Where the F&%# is Rhett

On December 21, I attended the Mount St. Mary's/BU game at the Roof. At least I thought it was a home game at the Roof, but I couldn't really tell... because our damn mascot still doesn't show up for games!!!


Because of the joys of being an out-of-town fan, I have been to 3 regular season home games over the last 2 years. And our mascot Rhett has been at exactly none of them. Does he even freakin exist anymore? Or did they put him to sleep because he's too damn lazy? I remember when Rhett was a mascot I respected. His old suit used to be a bad-ass muscular physique, not the girly teddy-bear look he has now. And he showed up for EVERYTHING.

What is the point of having a mascot if he doesn't go to games? I don't care if he's been to every single hockey game (he probably has in fact!) - this school's athletic program is thankfully more than hockey. And don't tell me this is a holiday thing. The cheerleaders and the entire band were able to be at all of those games.

How sad is it that our mascot can't show up to a game, yet this guy is able to be there and waltz around our gym freely:

I'm serious. Who wears this to a BU game? The ticket guy at the entrance should have knocked this guy out.

House of Pain: The Dayton Preview

The Terriers walk into their 11th and final non-conference game tonight on a three-game winning streak (a first!) and missing another body on their ever-shortening bench (sadly, not a first).

Against Mount St. Mary's, BU was shooting a hot rock at 56 percent. The main beneficiaries were John Holland, who threw down some of his patented slams, and Jake O'Brien, who earned the America East Player of the Week for the effort. Not to be overlooked were Corey Lowe's 9 assists. To me and many around us, though, the story of the game was the ridiculously quick whistles of the zebras. Both teams were called for fouls on seemingly every possession, which prevented the game from having any sort of flow at all. Refs, let 'em play!

But during the game, I noticed that BJ Bailey, our lone freshman, was not among the few in uniform on the bench nor the many in suits on the bench. His departure from the team was confirmed by some BU folks at halftime.

The highlight of the game was clearly this guy's hair:


Tonight, we catch Dayton, a team picked first in the Atlantic 14 conference and one that we saw play in Puerto Rico. They were damn good, despite the fact that they lost 2 games just like we did. Thing is, they beat Georgia Tech (which ended up pasting us in our last game). At least both teams' losses to K-State were comparable. They have one young man in particular, Chris Wright, who is quite good at basketball.


Even more impressive than Dayton's basketball players are its basketball fans. They were the biggest group of fans in San Juan, and I thought they were loud there; I can't imagine what it'll be like inside University of Dayton Arena tonight.

This is our last chance to make a splash in the non-conference and improve our RPI, but it's a tall order tonight.

Aaaaaand, we're back: The Mount St. Mary's Preview

It's been quiet lately in these parts, as it has been in all of TerrierLand. The team has played only one game in the last two and a half weeks. Ditto for blog posts. You could say I had my own personal finals week.

But the Terriers are back tonight, and so am I. I'll be at tonight's game against Mount St. Mary's at the Roof. Maybe there will be a video or two.

We lost to the Mounters last year by 9, but MSM was better last year. They were picked preseason #1 in their conference this year, just like us, but have not been good so far even though they still have their best players from last year.

We need to beat teams like this (and Bucknell and Marist). This would give us our first 3 game winning streak going into the non-conference finale against Dayton - we can use all the momentum we can get!

Fun Fact: Mount St. Mary's is the most blasphemous school name in Division I ever since Boink St. Elizabeth's College dropped to D-3.

Where Amaker Buys His Apples: The Harvard Preview

I'm ready to get over this one.

At exactly 8:51pm on Saturday, November 29, I turned off the BU vs. Mount St. Mary's game, drove to airport and boarded a Delta 737 that took me directly (via layover in Cincinnati and Houston) to the Le Blanc Spa & Resort in Cancun, Mexico to partake in some relaxation, refreshment and rejuvenation for my mind, body and spirit. I was in a knot after that game, and a Shiatsu massage, seaweed body wrap and a 50-minute Steam-Vichy Rain Journey were just what the doctored ordered to calm my hoop-rage.

Or, not. I couldn't drop the 3 grand it would take for rejuvenating therapy, so I had to rely on the old fashioned Frank Costanza method:



It was a frustrating game - to listen/watch, to play in, and to coach. Mount St. Mary's is a good team, and they played well enough to win on Saturday - but I don't think they are necessarily the better team. I think the teams were evenly-matched to the point that whoever was the home team would win. MSM jumped out to a big early lead, but BU was able to grind it down throughout the entire 2nd half to tie the game with 5 minutes left.

