#8 Egregiously Omitted Summer Story: Class of 2016 shaping up

I have never been big on recruiting news, so I may not have written about this anyway.  I also don't know what the hell I am talking about when it comes to high school recruits, so more than likely I'd either be regurgitating something I saw elsewhere on the internet, or talking out my ass. 

So forgive me if any of this turns out to be dead wrong, but it seems like our new Coach Jones is putting together one hell of a first recruiting class.  By my count, BU will have 4 scholarships available, due to the graduations of Pelage, Hazel, Griffin, and Partin.  As of now, three of those have been filled, and each signing is getting pretty legit kudos from people who know much more than me.

John Papale, SG - Choate (MA) - 6'3" 165 lbs - http://twitter.com/#!/JPapale12

One of the best pure shooters in the country, supposedly the kid is like a better verson of Corey Hassan, who we only got to see for one season but was a deadly shooter.  Papale had over 20 Division I scholarship offers including no less than 7 from the Atlantic 10.  This is what ESPN.com scouting had to say about him:

A big time shot maker with good size for the two-guard spot, Papale is far from a one trick pony thanks to a high basketball I.Q., well developed mid-range game, and his ability to rebound on the perimeter.

Uhhh... sign me up!  



NERR story
ESPN Boston story

Maurice Watson, PG - Boys Latin (PA) - 5'9" 150 lbs - http://twitter.com/#!/ReeceWatson10

"Reece" was ranked the #6 player in Pennsylvania, and dammit is he fast.  That's why Virginia, LaSalle, and 16 others wanted him.  The most ridiculous thing?  He hosted a college selection news conference for himself and broadcast it on Ustream, at which he unzipped his jacket to reveal a BU t-shirt.  That is fucking baller.  Here is some of ESPN's scouting report:

His speed is the calling card and he's got plenty of it. Can drive it and find shooters. Best attribute is that he's got an edge to him and pushes the basketball with purpose. Takes great care of the ball and isn't too risky with his passes.

And the only other thing that needs to be said is watch this video.  Can you imagine him playing next to DJ Irving?  Not even fair for whatever slow-moving white dude Vermont puts out there that day.



Recruit Scoop story
Philadelphia Inquirer story

Nathan Dieudonne, SF - Trinity (KY) - 6'6" 190 lbs. - http://twitter.com/#!/NathanDieudonne

He's a big inside presence, which we'll need desperately after this year with Pelage and Hazel leaving.  I don't know much about this guy other than he also had 20+ scholarship offers.  Not sure how Coach Jones got his Kentucky recruiting connections, but let's hope they pay off!  New England Recruiting Report had this to say about his game:

Dieudonne, who ran with the KYA All-Stars on the AAU circuit this summer, is an athletic combo-forward who can put the ball on the floor, score over top of defenders in the mid-range area, and make athletic plays around the rim. 

Louisville Courier-Journal story
NERR story


That's what we got so far, and we still can probably look forward to one more.  TODAY begins the fall signing period, so these guys will sign official Letters of Intent this month.  Welcome Baby Terriers!

We Goin to the 'Chip

I wrote a long enjoyable blog post about the last day of the tourney on the plane just now. And then it got unceremoniously deleted. These were the highlights.

- It was a pleasure to watch Vermont lose. So many sad old people (their fans) reminded me of a nursing home.
- I praised Pat Hazel for ridiculous free throw shooting and general domination.
- Likewise, I praised Matt Griffin for his clutchness and declared his new nickname Matty Ice.
- I said I was so nervous watching BU beat Hartford that I shat out enough bricks to build the third Student Village tower.

That was the gist. So pumped for todays game against Stony Brook. The Greek will be rockin on The Deuce!

No Match (For BU or our Tailgate)

We're in the parking lot of Chase Arena in Hartford. We have an unbelievable spread laid out for our tailgate (the only damn one here at the tourney, dammit). We got brews, music, painted car, propane stove, hot dogs, all the makings of delicious egg mcmuffins... everything but one essential item: matches. KAHNNNNN!

As we scarf down our cold food, waiting to go in and check out Albany vs Stony Brook, I can't think about anything beside finding a place to pee in this parking lot. But I'm trying to think about today's BU-UNH matchup. Obviously the big variable is John Holland's ankle. If he goes, I think BU takes it easily - even if he's only 75%.

BU is a different team now than the one that lost to UNH in Durham (which was BU's last loss). We can actually play on the road now. Guys like DJ and Darryl have stepped up when John was out. The "Mildcats" are also playing like shit lately.

Dear Pat Hazel: please stuff Tyrone Conley every time he dares to drive into the lane.
Dear Dom Morris: don't be afraid to drive toward the bucket if you get it on the perimeter; we know you have the moves.
Dear Mike Terry Jr: do that offensive rebound/put-back thing you do.
Dear John Holland: please play and dominate.

OK. Need to go in and watch the end of this game. Matches never came. By the way - I still detest Vermont and their fans, but many of them walked by and were really nice. None had matches though.

