Photo by: John Quackenbos
Thursday Three-Pointer: Week Five
December 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
BC knocked out the ghosts at Notre Dame before returning home to beat Albany.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- When it comes to metaphysical sciences, Notre Dame fashions itself as a weather controller. The Fighting Irish brag about waking up echoes and shaking down thunder with boasts of resident ghosts who cause nightmares for visiting opponents. The central crossrip of the extraterrestrial is underneath the football stadium, located up the green from the outstretched arms of Touchdown Jesus.
Purcell Pavilion is about a field goal kick away from the football team's home in the southern portion of the Joyce Center. It's an arena of approximately 10,000 seats but remains a house of horrors with a retention of what lies beyond. Just ask UCLA, which lost there in 1971 and 1974 as bookend defeats around its 88-game winning streak.Â
Or ask Maryland, losing there in 1984 as the No. 5 team in the nation with Len Bias, the same year a nationally-ranked Indiana team also took a loss in South Bend. The following year, No. 5 DePaul lost on the road to the Irish. Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville, North Carolina? They all lost there too.
Then there's the story of Boston College. On January 11, 1997, Antonio Granger and Scoonie Penn combined for 41 points and Danya Abrams flirted with a triple-double as the Eagles earned a 73-61 victory at Notre Dame. That win must have done something to anger the ghosts because the Eagles didn't win in South Bend the next year. Or the year after. Or the year after that.
Or for the next 22 years…until last Saturday.
Boston College shook down its own thunder, beating Notre Dame on the road, 73-72, for its first win at the Joyce Center since before any of the current Eagles were born.Â
It was one of the most complete victories of the season, as BC connected on close to 48% from beyond the arc, en route to a season-high 11 made 3-pointers. Three Eagles went for double figures, including both Derryck Thornton and Jay Heath, who shot a combined 15-of-24 from the field. Steffon Mitchell grabbed 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive window, as the defense rediscovered its stroke against the outside shot. The win pushed the Eagles to 2-0 in ACC play, tying them with Louisville and Virginia for first place in the conference early on.
It provided the jumpstart for BC as it closes out non-conference play heading into the holiday season. The Eagles downed Albany on Tuesday, 72-51 and host Central Connecticut on Sunday before heading to face Cal in San Francisco on Dec. 21
"Derryck and Jay have played smarter in the last two games," head coach Jim Christian said. "We're playing smarter, and when you get shots at the rim, you're going to win. When things don't go well, guys try to take over the game. It comes from a good place, but they try to make a one-on-one play. Now we're understanding what our formula is. It doesn't make a difference who you're playing."
More than that, it exorcised an 8,365-day old demon that claimed so many heralded BC teams. It was a win for Troy Bell, Uka Agbai, and Ryan Sidney. It closed the portal for Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, and Sean Marshall. And it's a sign that the fire is coming to an old-time matchup between the two like-minded institutions.
*****
1) It's not the size of the sword but the fury in the attack. -Confucius
Like most sports, basketball uses advanced analytics to fully determine a player's performance. The efficiency rating takes the sum of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and subtracts both missed shots and turnovers to determine how well an individual played. On the week, three players - Steffon Mitchell, Jared Hamilton and Jay Heath - scored a double figure efficiency rating in both games, while Derryck Thornton, Jairus Hamilton and Julian Rishwain did so in one game.
It's all the result of team-based basketball. BC had 30 assists across the two games, tilting the scale against its turnover numbers. Players who committed errors made up for it on the opposite end by creating shots; Steffon Mitchell, for example, had three turnovers against Notre Dame but had three assists and five offensive rebounds.
"We're playing good team basketball right now," Jairus Hamilton said. "If we were doing something one-on-one, we're getting into team ball now to make shots for other people. If we keep doing that, we'll have more success."
The irony of it all is that the frontcourt is the biggest beneficiary. Heath continues to knock down timely threes, and Thornton is a true general commanding the offense on the court. It's enabled the development of Julian Rishwain to take a step forward, especially in smaller sets with three guards. CJ Felder is likewise moving forward, contributing two steals and four boards opposite eight points against the Irish.
But the real stars are coming from the forwards. It's a little ironic because the unit is playing without Nik Popovic, who is out indefinitely with back issues, but Mitchell and the Hamiltons picked up his production by rotating themselves into advantageous spots. Mitchell is starting to knock down 3-pointers with more regularity, and the Hamiilton brothers are moving each other on the court with unspoken clarity.
