Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Thursday Three-Pointer: Week Two
November 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
BC rallied to beat Eastern Washington after dropping a shootout to Belmont.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The old adage about "the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores" applies to juniors and seniors as well. There is a level of maturity that is implicit and explicit as it pertains to upperclassmen in college athletics. Nik Popovic is a mature college basketball senior.
He still talks through the same smile he displayed as a young freshman, and his friendly attitude and demeanor never really changed. Thinking of him as a four-year veteran is a stretch at time because he always plays with the same fiery passion he had as a freshman at the Heights, but now exudes the joy and happiness on the court as his current team's fresh-faced, young contributors.
So it might be easy to overlook how he became one of the program's pillars. On Wednesday night, Popovic scored 13 points as part of a double-double performance against Eastern Washington. It pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau and placed him in a pantheon occupied by just 44 other athletes from BC's 85 previous seasons.
"It's a great feeling," he said of the accomplishment. "I've been working for this for a long time. I wasn't really focused on scoring 1,000 points because I cared about winning the game. But still, it's a good feeling."
Popovic is long overlooked as the ACC's most underappreciated players, but his development is key to both the team's short-term and long-range success. Wednesday's game marked his first double-double of the year after he grabbed 12 rebounds, and he continues to surge as one of the team's top scorers.
He's done it while evolving into a new-age big man. Basketball's current era is centered around the 3-ball, and teams need to splash long range buckets in order to compete at a high level. Popovic is adding a new dimension to that, hitting at least one three-pointer in three of BC's first five games.Â
He went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc against Belmont last weekend as part of a 23-point performance, and though he missed on his two attempts against Eastern Washington, his willingness to shoot from downtown is drawing obvious attention from opposing teams.
"When he was a younger player, he dwelled on his mistakes," head coach Jim Christian said. "It impacted him on the next play, but that's what impacts young players. Now he's playing basketball the way it's meant to be played."
Popovic's player profile progression is easily quantifiable within his statistics, but it's most pronounced in the unwritten elements, in his maturity and approach to the game. He's a completely different athlete mentally since he memorably tipped in that game-winning bucket at Madison Square Garden against Auburn in his freshman season, having grown into a multi-faceted center because of his commitment to practice and to the team's core values.
"It's not even basketball growth," head coach Jim Christian said. "It's his maturity. He's played well in both games (this week) because he practiced hard. He comes to practice with a great mentality, and he practices hard. It's how basketball is played. That's why he's consistent and why he's gained confidence."
Watching Popovic in his post game press conference, he still flashed that smile. Earlier this year during the High Point game, he was the first person to explode off the bench in celebration when CJ Felder dunked a pass from Luka Kraljevic. He still laughs and enjoys the game the same way, but everything about him screams out from a new, mature outlook.Â
Congratulations to Nik Popovic on scoring 1,000 points, and here's to looking forward to the many, many more memorable games left in his senior season.
Here's what else to learn from this week's split against Belmont and Eastern Washington.
*****
1) They're playing Bas. Ket. Balllllll...
It's amazing to think about the number of good basketball teams across the country. Over 350 programs sponsor the sport at a Division I level, and the sheer volume, depth of talent, and parity had led to more top-flight basketball programs than ever before. The top-to-bottom competitiveness of the power conference teams forms a cornerstone for the NCAA, but there are a number of teams scattered throughout the country capable of winning games in bunches.
The last two opponents are prime examples because both Belmont and Eastern Washington are preseason selections for mid-major league championships. Belmont is an annual factor to the national bubble watch after routinely winning 25 games in a conference that had five different champions over the past six seasons. Last year, the Bruins received an at-large bid and won one of the First Four games as a No. 11 seed, beating Temple.
Wednesday's opponent, Eastern Washington, is the preseason favorite in the Big Sky Conference and, despite the loss to BC, remains projected to win 18-20 games this year. It lost in each of the last two conference championships to Montana but is only a few years removed from pushing Georgetown as a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"(EWU) is a really good basketball team," Christian said. "I think everyone can get caught up in the name game, but we're playing really good basketball teams. This was another team (like Belmont) picked to win their league."
It's part of a competitive non-conference schedule designed to prepare the Eagles for the upcoming rigors of the ACC league slate. BC's next opponent, DePaul, won 19 games last year despite finishing in last place in the Big East, and it enters Saturday's game as an undefeated, 5-0 team with one win on the road against a power conference school, Iowa. The Blue Demons are primed to jump into the national polls.
"We didn't sign up for games against teams that would build fake confidence," Christian said. "We're building real confidence by beating good teams and executing down the stretch."
2) Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation. - Michael Jordan
For BC, the Belmont game represented an interesting case study for its basketball performance. The Bruins shot over 57% from beyond the arc, draining 15 three pointers in a 15-point victory over the Eagles. It completely overshadowed the BC offensive performance, which lit the scoreboard for 85 points on 56% shooting.
It was antithetical compared to the remainder of the young season's production. The first few games watched BC clamp down on opponents with smothering defense, and the offense made its mark by simply being opportunistic in transition. The Belmont game wasn't anything like that, though a defense couldn't do much to stop outside shooting from attracting the bottom of the cup like a magnet. That game was simply bombs away from the opening tip.
It provided a blueprint for Eastern Washington, though, because the visiting Eagles are a team built around the 3-ball. They attempted 38 three-point field goal attempts, hitting 13 of them for a 34% clip. That's still a good number, but BC was able to hold off the storming attempt by simply owning its situational basketball.
Steffon Mitchell had four offensive rebounds in the second half on Wednesday night as part of a six-rebound performance after halftime. Popovic, who added five defensive rebounds, chipped in two on the offensive glass. It led BC to four second-chance points and two fast break points as part of a larger effort that produced 11 points in transition. Those numbers ultimately made up the difference and played a big reason in why Boston's Eagles went to bed on Wednesday night with a four-point victory.
"We shot the ball well early and moved the ball in transition well," Christian said. "We stopped scoring because we weren't moving the ball well. (Steffon Mitchell) did a great job, and (Popovic) did a good job getting offensive rebounds. We had six boards in the second half. WE have to bring that every night."
3) A point guard can carry a team...if he has the right stuff. - Reggie Miller
Labeling either Jay Heath or Derryck Thornton as a point guard or shooting guard is a disservice to how they both can play the other's position. Thornton can be considered as a point guard with five assists, but he posted 14 points by finishing drawing free throws on a night when his shooting didn't consistently find the bucket. Heath could be a shooting guard after leading the team with 17 points, including five three pointers, but he had eight defensive rebounds.
"I love it when guys make shots, but there's a lot of ways to make impact plays," Christian said. "Eight rebounds for a guard is monstrous. We have not been rebounding well, but we kept a team shooting a lot of threes off of the backboard. A team that shoots threes creates long rebounds."
Heath was immense down the stretch, shooting 4-of-6 from the field with a 3-of-4 statistic from the long range. With under two minutes remaining in the game, Eastern Washington's Tyler Robertson hit a three to give the Eagles a one-point lead. Heath immediately crushed a response, nailing a three of his own to put his Eagles back in front. It was a critical juncture, and it gave rise that this freshman was already grabbing headlines as the next in the long line of BC guards
Layup Line: Exorcise the Demons
The Eagles return to the hardwood on Saturday when they host DePaul in a game outside of the recent Gotham Classic contests. It's a rematch of last year's hard-fought victory in Chicago, won by BC, in a game best recognized as the midseason debut of Jared Hamilton.
DePaul is an incredibly interesting case study because the Big East is such a loaded conference. Two games separated a four-way tie for third place with a three-way tie in last, and DePaul was part of that three-way tie in the "basement" with Providence and Butler. A first round exit against St. John's ended any hope of a Cinderella run to the NCAA Tournament, and the team instead went to the College Basketball Invitational.
It's ironic because the two teams tied with them in the Big East went to the NIT as part of a five-team contingent. DePaul, which swept St. John's and Seton Hall in the regular season, instead became the lone league representative in the third-tier tournament, but the Blue Demons put on a show once granted the opportunity. They scored over 90 points in their first three games to advance to the finals against South Florida and pushed the Bulls to three games in a best-of-three series before losing, 77-65.
DePaul sets the tone for the upcoming two-game week because it's the precursor to another game against an NCAA Tournament team, Saint Louis, as the final game in the Gotham Classic. The Billikens are also the defending Atlantic-10 conference tournament champions, earning a No. 13 seed in the East Regional before losing to Virginia Tech in the First Round.
It's somewhat interesting that the Billikens wound up winning the A-10 in the first place because they finished tied for sixth with Duquesne. They finished 17-16 in the regular season and didn't really beat any teams ahead of them, but they caught fire when the tournament kicked off in Brooklyn. After beating Richmond in the Second Round, they upset Dayton and Davidson, beating the latter by 23.Â
That led to a dogfight in the A-10 Championship and a two point win over St. Bonaventure to clinch the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance of the decade and second conference tournament championship.
Saturday's game against DePaul tips off at noon and is available on the ACC Network Extra, with the Wednesday game against Saint Louis at 2 p.m. on ACC Network television broadcast. Both games can be heard on WEEI 850 AM.