Current drunk-score=7.5

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Terriers Clean Up at Awards Banquet (Not Literally, the Busboys Did That)

The "BU Hoops Mobile" (according to our drivers side rear window) made it into the Nutmeg State a little after midnight. That might be late for some, but not for the nocturnal Cousin Bob, in whose home we happen to be staying. So we settled in for a Bud Heavy or 3 to catch up on family business.

Today, the America East awards were released. BU did quite well:

- DJ Irving and Dom Morris made the All-Rookie team. I actually think DJ may have earned a shot at the Rookie of the Year award, which went to Vermont's Brian Voelkel (DJ played MUCH better in the two head-to-head games), but I was happy to see both DJ and Dom recognized.
- Pat Hazel made the All-Defensive squad, a very nice honor for the league's top shot-blocker who had a really slow start to the year.
- Darryl Partin made First Team All-AE, which came as quite a shock. But his offensive number show he deserves it, and he was really solid on the defensive end too.
- And finally, and most impressively, John Holland came away with First Team All-AE and the Conference Player of the Year award. He deserved it, we all know he deserved it, and nobody should have been pretending the entire year that anyone else might have taken it. If not for Marqus Blakely, he should have earned it twice or even three times. Congrats to John on a tremendous and well-earned honor.

I cant even think of a single award BU was even slightly shafted on - DJ may have had an outside shot at ROY, but it probably ended up right. Coach Chambers would probably be the Number 2 Coach of the Year choice behind UVM's Mike Lonergan. Overall a good take by the Terriers.

And now, to get some shut-eye. Long day of drinking, tailgating, basketball watching and drinking ahead of us.

Current drunk-scale=3

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The Road to H-Town

This year has sucked for BU basketball blogging. I shat the bed, the Hot Dog and Jesus folded up shop, and a few others dropped off as well. (Thank goodness for the Full Court Press.)

But that doesn't mean I can't rise like the phoenix to blog about Hartford 2011. I saw or heard every game this year, either in person, on TV at a bar, on internet video, on internet radio, or via an elaborate contraption I twice set up to record game audio when I wasn't home for the game. And frankly, what I've seen and heard has me EXTREMELY excited for single-elimination basketball this weekend.

The team, over the last month, has looked nothing short of great. John Holland took over the league. Darryl Partin helped him out. When John went down with an ankle, D.J. Irving stepped up and became an upperclassman out of thin air. The Terriers are the hottest team in the league and just beat Vermont without our best player.

We have a lot to look forward to this weekend. Watchable basketball. Beautiful, historic Hartford. Drunkenness. Hopefully a couple wins. Check back and I promise to update a few times.

Current drunk-scale=0

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Obligatory Summer Post

It's something of an annual tradition here at BU Hoops Blog where we write up until the night before the last game of the season, then we lose and then it's radio silence right through to next season -- no mention of how the season ended or why we lost the last game or even a recap of the past 5 months. Usually we're just too depressed from a conference tourney gone wrong, which, when combined with laziness, is a deadly cocktail.

This year we took it a step further. Not only did we refuse to write about that tear-inducing loss to the Catmounters on ESPN2, but we didn't even mention BU's barnstorming tour through the College Basketball Invitational. A blowout of the PAC-10/12's Oregon State Beavers, a home-court overtime win over Morehead St and a good showing against VCU in the semis were not enough to get our carcasses off the couch onto the blog (though we of course watched all those games intently). And it was all punctuated by Corey Lowe's do-si-do with a pro agent, a story ripped from the headlines at USC or Memphis or Kentucky.

However, like the on-court Terriers, we feel like we had a great season. The trip in November to cover the Puerto Rico Tip-Off was the experience of a lifetime and a blogventure unlikely to be topped for the duration of this website.

Next year holds a lot of promise. Though not the exotic San Juan, I think we can count on a trip for this blog to the Preseason NIT in Philly. The schedules are trickling out and we have reams of untested freshman to hype up and to nickname. We have Hartford 2011 to look forward to. And of course, as dictated by tradition, we have bombastic predictions of vast improvement and impact relating to the skills of one Jeffrey Pelage.

Let this be our emergence from the shadows. We won't be posting every day of course, but once every week or two should be enough to whet everyone's appetite for the coming season.

With that...Vermont sucks. Talk to you soon.

March 15, 2003

That was the last day BU was in an America East final. At the end of that game, which was won on a last-second shot by some frosted-hair pansy on Vermont, I stood in the front row of Case Gymnasium and stared motionless for about 10 minutes out at the court, where the Catmounters reveled with a few hundred of their fans. On our floor.

That's a terrible feeling. Tomorrow, it's time to return the favor.

If you're watching ESPN 2 tomorrow at about 1:55pm ET, I'll be the one dancing on Vermont's floor, possibly taking a dump on the Catamount's mouth at center court.

PAYBACK!!!

Broadus Interruptus: Bing Pulls Out

We're feeling pretty confident, pretty happy about our seeding situation and playing Binghamton this coming weekend at the tournament - after all, we just beat them by 40 points. But then....

