BC basketball turning the corner
By Joe Micik
After the coaching change and wave of defections, including all of our incoming 2010 recruits, Coach Donahue and BC basketball have started getting things back on track.
A week and a half ago, BC secured a commitment from Gabriel Moton, a St. Petersburg (FL) high school senior who was previously headed to Air Force. This past season, he averaged 17 points per game, and more importantly to us, he can play right away for BC in 2010.
Boston College over the past weekend hosted the “Boston College Prospect Camp,” our first elite camp for potential recruits. The Eagles got to take a look at local talent and have local talent take a look at us, all while earning praise for how well run it was. This was an absolutely crucial step for BC basketball: for years, basketball had been turning a blind eye (for the most part) to the local products while great New England talent fled elsewhere in the country. With this camp (and future camps), BC can start making inroads into their own community once again and re-establishing a pipeline of local talent.
In the past few days, we learned that two transfers for 2011, Travis Taylor (Monmouth) and Matt Humphrey (Oregon) will be joining the team. Since I posted the article last night, the reaction of the BC fanbase seems to be very positive towards the news. Taylor was by far the best player on his team in 2009-2010, while Humphrey was a 4-star recruit who went to Oregon with offers from other major-conference programs. Both of these players are talented and when 2011 comes around, both will add depth to the Eagles.
Now, the bench for 2010 may still seem pretty thin, because it is, but remember that Jared Dudley was a mid-August recruit. All hope is not lost that BC will find another new guy for this year, that is, if they’re looking.
The program was in need of some good news lately, and we’ve gotten it after a little time. This is a competent coach with a competent coaching staff, and though there was a rough patch not long after Donahue was hired, BC basketball has turned the corner and is rebuilding for now and the future. I expect to hear more good news in the weeks and months to come.