He still talks through the same smile he displayed as a young freshman, and his friendly attitude and demeanor never really changed. Thinking of him as a four-year veteran is a stretch at time because he always plays with the same fiery passion he had as a freshman at the Heights, but now exudes the joy and happiness on the court as his current team's fresh-faced, young contributors.
So it might be easy to overlook how he became one of the program's pillars. On Wednesday night, Popovic scored 13 points as part of a double-double performance against Eastern Washington. It pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau and placed him in a pantheon occupied by just 44 other athletes from BC's 85 previous seasons.
"It's a great feeling," he said of the accomplishment. "I've been working for this for a long time. I wasn't really focused on scoring 1,000 points because I cared about winning the game. But still, it's a good feeling."
Popovic is long overlooked as the ACC's most underappreciated players, but his development is key to both the team's short-term and long-range success. Wednesday's game marked his first double-double of the year after he grabbed 12 rebounds, and he continues to surge as one of the team's top scorers.
He's done it while evolving into a new-age big man. Basketball's current era is centered around the 3-ball, and teams need to splash long range buckets in order to compete at a high level. Popovic is adding a new dimension to that, hitting at least one three-pointer in three of BC's first five games.Â
He went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc against Belmont last weekend as part of a 23-point performance, and though he missed on his two attempts against Eastern Washington, his willingness to shoot from downtown is drawing obvious attention from opposing teams.
"When he was a younger player, he dwelled on his mistakes," head coach Jim Christian said. "It impacted him on the next play, but that's what impacts young players. Now he's playing basketball the way it's meant to be played."
Popovic's player profile progression is easily quantifiable within his statistics, but it's most pronounced in the unwritten elements, in his maturity and approach to the game. He's a completely different athlete mentally since he memorably tipped in that game-winning bucket at Madison Square Garden against Auburn in his freshman season, having grown into a multi-faceted center because of his commitment to practice and to the team's core values.
"It's not even basketball growth," head coach Jim Christian said. "It's his maturity. He's played well in both games (this week) because he practiced hard. He comes to practice with a great mentality, and he practices hard. It's how basketball is played. That's why he's consistent and why he's gained confidence."
Watching Popovic in his post game press conference, he still flashed that smile. Earlier this year during the High Point game, he was the first person to explode off the bench in celebration when CJ Felder dunked a pass from Luka Kraljevic. He still laughs and enjoys the game the same way, but everything about him screams out from a new, mature outlook.Â
Congratulations to Nik Popovic on scoring 1,000 points, and here's to looking forward to the many, many more memorable games left in his senior season.
Here's what else to learn from this week's split against Belmont and Eastern Washington.
*****
1) They're playing Bas. Ket. Balllllll...
It's amazing to think about the number of good basketball teams across the country. Over 350 programs sponsor the sport at a Division I level, and the sheer volume, depth of talent, and parity had led to more top-flight basketball programs than ever before. The top-to-bottom competitiveness of the power conference teams forms a cornerstone for the NCAA, but there are a number of teams scattered throughout the country capable of winning games in bunches.
The last two opponents are prime examples because both Belmont and Eastern Washington are preseason selections for mid-major league championships. Belmont is an annual factor to the national bubble watch after routinely winning 25 games in a conference that had five different champions over the past six seasons. Last year, the Bruins received an at-large bid and won one of the First Four games as a No. 11 seed, beating Temple.
Wednesday's opponent, Eastern Washington, is the preseason favorite in the Big Sky Conference and, despite the loss to BC, remains projected to win 18-20 games this year. It lost in each of the last two conference championships to Montana but is only a few years removed from pushing Georgetown as a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"(EWU) is a really good basketball team," Christian said. "I think everyone can get caught up in the name game, but we're playing really good basketball teams. This was another team (like Belmont) picked to win their league."
It's part of a competitive non-conference schedule designed to prepare the Eagles for the upcoming rigors of the ACC league slate. BC's next opponent, DePaul, won 19 games last year despite finishing in last place in the Big East, and it enters Saturday's game as an undefeated, 5-0 team with one win on the road against a power conference school, Iowa. The Blue Demons are primed to jump into the national polls.
"We didn't sign up for games against teams that would build fake confidence," Christian said. "We're building real confidence by beating good teams and executing down the stretch."
2) Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation. - Michael Jordan
For BC, the Belmont game represented an interesting case study for its basketball performance. The Bruins shot over 57% from beyond the arc, draining 15 three pointers in a 15-point victory over the Eagles. It completely overshadowed the BC offensive performance, which lit the scoreboard for 85 points on 56% shooting.
