What Can We Count On

IT'S BACK!!!

Yes, BU basketball comes back tonight. But there is an air of unfamiliarity about the team this year. For the first time in 5 years, Tyler Morris won't be hustling down the court - he was as close to being the "rock" of BU basketball as you can get. You could always count on Tyler being there and giving it all, from his Rookie of the Year to his outstanding performance in the CBI to finish his career.

No, we won't have Tyler to serve as our rock this year. We won't have the tumultous presence of Corey Lowe - the will he or won't he transfer rumors, the conflicts with coaches, the nagging injuries. Sure you couldn't "count" on Corey, but you felt better knowing the erstwhile Big East point guard was there. We can't count on the gritty determination and potential of a Carlos Strong coming off the bench, the steadiness of a Scott Brittain in the middle, the character of a Tunde Agboola, the confusion that was Brendan Sullivan, the adorableness of a Mike Schulze.

Right now, we can only count on one man, one force: John Holland.

This team will go as far as JH23 can take them. He's undoubtedly the best player in the America East. Coach Chambers declined to make him a team captain (opting instead for 2 guys who have never suited up!) because he didn't want to give John any additional pressure on top of the load he is going to have to carry. Is he up for the challenge?

We don't really know what he'll have in terms of help yet. Jake is a good player but one peg lower. Pelage is another peg below that. But that's it! Will Griffin, Partin and most importantly Pat Hazel be able to help? I have no idea. Will some of freshmen step up? We now have a DJ and a Malik -- great basketball names -- so that bodes well. Early reviews on Travis Robinson and Dom Morris are promising.

Tonight we see if we can turn some of that promise into performance. Northeastern is a team in a remarkably similar situation. Like BU, they have only 3 upperclassmen who were there last year, and a ton of underclassmen. Two things BU has in their favor:

1) They didn't lose their best player. NU did (Matt Janning).
2) They don't go to Northeastern (always a plus)

BU has won the last 2 crosstown matchups in a row. I think this will be a close game, like last year's overtime win at Case, but extremely sloppy due to two inexperienced teams.

Guys, we NEED this win. I hate Northeastern. Do us fans a solid and start this season off with a win.

WILL BU WIN TONIGHT?
Magic 8-Ball sez:

The Weight of Great Expectations

Every season, we judge our team in two ways: the level of success on the court (number of wins, how far they get in the postseason, etc) and how that success measures up against our expectations. We set those expectations right about now - the weeks leading up to the season.


But in the case of BU, many times those expectations are made for us. For the 4th straight year, we've been picked first in the league. A Marqus Blakely-led Vermont team was never picked first? Three years ago, we were coming off a 6th place finish with a bunch of sophomores, and picked first?

Yet we haven't come in first since 2003-04, and so according to the expectations, BU has been a failure.

This year might be the most undeserved #1 pick yet! We lost 9 seniors, and there are 3 guys remaining on our team who have suited up for BU. Four other guys averaged less than 5ppg at their previous schools. And of course 7 straight-off-the-boat freshmen.

There wasn't another AE team that looks better on paper than this??

The reviews from Monday's Scarlet vs. White scrimmage were underwhelming. Not surprising for a pre-season exhibition. The Terriers are going to take quite a while to learn and gel, and the out-of-conference schedule is gonna tough sleddin for the Chambers Gang too. If right now we're the best the America East has to offer, they can write us into play-in game right now!!

Now this all isn't to say that this year's Terriers can't win the conference or be very good. But setting those kind of expectations on this squad is unfair.

BU Basketball Already 0-1

You probably didn't notice, but BU men's basketball suffered its first loss of the season last night.

I didn't either, at first. But this loss didn't happen in a sports arena, it happened in the political arena. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat running for Senator of Illinois, used to play basketball for Boston University!

National Journal says:

"Giannoulias was a star point guard—he was known for a killer 3-point shot—on the basketball team. When he graduated, he hoped to go to an Ivy League school, but decided to stay close to home when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, attending the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, where he led the basketball team in scoring. After his mother’s recovery, he transferred to Boston University, which had a better basketball program. In his junior year, the team won their conference championship and played in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. When at home for breaks, he continued to play pickup games in Hyde Park, near his old campus. There, he befriended local politicians, including Obama, then a state senator, as well as current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan."

A quick look into Giannoulias' stats here at Case Gym show that he was no Tunji Awojobi during his days on Comm Ave:

Season GP MPG PPG FG% 3FG% FT% APG RPG BPG SPG
1997-98 13 3.5 1.2 41.7 40.0 100.0 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2
1996-97 7 1. 7 0.3 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 20 2.9 0.9 35.2 40.0 100.0 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.1


Yes, he was basically a deep bench player, maybe even a walk-on. But he's the only Terrier to almost be in charge of 13 million people and one of only two who are pals with President Obama.

As Illinois State Treasurer, he had a great chance to take the Senate seat in the Land of Lincoln. But with the Republican wave washing over the nation, the former Terrier lost to Republican Mark Kirk by 48% to 46% -- still a pretty good showing!

So here's the major question:

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