CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – One non-conference game against Harvard next Wednesday is sprinkled in, but from here on out, it’s ACC games for Boston College. The Eagles will enter with nine straight wins and a 12-2 mark, but the operative question is what to make of this team.
Boston College entered the week with an RPI of 37, but a strength of schedule of 103. Home wins over San Francisco (92 RPI) and Sacred Heart (271 RPI) within two days likely drop that a little. They have played just four games away from Conte Forum, two of which were neutral site games in New York at the NIT Season Tip-Off. The opponent they have defeated with the highest RPI is UAB, which entered the week at 20, but they are hardly a guarantee to reach the NCAA Tournament and especially with the recent attrition they suffered.
But look beyond the numbers, and the question marks start really pouring in. The Eagles have a lot of youth, with just two upperclassmen on the roster, have questions inside, and questions of consistency with the younger players, who they need to complement star guard Tyrese Rice.
The Eagles start four sophomores alongside Rice, although Joe Trapani is a redshirt sophomore after he sat out last season as a transfer. Rakim Sanders, the most talented of the cast, hasn’t been much more consistent than last year as he has tallied double figures in consecutive games just once this season. Trapani and Corey Raji have been more consistent, and both have been similar players in that they’re active and score baskets in flow as complementary players. But neither strikes you as much of a Robin to Rice’s Batman.
Inside, Raji and Trapani are the prime reason the Eagles have out-rebounded teams by about seven per game, although having a size advantage on a lot of teams has helped as well. While Raji and Trapani have rebounded well, neither is your prototypical power forward. Raji has the body of a small forward, rebounding as well as he has from being a live body. His total rebound average doesn’t get to another important item: he has more offensive than defensive rebounds.
Josh Southern chips in 6.1 boards per game, but hasn’t been a big factor offensively, although he had 13 first-half points on Wednesday. Southern’s body language doesn’t look good oftentimes, but the Eagles need him. The bright spot is that his two career-high games in rebounds (11) came against Purdue and UAB, but the latter has to be taken with a grain of salt because UAB lacks size. Evan Ravenel has had his moments and Cortney Dunn has played more of late, but neither looks like they will be much of a factor in the ACC.
Southern’s importance to the team was pretty much a given before the season, so the non-conference slate has basically confirmed what we previously believed.
“We’re definitely going to need him a lot,” said Rice. “We’re going to need him to rebound a lot, like he did today, we’re going to need him to play some post defense. We’re going to definitely need him to step his game up to another level for us to be as successful as we want to be.”
Amidst all of the question marks, there is a plus for the team. The big one that head coach Al Skinner keeps talking about is flexibility, which he’s had in mind as a strength right from the beginning. You get the sense in listening to him talk about it that it’s the antidote to the lack of a solid second scoring option.
“This team has a lot of different options,” said Skinner. “That’s the nice part about this team, is that there’s some flexibility within this team, and because of that flexibility, it just makes it a lot easier.”
Eight different Eagles have scored in double figures in at least one game this season. That’s a plus, but the real question is if this can happen in ACC play on a consistent basis. While Rice has proven he can do it, no one else really has. Sanders has the potential to, Raji gets a lot of points as a garbage man and Trapani is a complementary player. Southern hasn’t yet proven he can do it, and while Reggie Jackson is a great athlete and has clearly made strides since the start of the season, he’s still a freshman.
“Some good and some bad, like most freshmen,” is how Skinner described what he’s seen from Jackson thus far. He added, “It’s a learning curve and an adjustment. I don’t want him to lose confidence in what we’re trying to do as a team, and that’s the most important thing. I think the most difficult thing for a freshman is to play within a unit, particularly with the way we like to play.”
Rice echoed the same thing, and said he’s stayed on Jackson about the confidence factor.
The flexibility Skinner speaks of can be a real factor for this team if Rice’s support cast understands how to play off him and the defensive attention he will draw. As the team’s captain as well as their best player, Rice has been working with his teammates to get them to understand how they can benefit from him, because players don’t benefit from having a star player without working hard on their own.
“I think they’re realizing that if they get to open spots, I’m going to find them,” Rice said. “I think they have that kind of confidence in me, and my confidence is definitely building in them.”
The Eagles have played at a faster pace of late, which benefits Rice as well as many of the complementary pieces. But now they’re also about to come up against more man-to-man defenses after facing a lot of zone in the non-conference schedule. That means they won’t just be adjusting to the level of competition, but also to the style of play.
Asked if the Eagles are ready for North Carolina on Sunday and the ACC as a whole, Skinner said, “No, but we’re going to play anyway.” There’s agreement between coach and players that the team isn’t where they want to be just yet. Ready or not, ACC play is here for the Eagles, and they will be less of a mystery before long.
