills has kicked my @$$ over the past few weeks, I've had trouble finding the time to post. However, when commitment news surfaces, that is information that must be shared.

Among the posters on various BC related sites there has been debate as to whether BC needed another big man with its last scholarship, considering that Blair, McLain, Oates and Williams will all be seniors during the 07-08 season) or whether another guard should be targeted (after this year, the only projected guards on the roster will be Haynes, Kaba, Rice and Sanders). Well, Al Skinner & Co. obviously thought that another big was the way to go as they have accepted a commitment from Cortney Dunn, a 6'8 225lb PF/C out of Dallas' Lake Highlands HS and the Dallas Mustangs on the AAU circuit.

Dunn is an interesting prospect. Two years ago, as a sophomore, he was a highly regarded generally considered a top 10 to 15 player in the State of Texas and borderline top 100 type nationally. Over the past two years, he simply has not developed at the rate expected and as such, has seen both his state and national rankings fall. Dunn's state ranking has dropped so far that one site, Texas Hoops, has him outside of its State Top 50. The only national service that has Dunn ranking is Hoop Scoop, where he comes in at number 256 in the pre-summer rankings.

As a sophomore at Lake Highlands, Dunn averaged 8 points and 8 rebounds per game. He followed that up by averaging 10 points and 9 rebounds as a junior. Notwithstanding his modest numbers, Dunn chose BC over offers from Louisiana Tech, Mississippi, Texas A&M, St. Louis, and hometown Southern Methodist, not exactly the offer list of a kid ranked outside his state's top 50. Reports of Dunn's game and skills are pretty consistent; he is a long lean athletic shot blocker and rebounder who has some ability facing the basket out to about 10 feet but is more likely to dunk on an opponent than anything else. One thing that is said to hold Dunn back is that he doesn't exactly have the softest hands around.

As far as scholarships available goes, BC is done with the class of 2007. There has been some talk about giving out a fifth scholarship, but personally, I don't see it. Not only does it not look like anyone is on the way out, but giving out five scholarships this year would make it difficult to react and adjust should someone unexpectedly transfers or go hardship to the League.

With the Class of 2007 in the books, as soon as time permits, I'll time a close look as some of BC's targets in the class of 2008 and beyond.

Change in plans...again

2006-08-23T23:32:00.000-04:00

The delayed visit of Jeff Teague to BC seems to have been bumped up on the calendar. Teague was originally scheduled to take an official visit to BC last weekend, August 18th, however, shortly before the visit was to take place, word leaked out that Teague had postponed the visit and would hit the Heights on September 1st. All the while, Teague has had a visit scheduled with his presumed leader, Wake Forest, scheduled for August 25th. It now appears that there has been another change of plans. According to Scout Hoops' Dave Telep, Teague will now do the double dip this coming weekend; visiting Wake Forest from August 25th to 27th, and will then head directly to Boston to visit BC from August 27th to 29th.

I am not sure what to make of this situation, but looking at it through my BC colored glasses, I'm sure that Teague is aware that BC received its third commitment from the class of 2007, and with only one scholarship remaining available, time may be of the essence, at least I am sure that's what he's being told by the BC staff. In any event, the accelerated visit suggests that Teague is seriously considering BC, and that it is more that just a courtesy visit. Following the visit, I'll shake the bushes and see what falls out.

BC in uncharted waters

2006-08-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

For the past five or six years, Boston College has been a program on the cusp of greatness. In that time, BC has been ranked in the top 10 in at three different seasons, has graduated the top two scores in school history, has challenged for and won conference titles, and last year, got over the second round NCAA tourney hump before...well you know what happened. Al Skinner & Co. have done all of this with players that while increasingly better received by recruiting analyst, have for the most part been overlooked by other major programs. In that time, BC has not backed away from the challenge of going up against the Dukes and Arizonas and Connecticuts in recruiting, they just have not won those battles. It appears that a new day is upon us.