It was antithetical compared to the remainder of the young season's production. The first few games watched BC clamp down on opponents with smothering defense, and the offense made its mark by simply being opportunistic in transition. The Belmont game wasn't anything like that, though a defense couldn't do much to stop outside shooting from attracting the bottom of the cup like a magnet. That game was simply bombs away from the opening tip.
It provided a blueprint for Eastern Washington, though, because the visiting Eagles are a team built around the 3-ball. They attempted 38 three-point field goal attempts, hitting 13 of them for a 34% clip. That's still a good number, but BC was able to hold off the storming attempt by simply owning its situational basketball.
Steffon Mitchell had four offensive rebounds in the second half on Wednesday night as part of a six-rebound performance after halftime. Popovic, who added five defensive rebounds, chipped in two on the offensive glass. It led BC to four second-chance points and two fast break points as part of a larger effort that produced 11 points in transition. Those numbers ultimately made up the difference and played a big reason in why Boston's Eagles went to bed on Wednesday night with a four-point victory.
"We shot the ball well early and moved the ball in transition well," Christian said. "We stopped scoring because we weren't moving the ball well. (Steffon Mitchell) did a great job, and (Popovic) did a good job getting offensive rebounds. We had six boards in the second half. WE have to bring that every night."
3) A point guard can carry a team...if he has the right stuff. - Reggie Miller
Labeling either Jay Heath or Derryck Thornton as a point guard or shooting guard is a disservice to how they both can play the other's position. Thornton can be considered as a point guard with five assists, but he posted 14 points by finishing drawing free throws on a night when his shooting didn't consistently find the bucket. Heath could be a shooting guard after leading the team with 17 points, including five three pointers, but he had eight defensive rebounds.
"I love it when guys make shots, but there's a lot of ways to make impact plays," Christian said. "Eight rebounds for a guard is monstrous. We have not been rebounding well, but we kept a team shooting a lot of threes off of the backboard. A team that shoots threes creates long rebounds."
Heath was immense down the stretch, shooting 4-of-6 from the field with a 3-of-4 statistic from the long range. With under two minutes remaining in the game, Eastern Washington's Tyler Robertson hit a three to give the Eagles a one-point lead. Heath immediately crushed a response, nailing a three of his own to put his Eagles back in front. It was a critical juncture, and it gave rise that this freshman was already grabbing headlines as the next in the long line of BC guards
Layup Line: Exorcise the Demons
The Eagles return to the hardwood on Saturday when they host DePaul in a game outside of the recent Gotham Classic contests. It's a rematch of last year's hard-fought victory in Chicago, won by BC, in a game best recognized as the midseason debut of Jared Hamilton.
DePaul is an incredibly interesting case study because the Big East is such a loaded conference. Two games separated a four-way tie for third place with a three-way tie in last, and DePaul was part of that three-way tie in the "basement" with Providence and Butler. A first round exit against St. John's ended any hope of a Cinderella run to the NCAA Tournament, and the team instead went to the College Basketball Invitational.
It's ironic because the two teams tied with them in the Big East went to the NIT as part of a five-team contingent. DePaul, which swept St. John's and Seton Hall in the regular season, instead became the lone league representative in the third-tier tournament, but the Blue Demons put on a show once granted the opportunity. They scored over 90 points in their first three games to advance to the finals against South Florida and pushed the Bulls to three games in a best-of-three series before losing, 77-65.
DePaul sets the tone for the upcoming two-game week because it's the precursor to another game against an NCAA Tournament team, Saint Louis, as the final game in the Gotham Classic. The Billikens are also the defending Atlantic-10 conference tournament champions, earning a No. 13 seed in the East Regional before losing to Virginia Tech in the First Round.
It's somewhat interesting that the Billikens wound up winning the A-10 in the first place because they finished tied for sixth with Duquesne. They finished 17-16 in the regular season and didn't really beat any teams ahead of them, but they caught fire when the tournament kicked off in Brooklyn. After beating Richmond in the Second Round, they upset Dayton and Davidson, beating the latter by 23.Â
That led to a dogfight in the A-10 Championship and a two point win over St. Bonaventure to clinch the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance of the decade and second conference tournament championship.
Saturday's game against DePaul tips off at noon and is available on the ACC Network Extra, with the Wednesday game against Saint Louis at 2 p.m. on ACC Network television broadcast. Both games can be heard on WEEI 850 AM.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball#20 Baseball Defeats Clemson (May 1, 2026)
Saturday, May 02
No. 20 Baseball defeats UMass Lowell (April 28, 2026)
Wednesday, April 29
From the Desk of Blake James | Episode 8
Friday, April 24
Baseball: 2026 ALS Game vs Virginia Tech Recap
Tuesday, April 21
