2014-15 ACC Preseason Basketball Poll: Boston College Picked 14th

Yesterday, the Atlantic Coast Conference media got together and passed judgment on the Boston College Eagles in the 2014-15 ACC preseason basketball poll.

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To the surprise of nobody, the Eagles were selected near the bottom, but to the possible surprise of Boston College fans, they were not picked at the bottom.

In that 2014-15 ACC preseason basketball poll, brought to you at “Operation: Basketball” in Charlotte, Boston College was chosen 14th out of 15 in Jim Christian’s first year.

All involved were also shocked to learn that Duke and North Carolina were picked first and second, respectively. That never happens.

Here’s the whole thing:

2014-15 ACC Preseason Basketball Poll

1. Duke Blue Devils (935)
2. North Carolina Tar Heels (870)
3. Louisville Cardinals (847)
4. Virginia Cavaliers (824)
5. Syracuse Orange (706)
6. Pittsburgh Panthers (592)
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (515)
8. Florida State Seminoles (506)
9. NC State Wolfpack (478)
10. Miami Hurricanes (442)
11. Clemson Tigers (330)
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (221)
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (195)
14. Boston College Eagles (184)
15. Virginia Tech Hokies (155)

The result for the Eagles at fourteenth in the conference can hardly be debated, as this team’s talent looked alright in the past in a vacuum, but when the pieces were put together, they did not work. If Jim Christian is going to have any hope of succeeding at Boston College, he is going to have to flip the roster as soon as possible, hopefully replacing Steve Donahue’s classes with the right balance. Poor roster construction was Donahue’s ultimate downfall, and a lasting legacy he leaves us, at least in the short term.

Fans may point to last year’s preseason poll, which picked Boston College eighth, and we all know how that turned out. At the end of the day, the sportswriters are just guessing like the rest of us, but let’s be honest: the Eagles do not deserve to be any better off than they are now at number 14.

This team is a long, long way away from contending, and any avoidance of embarrassment they can take upon themselves would be welcome this season.

In other news, junior guard Olivier Hanlan did not make the All-ACC preseason team. It’s not much of a slight considering that the players who did make it are good in their own ways, but some may take it that way. With the state the program is in, we cannot trouble ourselves with such minor things.