There was a moment against Albany where Jared held the ball out by the 3-point corner. Jairus went into the pivot in the low block, and Jared nodded at him. Jairus immediately moved out to the free throw line, where a pass to space awaited him. He drove the basket for a contested layup, but the pass put him in a spot to overcome the defensive pressure.
"There aren't any adjustments," Christian said. "We were shooting poorly so we wanted to emphasize going into the offensive board more. You can maybe put a guy in to get more energy, or you can go from man-to-man to zone on defense. There's no wholesale adjustment you can make that fast. Players just make shots...that led to energy for our players."
2) Light switch: ON
BC went into this week understanding how defense unraveled the team during the recent four-game losing streak. Scoring points and avoiding a drought is obviously an important measurement, but the lack of offense ultimately came from playing individualized basketball on the defensive end. The lack of cohesion and teamwork spread to the offense, and it doomed the Eagles, even though it all came with positive intentions.
"We are getting back to who we are," Jim Christian said. "That's been the message since the Northwestern game. Those performances weren't who we are. It wasn't how we guard actions. Last week, we got back to who we are in practice. We just prepared for our actions and did what we had to do."
Turnover numbers crystallize explosive plays, but guarding shots and contesting everything, even on the outside, is a big reason why BC walked away with two victories this week. There was a stated intention to disallow everything for both Notre Dame and Albany, but even guarding a man-to-man defense required communication and shifting among teammates.
"We'll switch different actions," Christian said. "There are certain actions, hand-offs or ball screens, where we'll switch or we won't, based on what the offense wants to do. We want to make the game uncomfortable for whatever it is that a team is trying to do. We call it 'first pass toughness.' If a team is trying to get an entry into a certain type of play, we're trying to get the opponent out of it. Steff and Jairus and CJ did a really good job of it this week."
It created a dominant aura around the Eagles. The Notre Dame game was a one-point game, but the Fighting Irish attempted 23 free throws to BC's four; they shot 39.7% from the floor and 27.6% from beyond the arc. Albany posted similar numbers, including a 5-for-17 shooting range from beyond the arc in the first half. In the second half, the Great Danes went 1-for-8 on threes.
3) O/A Eagles Take Flight
The Panathinaikos-Olympiacos rivalry is one of the best in basketball. The Greeks delivered thousands of times over by naming it, "The Derby of the Eternal Rivals," and the games themselves are must-see theater between two clubs among Eurobasket's best.
Tyrese Rice is currently embroiled in the thick of the battle, and he might never pay for a meal in Athens after delivering Panathinaikos a huge, 99-93 victory. He scored 41 points in 30 minutes, going 7-for-7 at the charity stripe to elevate his fifth-place team to its fourth consecutive victory.
Elsewhere in Greece, Olivier Hanlan scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists as Iraklis defeated Kolossos HH, 88-86. Iraklis, which plays in Tessaloniki, is currently in first place in the A1, which is the top tier of the Greek league.
Also in Europe, Jordan Chatman continues to star for BC CSU Sibiu. He scored 18 points this week in his club's 12-point win over Craiova. At 6-3, Sibiu is currently in third in Group A of the Romanian Liga Nationala.
That's not to be outdone by the NBA Eagles, though. Ky Bowman continues to excel for Golden State despite the Warriors' collective struggles this season. He scored 10 points with eight rebounds in a recent game against Atlanta, but the Hawks easily cruised by Dub City. It was a similar outcome for Jerome Robinson, who tossed in six points in 20 minutes but watched his Los Angeles Clippers fall to Milwaukee.
Layup Line: Central Connecticut
First semester final exams in Chestnut Hill means there's only one game on the upcoming week, and BC will host on Sunday when it plays Central Connecticut at 1 p.m.
It's been a struggle for the Blue Devils this year, though the last two games provided glimmers of hope after some rough outings. They lost by two to both UMass-Lowell and Maine, with the latter coming at home in the Constitution State. Prior to that, CCSU lost by at least 30 in four in its first seven games, including a 41-point loss to Arizona State, the only other power conference team it played.
This is the second time BC's played CCSU during its exam break in the past three seasons. Two years ago, the Eagles won by 19 against a Blue Devil team that only lost to Rutgers by four and defeated East Carolina. It was the fifth meeting between the teams, who played in consecutive seasons in 1996 and 1997 before playing in 2008 and 2015.