Much of the trouble in this one came from FREE THROWS and REBOUNDING. We were dominated in both aspects. I think that's where much of the frustration came from. Plus that one really frickin fast guy they have.

It appears as though D. Wolff blew a gasket in this one. The refs blew a shot clock violation on MSM with about a minute to go that could have altered the outcome of the game, and the refs basically admitted they blew it by not T-ing up Wolff during his ranting. The players got fired up too, with news coming that the two teams nearly erupted in fisticuffs near the locker rooms after the game.

But it's time to forget about that now, and I can only hope that much of that fire carries over to tonight's game against Harvard. This is another team that is easy to underestimate but not very easy to beat. BU has pwned the smart kids lately, winning 14 of the last 15. And Tommy Amaker has nightmares about the Terriers, dating back to his back-to-back home losses to BU back at Michigan.

He's starting to bring some good players to the Crimson though, and it's showing in the standings. Harvard is going to challenge for the top couple spots in the Ivy League by the end of the year.

There are plenty of reasons to hate them though:

1. New York Times exposes dirty recruiting by Harvard

"In a New Era at Harvard, New Questions of Standards"
The New York Times
By Pete Thamel
March 2, 2008

"It is also because Harvard is willing to consider players with a lower academic standing than previous staff members said they were allowed to. Harvard has also adopted aggressive recruiting tactics that skirt or, in some cases, may even violate National Collegiate Athletic Association rules [...] In the race to become competitive in basketball, Harvard’s new approach could tarnish the university’s sterling reputation."

And this is funny...

"In another case, Amaker approached the parents of an athlete in a grocery store and urged that their son visit Harvard..."

See ya in the produce aisle, Tommy!

2. Harvard encroaching on BU's territory

"Residents mobilize against Harvard"
Allston-Brighton Tab
By Karen Elowitt
February 15, 2007

Allston may be smelly and disgusting, but this side of the river is ours, bitches!

3. Apples

The Rodney Dangerfields of College Hoop: The Mount St. Mary's Preview

Boy that Northeastern game was fun, wasn't it? The Terriers really cut those Huskies down to size.

No, we're not going to shoot 55% from the field every game, but we won't need to. We're not going to hit 15 3-pointers every game, but we won't need to.

Fact is, we're sitting pretty at 3-1, and feeling good about our chances for the rest of the out-of-conference.

The next test comes tonight. Mount St. Mary's is the first of 4 teams we play who were in the NCAA tournament last year. The Mountaineers were relegated to the national version of the America East's Stony Brook Invitational Play-In Game, where they defeated Coppin State. Then they went on to act as a punching bag for UNC.

They got stuck in the PIG because they play in the Rodney Dangerfield of all conferences, the Northeast Conference. Ain't nobody give the NEC no respect. The NEC has had its champ sent to Dayton 2 out of the last 3 years. But this year the Mount is out to change some hearts and minds, and make some noise. They're even listed on the Mid-Major Top 25 this week, at #23. (In case you were interested, BU only got one 25th place vote - but that might change after the NU win.)

So basically, Mount St. Mary's is not a team to just steamroll over. They're a team that, like BU, wants to show everyone that they can play. All this points to a great game tonight in Emmitsburg, MD. And who better to tell us about our next opponent than one of their own. Ryan, who writes about all things MSM at TheFanBlog.blogspot.com, has agreed to give us a little insight (oh, and if you want to read what we told his readers about BU, you can see it here):


BU Hoops Blog: Much like the America East, the NEC doesn't get much respect nationally. Tell us why BU should be worried about coming in to play reigning NEC champs, the Mount.

The Fan Blog: I think that the Mount will present quite a challenge for Terriers. Last year, the Mount ended up winning the NEC tournament by getting hot down the stretch. Most of last year's team minus Chris Vann, who was the team's leading scorer, returns for this year. And as most of us who follow Mt. St. Mary's basketball realized early in the year last year was that the Mount's best basketball was ahead of them. Last year's run was probably a year ahead of schedule. This is now a team with a good bit of experience that is still looking towards playing its best basketball. It has started the season playing well, but still has plenty of room to improve.

BU Hoops Blog: You've been following MSM for a long time - is this the best basketball team they've ever had?

The Fan Blog: No, I don't think so. Come the end of the season, maybe they'll be able to say that. However, as most of your fans realize the NEC and America East are one-bid conferences. Potentially, this team has a chance to be very good and maybe approach some of the levels that past Mount teams have. But when you talk the best teams in Mount history, its hard to ignore the 1962 National College Division Champions (and no, I didn't follow them back then). But I'd probably take the 1995-96 team if I had to vote for the best team ever. That team didn't make the NCAA tournament, but did play in the NIT. If memory serves me correctly, they lost only two regular season conference games, before falling in the NEC tournament. Along the way during the season they won at Georgia Tech, the defending ACC champs.

BU Hoops Blog: Granted, it's Thanksgiving break and many students are out of the area. But normally, what are the crowds like? Is basketball the big event on campus that students can rally around and get raucous? What kind of atmosphere will the Terriers be coming into? Are there any cool fan traditions?

The Fan Blog: The Mount is traditionally the best supported team in the NEC. I think the attendance numbers bear that out. It's early in the season and crowds tend to build as the season wears on. The Knott ARCC holds about 3500 at capacity. Anything more than half full on Saturday night would surprise me. However, with the fact that the NEC banner is being raised, and its the first home game since longtime head coach Jim Phelan was inducted into the College Hall of Fame it might bring a few more people out. But the fact that school had a little break for the holiday will keep the Mount Maniac (Student section) under control. That section is seated under the basket to the visiting team's bench side of the floor, which makes for some interesting conversation at times between the section and the end of the bench. The students really do a good job of supporting the team. I think not having a football team makes this one of the big on-campus activities. I don't know if its a tradition or not, but former BU head coach Roy Sigler, and current Mount color commentator has been known to pump up the crowd from his courtside seat when the team needs a lift.

BU Hoops Blog: Jeremy Goode led Mount St. Mary's in scoring last year, and is off to a great start again this year with 19ppg in the early going. What's his game like? Is he the team's MVP?

The Fan Blog: Jeremy is a small point guard, listed at 5-9, who is as quick as quick can be. His outside shooting has improved this season but he generally gets his points by utilizing his quickness to beat defenders off the dribble and getting into the lane, where he has an uncanny ability of drawing fouls. He has worked hard on his free throw shooting in the offseason, but has struggled again from the line of late. He also is a pretty good distributor of the basketball and runs Coach Milan Brown's sets pretty well. But it is his quickness and speed on the dribble that has allowed Brown to go away from his methodical half court offense.

BU Hoops Blog: John Holland is our highlight reel dunk artist - who from the Mount can we expect to match his ferocity on the rim? And yes I just described John Holland as ferocious.

The Fan Blog: I think that Kelly Beidler who will likely match up with Holland is about as athletic as they come at this level. He's had some nice dunks in games, but I've never thought what we've seen from him in action probably measures up with what he throws down in an open gym or on the playground. Shawn Atupem has shown the most ability in a game to rattle the rim. But maybe we're just spoiled at the Mount, figuring we'll never again see the likes of Alex Watson, who once did the dunk Dee Brown missed in the NBA Slam Dunk contest (the year he won) in a game.

BU Hoops Blog: Finally, give us a prediction for the game (blatant homerism expected and encouraged).

The Fan Blog: Homerism aside - and I can say that until I make the pick, I really think this is going to be a very good basketball game. I've kind of wavered all week about who I thought would win this game. I think the Mount has been tested very well early, and I think BU has played a tough schedule as well. And I think the Mount would have a better record if it had played BU's schedule. Just as I think BU would likely have lost both of the games the Mount has dropped. Ultimately, I think the Mount's defensive intensity will be the key to the basketball game. I picked the Mount to win 78-72 in my game preview, so I'm sticking with it.

The 08-09 schedule is out... and I'm already excited about making Notre Dame jokes

Here's the list of teams we hope to belittle in this space after the Terriers beat them during this upcoming season:

11/14 - vs. George Washington
11/18 - @ Bucknell
11/22 - vs. St. Peter's
11/25 - @ Northeastern
11/29 - @ Mount St. Mary's
12/3 - @ Harvard
12/6 - vs. Marshall
12/10 - vs. Yale
12/13 - @ Notre Dame
12/21 - vs. Delaware
12/29 - @ Cornell
1/2 - vs. Holy Cross

It's an interesting list. Much weaker than last year's; we effectively swapped out St. Bonnie, St. Joe's and UMass in exchange for Mount St. Mary, Bucknell and Cornell. We replaced the A-10 with the NEC, Patriot and Ivy - significant downgrade in talent.

But you know what? It's fine with me. Last year we only won 3 out-of-conference games, and if this schedule helps us win more than that, I'm all for it. I was really excited about last season, and that losing streak at the beginning of the year was a real turd in the punchbowl. And there is probably only one game on that whole list that is a near-certain loss (ND). The rest are eminently winnable.