For the high school class of 2007, BC class of 2011, BC has three committed players, each boasting impressive credentials and accomplishments. They are (in order of commitment):

Rakim Sanders, 6'5 210lb Shooting guard out of Pawtucket, RI. Sanders, who plays at St. Andrews School in the prep ranks and during the summer runs with the New England Playaz AAU squad, chose BC over offers from Providence, Ohio State, St. John's and a host of other schools. As far as recruiting sites go, Sanders is the unquestioned #1 player in New England and here is where he is ranked by some of the major scouting services:

∙ #132 in Rivals Hoops' Top 150
∙ #91 in Scout Hoops' Top 100
∙ #68 in PrepStars’ Top 100
∙ #64 in Hoopmasters' Top 150
∙ #71 in Hoop Scoop's Top 800
∙ #86 in Galaxy of Stars Top 500

As a junior, Sanders had an up and down year. St. Andrews scheduled agressively, and Sanders was the leader of a young team. In that role, Sanders struggled early on, but found his rythm in the latter part of the season carrying St. Andrews on his back in some quality wins. For the season, he averaged 20 points and 6 rebounds per game.

Corey Raji, 6'6 200lb combo-forward out of Washington Township, NJ. The Westwood High and Playaz Basketball Club standout chose BC over offers from Maryland, Miami, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Much like Sanders, Raji is also well received by scouting services, ranked:

∙ #120 in Hoopmasters' Top 150
∙ #115 in Hoop Scoop's Top 800
∙ #62 in Galaxy of Stars Top 500

After a summer that saw Raji play inconsistently, he dropped out of Rivals Hoops' Top 150 (where he had been ranked in the 130s) and Prepstars' Top 100 (where he had been ranked in the 90s).

There is little doubt that Raji faces his toughest competition during the spring and summer AAU seasons. As a junior at Westwood, Raji was the only player on the squad over six-feet tall, and as such, he spent most of his time in the post. For the season, he averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds per game, after averaging 26 and 19 as a sophomore and 15 and 12 as a freshman.

Joshua Southern, 6'10 260lb power forward/center out of Saginaw, MI, Saginaw HS and Michigan Hurricanes. Southern, who is generally considered the top big man in the state of Michigan and a top 5 player regardless of position, chose BC over offers from Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Wake Forest and a host of others. By the scouting services, Southern is ranked:

∙ #125 in Rivals Hoops' Top 150
∙ #74 in Scout Hoops' Top 100
∙ #70 in Hoopmasters' Top 150
∙ #181 in Hoop Scoop's Top 800
∙ #132 in Galaxy of Stars Top 500

Unlike the other two members of BC's class, as a junior, Southern played on a Saginaw High team that was loaded with Division 1 players. Last year's point guard will be a freshman at St. John's this fall, while two Class of 2008 players already boast high major offers. With all of that talent on board, Southern still managed to average 16 points and 16 rebounds per game, up from the 10 and 12 he averaged as a sophomore.

BC has one final scholarship avaialble to the class of 2007. BC has targeted guard Jeff Teague to fill that scholarship, and we should know more about the situation with Teague after his official visits to Wake Forest and BC the next two weekends.

An interesting tidbit about BCs three commitments is that each plays for an Adidas sponsored AAU team. BC is a Reebok school, but lets not forget that Reebok is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adidas...hmmmm

Committment No. 3 on board

2006-08-22T09:09:00.000-04:00

In what was one of the worst kept secrets in high school basketball recruiting, in a noon press conference, Josh Southern will officially committed to Boston College over Kentucky, with Tennessee, Michigan State and Wake Forest(?) also in the hunt. Southern first announced the press conference about ten days ago, and for the first 24 hours, depending on who you believed Southern was a supposed lock to attend BC, Kentucky and Tennessee. However, a few days after Southern's presser was announced, all roads were leading to BC. When a player narrows his list and announces a decision date, rumors and speculation usually surface all the way up to the scheduled press conference, however, with Southern, even UK and UT pundits and fans seemed to have resigned themselves to the fact that the young man was BC bound.

When Southern announced that he would be making a decision today, it caught many by surprise. Southern had never indicated that a decision was coming, and in fact, had repeatedly stated that he would take official visits in the fall. Its hard to say what lead Southern to commit now, but there is little question that a July visit to the Heights played a significant role in his decision. BC and head man Al Skinner have never--at least not in the past five or six years--getting in the door for top 100 to 150 caliber players, however they have not exactly closed on many of those players. In you exclude Massachusetts players, BC has not landed a single consensus top 150 player prior to this year. Simply put, it appears that the tide is turning.

More on BC's commits and targets later...

Outstanding offers dwindling...

2006-08-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

BC missed on two of its top targets yesterday when Keaton Nankivil committed to the hometown Badgers over BC and Marquette, while Jeff Jones picked UVa over Wake Forest with BC and Charlotte trailing.