Sunday tips off at 1 p.m. with coverage slated for ACC Network Extra. Radio broadcast will be available on WEEI 850 AM.
Purcell Pavilion is about a field goal kick away from the football team's home in the southern portion of the Joyce Center. It's an arena of approximately 10,000 seats but remains a house of horrors with a retention of what lies beyond. Just ask UCLA, which lost there in 1971 and 1974 as bookend defeats around its 88-game winning streak.Â
Or ask Maryland, losing there in 1984 as the No. 5 team in the nation with Len Bias, the same year a nationally-ranked Indiana team also took a loss in South Bend. The following year, No. 5 DePaul lost on the road to the Irish. Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville, North Carolina? They all lost there too.
Then there's the story of Boston College. On January 11, 1997, Antonio Granger and Scoonie Penn combined for 41 points and Danya Abrams flirted with a triple-double as the Eagles earned a 73-61 victory at Notre Dame. That win must have done something to anger the ghosts because the Eagles didn't win in South Bend the next year. Or the year after. Or the year after that.
Or for the next 22 years…until last Saturday.
Boston College shook down its own thunder, beating Notre Dame on the road, 73-72, for its first win at the Joyce Center since before any of the current Eagles were born.Â
It was one of the most complete victories of the season, as BC connected on close to 48% from beyond the arc, en route to a season-high 11 made 3-pointers. Three Eagles went for double figures, including both Derryck Thornton and Jay Heath, who shot a combined 15-of-24 from the field. Steffon Mitchell grabbed 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive window, as the defense rediscovered its stroke against the outside shot. The win pushed the Eagles to 2-0 in ACC play, tying them with Louisville and Virginia for first place in the conference early on.
It provided the jumpstart for BC as it closes out non-conference play heading into the holiday season. The Eagles downed Albany on Tuesday, 72-51 and host Central Connecticut on Sunday before heading to face Cal in San Francisco on Dec. 21
"Derryck and Jay have played smarter in the last two games," head coach Jim Christian said. "We're playing smarter, and when you get shots at the rim, you're going to win. When things don't go well, guys try to take over the game. It comes from a good place, but they try to make a one-on-one play. Now we're understanding what our formula is. It doesn't make a difference who you're playing."
More than that, it exorcised an 8,365-day old demon that claimed so many heralded BC teams. It was a win for Troy Bell, Uka Agbai, and Ryan Sidney. It closed the portal for Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, and Sean Marshall. And it's a sign that the fire is coming to an old-time matchup between the two like-minded institutions.
*****
1) It's not the size of the sword but the fury in the attack. -Confucius
Like most sports, basketball uses advanced analytics to fully determine a player's performance. The efficiency rating takes the sum of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and subtracts both missed shots and turnovers to determine how well an individual played. On the week, three players - Steffon Mitchell, Jared Hamilton and Jay Heath - scored a double figure efficiency rating in both games, while Derryck Thornton, Jairus Hamilton and Julian Rishwain did so in one game.
It's all the result of team-based basketball. BC had 30 assists across the two games, tilting the scale against its turnover numbers. Players who committed errors made up for it on the opposite end by creating shots; Steffon Mitchell, for example, had three turnovers against Notre Dame but had three assists and five offensive rebounds.
"We're playing good team basketball right now," Jairus Hamilton said. "If we were doing something one-on-one, we're getting into team ball now to make shots for other people. If we keep doing that, we'll have more success."
The irony of it all is that the frontcourt is the biggest beneficiary. Heath continues to knock down timely threes, and Thornton is a true general commanding the offense on the court. It's enabled the development of Julian Rishwain to take a step forward, especially in smaller sets with three guards. CJ Felder is likewise moving forward, contributing two steals and four boards opposite eight points against the Irish.
But the real stars are coming from the forwards. It's a little ironic because the unit is playing without Nik Popovic, who is out indefinitely with back issues, but Mitchell and the Hamiltons picked up his production by rotating themselves into advantageous spots. Mitchell is starting to knock down 3-pointers with more regularity, and the Hamiilton brothers are moving each other on the court with unspoken clarity.
There was a moment against Albany where Jared held the ball out by the 3-point corner. Jairus went into the pivot in the low block, and Jared nodded at him. Jairus immediately moved out to the free throw line, where a pass to space awaited him. He drove the basket for a contested layup, but the pass put him in a spot to overcome the defensive pressure.
"There aren't any adjustments," Christian said. "We were shooting poorly so we wanted to emphasize going into the offensive board more. You can maybe put a guy in to get more energy, or you can go from man-to-man to zone on defense. There's no wholesale adjustment you can make that fast. Players just make shots...that led to energy for our players."
2) Light switch: ON
BC went into this week understanding how defense unraveled the team during the recent four-game losing streak. Scoring points and avoiding a drought is obviously an important measurement, but the lack of offense ultimately came from playing individualized basketball on the defensive end. The lack of cohesion and teamwork spread to the offense, and it doomed the Eagles, even though it all came with positive intentions.
"We are getting back to who we are," Jim Christian said. "That's been the message since the Northwestern game. Those performances weren't who we are. It wasn't how we guard actions. Last week, we got back to who we are in practice. We just prepared for our actions and did what we had to do."
Turnover numbers crystallize explosive plays, but guarding shots and contesting everything, even on the outside, is a big reason why BC walked away with two victories this week. There was a stated intention to disallow everything for both Notre Dame and Albany, but even guarding a man-to-man defense required communication and shifting among teammates.
"We'll switch different actions," Christian said. "There are certain actions, hand-offs or ball screens, where we'll switch or we won't, based on what the offense wants to do. We want to make the game uncomfortable for whatever it is that a team is trying to do. We call it 'first pass toughness.' If a team is trying to get an entry into a certain type of play, we're trying to get the opponent out of it. Steff and Jairus and CJ did a really good job of it this week."
It created a dominant aura around the Eagles. The Notre Dame game was a one-point game, but the Fighting Irish attempted 23 free throws to BC's four; they shot 39.7% from the floor and 27.6% from beyond the arc. Albany posted similar numbers, including a 5-for-17 shooting range from beyond the arc in the first half. In the second half, the Great Danes went 1-for-8 on threes.
3) O/A Eagles Take Flight
The Panathinaikos-Olympiacos rivalry is one of the best in basketball. The Greeks delivered thousands of times over by naming it, "The Derby of the Eternal Rivals," and the games themselves are must-see theater between two clubs among Eurobasket's best.
Tyrese Rice is currently embroiled in the thick of the battle, and he might never pay for a meal in Athens after delivering Panathinaikos a huge, 99-93 victory. He scored 41 points in 30 minutes, going 7-for-7 at the charity stripe to elevate his fifth-place team to its fourth consecutive victory.
Elsewhere in Greece, Olivier Hanlan scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists as Iraklis defeated Kolossos HH, 88-86. Iraklis, which plays in Tessaloniki, is currently in first place in the A1, which is the top tier of the Greek league.
Also in Europe, Jordan Chatman continues to star for BC CSU Sibiu. He scored 18 points this week in his club's 12-point win over Craiova. At 6-3, Sibiu is currently in third in Group A of the Romanian Liga Nationala.
That's not to be outdone by the NBA Eagles, though. Ky Bowman continues to excel for Golden State despite the Warriors' collective struggles this season. He scored 10 points with eight rebounds in a recent game against Atlanta, but the Hawks easily cruised by Dub City. It was a similar outcome for Jerome Robinson, who tossed in six points in 20 minutes but watched his Los Angeles Clippers fall to Milwaukee.
Layup Line: Central Connecticut
First semester final exams in Chestnut Hill means there's only one game on the upcoming week, and BC will host on Sunday when it plays Central Connecticut at 1 p.m.
It's been a struggle for the Blue Devils this year, though the last two games provided glimmers of hope after some rough outings. They lost by two to both UMass-Lowell and Maine, with the latter coming at home in the Constitution State. Prior to that, CCSU lost by at least 30 in four in its first seven games, including a 41-point loss to Arizona State, the only other power conference team it played.
This is the second time BC's played CCSU during its exam break in the past three seasons. Two years ago, the Eagles won by 19 against a Blue Devil team that only lost to Rutgers by four and defeated East Carolina. It was the fifth meeting between the teams, who played in consecutive seasons in 1996 and 1997 before playing in 2008 and 2015.
Sunday tips off at 1 p.m. with coverage slated for ACC Network Extra. Radio broadcast will be available on WEEI 850 AM.
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