Eagles Moving Forward from that “game” with UNC: Clemson Tigers coming on Saturday
By Kyle Egan
Jan 29, 2013; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles guard Olivier Hanlan (21) is guarded by North Carolina Tar Heels forward James Michael McAdoo (43) during the second half at Conte Forum. The North Carolina Tar Heels won 82-70. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
As Boston College Hockey goes into the weekend trying to shake off that pitiful series against lowly Maine, Men’s Basketball is attempting to redeem itself after 4 straight losses in the ACC. The team was close at times in four of the five last games(all losses) but couldn’t keep up the pace against teams with honestly, bigger and better players. With your only functional big man in Anderson(let’s get real: Dennis Clifford and Andrew Van Nest are not particularly making an impact for the team), opposing big men like Maryland’s Alex Len and most recently UNC’s James Michael McAdoo have gone through Boston College’s interior defense like this. That is the killer in some of these games.But now the Eagles have a chance to improve their 9-11(1-6 ACC) record against the Clemson Tigers who are 12-8(4-4 ACC). So what does Boston College need to improve on to beat the Tigers in the Saturday matinee?
1.If the three is working, keep going for it
Something that truly infuriated me after Eagles started around 5/10 from downtown in the early going against the Tar Heels, they didn’t even take another three pointer for around as long as Axl Rose took to release Chinese Democracy. If something is going well, why not keep going after it in the first half. Because if Andrew Van Nest and Ryan Anderson, the team’s two power forwards who combined for like 30 3PAs all season hit in the first two minutes, you know you have something special. After some initial success, the Eagles got cute and tried to drive against players that physically overmatched them.
2.If you decide to take a three, set your feet
This is literally basketball 101. Even J.R. Smith does it. Kind of. After that nice little spurt from behind the arc, the Conte Forum crowd was forced to endure some of the worst 3PAs from Lonnie Jackson and Patrick Heckmann. Yes, they did hit some of their attempts, but their occasional opposite side of the backboard misses were irresponsible and mindless. They looked me trying to play out my Steve Novak fantasies. The Superfans waited a while for Boston College to start shooting again, but then were disappointed like Guns N’ Roses fans after Chinese Democracy.(Perhaps I should stop bashing some things that people might like, such as Rocky 5 on Facebook. Nah!)
3.Why is Danny Rubin coming in so early?
I literally have nothing against the kid, but what is he bringing to the table? I don’t really understand what Coach Donahue’s game plan is with the 6’6 Junior Guard. He might knock down a three or two, however he looks out of place. By the way, I want to see more K.C. Caudil. Just a random thought.
4.I don’t want to see another P.J. Hairston
Before the UNC scorer went down with that gruesome concussion, the previously mediocre from behind the arc Tar Heel was knocking them down. Most annoyingly, Hairston was hardly met with any resistance. Boston College’s perimeter defense definitely needs to improve. They need to be quick to adjust and cover open men. Maybe switch to a man to man defense when opponents are consistently getting open shots would aid the Eagles in getting behind so quickly which happened in the first half when UNC went on an 18-5 run after BC started with a 10-5 lead.
5.Work on Free Throws
Looking at you, Ryan Anderson. 63.9%!?!?!!? I know that might not look so bad when Dwight Howard is air-balling a free throw every other game in LA. You don’t want to start become the target of a strategy like Hack-a-Shaq or it’s current incarnation with the coach-killer on the Lakers. Anderson gets to the charity line more than anyone else on the team and needs to improve so that BC is closer in these ACC games. Also, Olivier Hanlan, who gets the second most attempts on the Eagles, should try to improve his 72.5%. With great free throw opportunities, comes great responsibility.
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