First win means Narragansett Beers all around!

Great win for the Terriers last night in Little Rhody. I honestly thought we had no chance to take out the Rams, who proved to be just as inept as the NFL version.

My last trip to Rhode Island's Ryan Center was the first round of the 2004 NIT, which was a majorly disappointing 28-point loss.

Yesterday's trip was much more satisfying. DJ Irving was unstoppable - he was just too quick to the basket. Darryl Partin made a few very tough shots and was steady at the free throw line - a major upgrade from the Cleveland State game. Travis Robinson continues to improve, making some big threes along with some pretty layups and dishes. But the revelation of the season continues to be Patrick Hazel. I remarked to some fellow BU fans at the game that I think Pat might be our best player. Now, maybe that's not true... DJ could probably play on a Big East team, and Pat already proved that he couldn't. But Pat might be our most important. He again showed some ferocity in the post.

There was one play that I thought was the turning point of the game. BU was down by 9 points with about 14 minutes left in the second half, and the team was dragging a little. Darryl missed a short jumper, and there were 3 Rams surrounding the rebound. But Pat comes flying out of nowhere, above everyone else, and muscles to get the board. Then he put it back up, making the basket and getting fouled. It was a great play, and got BU fired up. From that point on, the Terriers were the more energized and tenacious team, and it showed on the scoresheet.

Best part of this win was the free Providence Journal newspaper that came with our hotel room, which had a full two pages of BU-URI in the front of the sports section. Woo-hoo for Terrier analysis in print!

Back to the Ryan Center today for the former-AE Hofstra Dutchmen Pride.

#12 Egregiously Omitted Summer Story: H.J. Gaskins leaves team

I don't know if we ever expected much if anything out of poor H.J. aka Henry.  He came to BU with his two talented "brothers" from the same high school team -- Dom Morris and Travis Robinson -- but unlike the others had to pay his own way.  Then he sat on the bench for the first half of the season, before disappearing completely from the bench, due to a need to focus on academics, according to Coach Chambers.

I think we all kind of wondered if Chambers promised to take on H.J. if it would get Dom and Travis to come aboard.  Which I love -- anything creative BU can offer to get talented guys to join is fine with me (within NCAA limits, of course).  It seems to have worked, but we don't yet know how much of a coup this was.  Dom had a very solid freshman year campaign, but T-Rob remains an unknown at this point.  If T-Rob busts, then it's like we took on TWO guys just to get the services of Dom.  If Dom becomes a First Teamer, then it would be worth it no matter how good Travis becomes.

In any event, H.J. was put out of his misery for good this summer, having been completely erased from the roster by either Coach Chambers or Coach Jones.  In order to give H.J. his due, I will now reprint the entirety of H.J.'s highlights from BU directly from the website:

AS A FRESHMAN IN 2010-11

Appeared for one minute each against Marist and Villanova.

I can honestly say life was better with a guy named H.J. around.  Best of luck on your studies.

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: