Boston College Men’s Basketball: a phrase that has lost its charm over the course of the years on the Heights. Everyone’s been to a Boston College hockey game. They’re the national champions, after all, but chances are that the number of collegiettes (and BC guys, too!) that have seen basketball played at Conte Forum, especially this season, is disappointingly low. BC has a rich tradition of basketball that we tend to forget about in the wake of three straight Beanpot Championships and a series of below-average basketball seasons. Yet our basketball boys, past and present, deserve some recognition and support, too.
In November of 2005, Boston College was embarking on its first basketball season in the Atlantic Coast Conference – an event that brought with it excitement, enthusiasm, and great anticipation. BC Men’s Basketball went into their 2005-2006 season on a particularly high note after a very successful previous season. Starting the 2004-2005 year out of the top 25 rankings, the team proved the polls wrong and accomplished something no Big East team had done before when it started the season 20–0. Along the way, BC beat several ranked opponents, suffered only a few minor setbacks and finished the regular season – their last in the Big East – with 24 wins and just three losses. Fans packed the stands of Conte Forum, rushed the court when the team beat the Syracuse University Orangemen in February, and cheered the Eagles on even in their disappointing NCAA tournament appearance.
With the following season’s great anticipation and entrance into a new league, the SuperFan base buzzed with excitement and worry about season tickets. The Athletics Department, anticipating high student interest, implemented a system widely used in the ACC: students would have to wait in line to purchase their student ticket packages on a given day if they wanted to see the Eagles play the likes of Duke, North Carolina, and Florida State. And did they ever. By 3 PM the day before the tickets were set to go on sale at 8 AM, at least 500 people were lined up; some brought their couches, others took turns with their roommates waiting in line, but by midnight there were so many people that they opened the sale eight hours early. And the season lived up to the hype. BC went 24-6 in the regular season, made it to the ACC tournament championship behind senior All-American Craig Smith, and eventually to the Sweet Sixteen. Life in the ACC was off to a good start. The stands were full, the fans were happy, and the Eagles had much to look forward to.
Fast forward to November of 2011. This fall, the beginning of Coach Steve Donahue and staff’s second season. Fast forward to a season without Reggie Jackson and Biko Paris, a sea of “There are still tickets available!” emails, to empty student sections, and a five freshmen starting line-up. That’s where the Boston College Men’s Basketball team stands today, and as far as the mighty have fallen in the last five years, this season has been more of a success than it appears. Jordan Daniels, BC’s freshmen point guard who has, alongside his classmates, had to learn the ropes of the ACC on the fly this season, claims that for him “this season has been an overall success. It might not be labeled as successful by many because of our record, but if you measure our growth we’ve come a long way.” And they have. From a team that lost handily to Holy Cross and UMass (by 22 and 36 points, respectively) earlier this season, to a team who beat a #15 ranked Florida State team at home this month, the freshmen, under the guidance of a few key upperclassmen and a well-respected coaching staff, have adjusted to the big world of the ACC as quickly as anyone could have hoped.
“The coaches have done a great job this season helping all of us freshman especially stay focused every day. They always remind us to move on from every play, whether we have success or we fail because you can’t worry about the past,” says Ryan Anderson, freshman forward and last week’s ACC rookie of the week after a 21-point performance against Duke on February 19. And Daniels agrees. “The coaching staff has been pushing us every day. They don’t beat down on us, but instead they push us to grow and get better. They have stayed confident in us and they understand that we are going to have to make mistakes to learn and get to our destination.” That destination, you ask? An Indianapolis Final Four in 2015, or something resembling it.
The young team has gotten support and guidance from some of their older members as well. John Cahill, who joined the team last year as a senior and played a key role on that squad alongside the likes of Joe Trapani and Reggie Jackson, did not expect to be in the role he’s in this season as a Grad student using up another year of eligibility. But his teammates are sure glad to have him. Cahill spent the summer and the beginning of this school year anticipating being a Graduate assistant coach for the team, but was instead asked by Donahue and the rest of the coaching staff if he would continue to suit up and be a live factor for the young team. “John is one of the smartest basketball players I’ve seen… ever,” says Daniels. “There’s so much to learn from him. He is a coach in my eyes, just younger and still eligible to play. He is equipped with all of the intangibles and has been helping us greatly this season.” Anderson agrees that although Cahill is a teammate, he looks to him more as a coach. “I have really enjoyed John being on the team because he is like a coach out there on the court. He always knows the right place to be at and he is a vocal leader for us. He makes a lot of plays for us that don’t show up in the stat columns, but helps us win games.”
And Cahill has loved and thrived in the role. He sees himself as a calming force – an extra push in a slow day of practice – an experienced defensive player that’s just trying to share what he learned from the experienced players of last season. “It can be hard to adjust to the college level, playing numerous games a week on top of a rough travel schedule, but they’ve fought through it,” says Cahill of his young teammates. “They’ve played big minutes in big games against some of the best competition in the country and I think they’ve shown that they can really hold their own. Over the next couple years, they’re going to be a very tough team in the ACC. This season has had a bunch of ups and downs, but I’m really impressed with how the guys have fought and competed with much bigger and older teams.”
On paper, the BC Men’s Basketball team doesn’t match up to Duke or North Carolina. They are young and inexperienced, playing under a second-year coaching staff and have nothing to brag about when it comes to their home crowd. But the team has proven that they can play with anyone when they play together. They are young, but have nothing but success to look forward to. Anderson calls this season a rollercoaster, and both he and Daniels know that success won’t come to their team over night. They have experienced ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and failures – they have learned and they have grown, and best of all, they have great expectations for the future. A sign that has frequently been seen in the stands of Conte Forum at this year’s home games says it all: “The Road to Final Four 2015 Starts Here.” So, collegiettes, get on board. Get to know the BC Men’s Basketball team and join Donahue’s Disciples now, because you don’t want to be seen as a “band wagon” fan when the success starts. And what guy doesn’t love a collegiette who can talk basketball?
Photo Source:
Remy Hassett