As things currently stand, BC has offers out to Josh Southern, Jeff Teague, James Johnson, and Josh Owens. At this point in time, its pretty clear that BCs top two targets in the class are Southern and Teague. Based on what I am hearing, things look good when Southern announces next week, though BC appears to be running third for Teague, behind Wake Forest and Indiana. Teague was scheduled to officially visit the Heights this weekend, but that visit has been pushed back to Sept. 1st. I think the visit being pushed back is both good and bad for BC. Its good because there is currently no one on campus, however, with school starting after Labor Day, Teague will visit when the campus is buzzing with activity. Just as important, on Teague's visit weekend, the whole basketball team will be on campus for him to run with. I am not sure that there is a better selling point than seeing that there is only one point guard on the current roster. All that being said, he may never make it to the Heights. It is clear from some of Teague's comments that Wake Forest is his leader, and there is a real possibility that he never makes it to BC.

With Jones committing elsewhere, BC is in an interesting situation. Do they put all their backcourt eggs in the Teague basket, do they offer another guard (most likely Dorenzo Hudson), or do they take another forward among the guys who've been offered. Whatever BC does, I'm sure it will not happen until after Tuesday and Josh Southern's announcement.

More Josh Southern

2006-08-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

Though I just posted an hour of so ago, I though it worth it to pass along this bit of info. Contrary to the earlier Tennessee article, a new article is reporting that UT has not pulled out of the Southern chase. The most enlightening part of this article is that the writer suggests that UT only has a week to try to sway Southern from committing to Boston College. This is not exactly earth shattering news, but its good to hear someone from another school say it.

Joshua Southern down to three schools...or two?

2006-08-14T12:58:00.000-04:00

Per a recent blurb on Scout Hoops, 6'9 250lb PF/C Josh Southern out of Saginaw, Michigan will announce his college decision at a press conference on August 22nd among BC, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The internet messageboard speculation concerning Southern's decision has been all over the map, depending on who you believe, Southern is a "done deal" for any one of his three finalist. However, in an interestin twist, Tennessee has apparently withdrawn from the the Southern sweepstakes. In today's Tennessee recruting update, Southern is listed among players that UT is not longer recruiting. Oddly, of the players listed as no longer being recruited by UT, Southern is the only player who is yet to commit elsewhere. Does this indicate that UT knew they would not be his choice?

UT dropping out of Southern's recruitment is interesting news considering that for a least a month, I have heard that Southern's top two schools were BC and UT. Based on the fact that BC and UT have been Southern's leaders, it should be good news for BC that UT is out of the picture, however, UK should not be discounted. In fact, other than the local schools that have been eliminated, UK has been recruiting Southern longer than any other school, better than a year and half.

From the BC perspective, there are a few reasons to be optomistic, first, the timing of the announcement. In recent months, Southern has only taken on unofficial campus visit..to BC. Further, with the recent commitment of Corey Raji, and the seemingly imminent decision of Keaton Nankivil, Southern could see that the availablility of BC scholarships (currently two are available) are dwindling. The other reason to be optomistic as a BC fan is the presence of Saginaw native, Preston Murphy as BC's Director of Basketball operations. Oh yeah, it should be mentioned that Murphy and Southern are cousins.

All in all, I'd be slightly surprised if Southern was not a BC commit in a weeks time.

Commitment Number 2...its a familiar name

2006-08-10T10:56:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, BC received its second commitment from the high school class of 2007 when Corey Raji, a 6'6 200lb combo-forward, committed to BC. If the name Raji sounds familiar, it should, Corey is the younger and smaller (though taller) brother of BC football defensive tackle B.J. Raji.

At present, though he has the size of a small forward, Raji's game is more that of a power forward. Raji is tenacious going after rebounds and uses his considerable athleticism and quickness to outplay and outwork bigger players in the post. At the ACC level, Raji's game will have to evolve to incorporate more of a perimeter game, however, if Raji were to become a true small forward, you would lose some of what make him a special player, his nose for the ball, so that is not likely to happen.

Early in his BC career, Raji can be expected to play a role similar to that played by Jon Beerbohm a few years ago. Raji will do most of his damage offensive on the baseline and crashing the offensive glass. He will give you an ocassional jumper, but is not likely to ever be a strength of his game. The goal later in Raji's career would be to play a role similar to Jared Dudley, in that he would play more on the perimeter creating a mismatch for small forwards who can't handle him in the post. However, in order to do this, Raji has a long way to go in developing his handle.

