2011-12 College Basketball Season Preview: Boston College

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Boston College Eagles (Last Year: 21-13, 9-7 in ACC)



2011-12 Projected Depth Chart:


C: Kyle Caudill (Fr)/Dennis Clifford (Fr)

PF: Ryan Anderson (Fr)/Ryan Kilcullen (Fr)/John Cain Carney (Fr)

G/F: Danny Rubin (So)/Eddie Odio (Fr)/Patrick Heckmann (Fr)

SG: Matthew Humphrey (Jr)/Lonnie Jackson (Fr)/Deirunas Visockas (Sr)/Peter Rehnquist (Jr)

PG: Gabriel Morton (So)/Jordan Daniels (Fr)

Gone: G-Reggie Jackson, PF-Joe Trapani, SF-Corey Raji, PG-Biko Paris, C-Josh Southern, G-John Cahill, PF-Courtney Dunn, SG-Dallas Elmore (transfer)




2011-12 Outlook:
In his first year running the show at Boston College, Steve Donahue did a solid job with a veteran team, nearly leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament. However, with seven of their top nine scorers gone from a year ago, including star combo guard Reggie Jackson who left for the NBA after his junior season, Donahue transitions to a re-building project by welcoming 11 new players to town.

Experience will be absent for Boston College this season as sophomores Daniel Rubin and Gabriel Morton are the top returning scorers despite only averaging 4.1 and 2.5 points respectively last season. The addition of Oregon transfer Matthew Humphrey will provide the Eagles with a needed upperclassmen who has at least played significant minutes for more than one season at a high Division I level.

Of the nine freshmen, 6-8 power forward Ryan Anderson figures to make the biggest splash. He is more of a face-up four who can step out and knock down jump shots. Kyle Caudill (6-11) will be counted on to bring the muscle down low while 6-10 Dennis Clifford should also add some athleticism and versatility to the frontcourt. Eddie Odio, John Cain Carney, Patrick Heckmann and Ryan Kilcullen figure to compete for minutes off the bench.

With Rubin, Humphrey and Morton expected to log a lot minutes in the backcourt, freshmen Jordan Daniels and Lonnie Jackson will try to work their way into the rotation. Deirunas Visockas is an unknown for the Eagles. He transfers in from Lafayette College as a graduate student after not playing the past two seasons due to injury.

This figures to be a season filled with growing pains at Boston College… what else can you expect with nearly 88 percent of last year’s offense missing? If BC has any ray of hope for not finishing in the cellar of the ACC, it is that several other teams like Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, N.C. State and Maryland are going through their own periods of transition and are also filled with numerous question marks as well as turnover on their roster.





Player to Watch: Matthew Humphrey, SG
During his two years at Oregon, Humphrey was primarily a three-point shooter with two-thirds of his field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc. Donahue and the Eagles will need Humphrey to become a more well rounded player while also bringing leadership to this extremely young team. He already has a year of practicing with B.C. under his belt as he sat out last season which should ease his transition back to real game action.



Key Non-Conference Games:
  • 11/24, 25, 27 vs. Villanova, New Mexico, Washington State, Oklahoma, Santa Clara, St. Louis, UC-Riverside (76 Classic)
  • 11/30 vs. Penn State

    Predicted ACC Finish: 12th









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