Reggie Jackson declares for NBA Draft

The official word from BC Athletics was this:

"MBB: Reggie Jackson declares for NBA Draft; will not hire agent, reserving right to return to school"

So, in all likelihood, Reggie Jackson will not be back at Boston College next year. Note the last part of the statement, however: he is reserving the right to return to BC. If things don’t pan out for him in the draft pool and he withdraws his name, it’s possible that he will play his senior year, but as of right now, I would not delude myself into thinking that that will be the case.

When I wrote in hockey articles a few days ago that guys like Cam Atkinson and the seniors leaving would not spell long-term doom for the program, that was one thing. Reggie Jackson leaving won’t spell long-term doom for the basketball program, either, because he only had one year of eligibility left, anyway. What this does mean, however, is that if Steve Donahue coaxes 14 wins out of this team next year, then he is a miracle worker.

Make no mistake, we’re going to be bad next year. I wouldn’t go so far as to say we’re going to be Wake Forest-all-time-bad, but the expectation will be that BC will be near the bottom of the ACC, and I can hardly disagree with that. If Reggie is drafted and does not return, the best player on the team with previous college basketball experience next year will probably be a guy who has never even played for this team (Matt Humphrey). If not him, it will be roleplayers (Elmore, Rubin) and walk-ons (Rehnquist) from this season plus a whole lot of freshman.

This is why I was rooting extra hard for the Eagles to sneak into the NCAA Tournament this year, knowing that we would likely see a significant drop-off in 2011-2012. Indeed, even with Reggie Jackson, it was fairly likely that the Eagles would be a pretty lousy team next season. Now, reality has let us know once again that it may be several more years before we hear BC called on Selection Sunday.

Of course, we all wish Reggie the best and thank him for his three stellar years at BC.