Raji, out of Westwood High School in Washington Township, NJ and the Playaz Basketball Club on the AAU circuit, is an interesting player and gives BC the option of going in various directions with its final two scholarships. Recently, the BC staff appeared set to bring in a wing (Rakim Sanders already committed), a combo-guard (the preferred players being Jeff Jones or Jeff Teague), a big man (target number one is Josh Southern), and use the last scholarship on the first player to commit among Raji, James Johnson, Keaton Nankivil, and Josh Owens. Well, that first player to commit was Raji. With Keaton Nankivil listing a final three of BC, Marquette and Wisconsin, the question becomes, does BC take him if he wants to commit or does BC put all ints eggs in the Josh Southern basket, who currently has BC in his top two with BC grad Bruce Pearl's Tennessee Volunteers. My guess is that if Nankivil, a 6'8 240lb PF, wants to come on board, BC would take him, and continue to pursue Jones, Teague and Southern, and sort out the scholarship situation later.

Introducing Shamari Spears and Daye Kaba

2006-06-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to pass along that two of this year's three incoming frosh have arrived at the Heights. Shamari Spears and Daya Kaba arrived at BC this weekend and are participating in a six week summer program that is a sort of introduction to college life for students of color. The good thing about their early arrival is that most of the returning players are also on campus this summer (I believe Jared Dudley and Marquez Haynes may be the only players who headed home). As such, the frosh will get a chance to run with their teammates and build some chemisty. Clearly, Shamari and Daye already have a rapport as they have run together with the NY Elite on the AAU circuit. The same may be true for Shamari and rising sophomore Tyrese Rice as the two spent their formative years together in Salisbury, NC. Tyler Roche is not participating in the summer program, but word is he was and will continue to make visits to BC to run with his teammated. The same is reportedly true for Class of 2007 commit Rakim Sanders, who has made a handful of visits to run with his future teammates...

With Summer Upon Us...

2006-06-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

Based on the events of last summer, what all BC fans should be praying for is a quiet summer for the BC basketball program. We've made it through the first stretch-end of the season through end of the semester-unscathed, and with most of the team spending the summer on campus, no news should continue to be good news.

Anticipating a quiet summer from returning players, I've been beating the bushes for recruiting info. With four scholarships to give, BC is off to a good start in the class of 2007 with SG Rakim Sanders out of Pawtucket, RI in the fold. A concensus top 75ish prospect, Sanders is only Al Skinner's second concensus top 100 recruit during his tenure at BC (the other being Jermaine Watson). In what could be a banner year for BC recruiting, the staff is in good shape with a couple other top 100 caliber players:

WF Corey Raji, Washington Township, NJ - Corey, the younger brother of BC DT BJ, is said to be a BC lean at this point...though holding offers from a host of schools, Miami, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, St. John's, Seton Hall, the true competition seems to be a school that is yet to offer, UConn...Corey's parents are on record as declaring a preference for BC

PF Joshua Southern, Saginaw, MI - For a longtime, Michigan State was thought to be in the drivers seat in Southern's recruitment, and while that may still be the case, he has declared an affinity for BC, Tennessee and Miami, through schools Southern says he will visit officially in the fall...According to Rivals.com, Southern had to cancel a planned unofficial visit to BC because of travel problems, but the visit is supposed to be made up in the near future.

In addition to these players, there are a handful of slightly less highly regarded players who might jump at a BC offer. The most prominent of these players is Todd O'Brien out of New Holland, PA. BC has shown preliminary interest in O'Brien, and he is on record as saying he'd like to hear more from BC.

One top 100 player who is not reciprocating BC's interest is PG/SG Demetri McCamey out of Chicago. BC offered McCamey a scholarship after a very good Tournament of Champions down in North Carolina, but unfortunately for BC, McCamey currently has his sights set on Wake Forest, Michigan State, Michigan, Depaul and Indiana, all of whom have offered. If BC is going to be a player for McCamey, they have serious ground to make up.

As more information about BC's recruiting efforts becomes available, I'll be sure to pass it along. Until then...

Welcome to Skins House

2006-06-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

With the dearth of BC hoops info available out there, I thought I'd take it upon myself to try to fill the gap. BC hoops deserves coverage cummensurate with the level that the program has attained. My goal is to provide that coverage.