...Binghamton finds a new way to embarrass itself. Just days before the tournament is set to begin, and after playing the entire regular season, they decide to sit out the tournament. WTF.

This is fine if Binghamton had finished 9th as expected. But they finished 5th, so it affects every single matchup this weekend! It eliminates the (Formerly) Stony Brook Invitational Play-In Game completely - am I getting a refund for the ticket package I bought that includes this game? Of course not.

The biggest swings of fortune happen to the BU and Vermont squads. Vermont should be playing #7 New Hampshire, a decent team that could get hot - instead, after Bing pulled their French military maneuver they'll play UMBC, the most hapless bunch of haps that ever happed. Meanwhile, instead of facing the team we just beat by 40, we play the team we lucked into a last second win over - and oh yeah, they happen to be the tournament's host team.

It's unfortunate, and I think the decision (whoever's it was - the league, the school, the state...) was wrong, especially for the players who stuck with the program. And BU came out on the bad end of it.

But at the end of the day, WE WILL PLAY WHOEVER STEPS ONTO THE COURT AT 2:30 ACROSS FROM US, dammit! We still have to win 3 games to survive.

On to the Little Dance

With a resounding 76-56 thumping of Maine, the Terriers ended the 2009-10 season on a high note. That makes 5 out of 6 wins in February, the only loss coming in the final seconds against Vermont. What made this win more notable than the others is that it was the first of the year over a top-3 opponent. That is a nice hump to get over, and such a convincing win gives hope going into the tournament.

We finish at 17-12 and 11-5 in the America East Conference, which is good for 4th place. How does that compare with the season that got Dennis Wolff fired last year? Well, last year we were 17-12 and 11-5 in the conference, which was good for 3rd place. Scott Brittain was out this year, but Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong missed most of last year, and this year the guys are a year more experienced.

So on the surface, it doesn't look like the coaching change made any tangible year over year difference. However, DWolff wasn't fired for going 17-12 or 11-5. He was fired for going 0-1.

Will Coach Pat Chambers make his mark on this portion of the record? If that's how we judged Wolff, it's only fair we judge Chambers by the same standards. I think it's fair to say that Chambers will be feeling some heavy expections from Mike Lynch et al as he heads to his first America East tournament.

So who do we play? Well right now, it's uncertain. We are supposed to play Binghamton, who finished 5th place despite some crazy obstacles. But one more obstacle may be put Bing's way, namely a voluntary or involuntary absence from this year's tournament in Hartford. NY Times reporter Pete Thamel tweeted that "The America East and Binghamton are deciding if Bearcats should play in conference tournament."

This would be bullshit for us, especially since we dominated Binghamton by 40 last week, and it would leave us with the host team Hartford. Meanwhile, Vermont would move from getting a tough UNH team to getting the hapless UMBC Retrievers. This may all be resolved by the time you read this post, so no use getting worked up about it now. I am sure that Chambers & Co. are doing everything they can to prepare the Terriers for whichever team shows up at 2:30 on Saturday.

More on the tournament to come this week.

Heartbreak...

When they left the court, it really looked like the Terriers knew how much that game against Vermont could have meant.

BU played one of their best games of the season, but unfortunately so did the Catmounters.

We stormed back from big deficits to get back into the game, thanks to some huge plays from John Holland and Carlos Strong. Sometime late in the second half, I told myself, "No matter who wins, this is a fantastic college basketball game." With a minute left, we led by 4 and Tyler (who averages 90% at the line) was shooting a free throw. Fast forward to 9 seconds left, and we're down 1. With a chance to win the game, Corey Lowe dribbled the ball off his foot, and the game was over.

Corey was in tears coming off the court, but I don't blame him for the loss. He just made a mistake.

I'm hoping the team can take the Vermont game and use it as motivation for the America East tournament. They've proven they can play with, if not beat, every team in the conference.

To Be the Best You Gotta Beat the Best: The Vermont Preview

Tonight is a huge game for our Terriers. The last two wins... they were nice. It's important to take out the UNH's and the Albany's that are near the bottom of the conference.

But tonight, Vermont comes to town. This is a different story, because BU is 0-4 against the best 3 teams (Vermont, Maine, Stony Brook).

If we fail to pick off any of these teams, we're going to be stuck finishing in the middle of the pack. Depending on how we do over these last 4 games, we end the season as high as #2 or as low as #5.

Vermont killed us in the first matchup this year. We kept Blakely under wraps, but the rest of their guys were hitting every shot they took. Luckily, we are MONEY at The Greek lately. Five of the last six games there have been wins.

Should be a great game - and it's on TV! That means I'm braving the snow to make it to the bar! Go Terriers!

Get Excited: The New Hampshire Preview

New Hampshire Wildcats basketball, coming to an Agganis Arena near you... CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT??

I know part of the plan to build excitement around the BU basketball team was to hold more games in The Greek, but I'm not sure that's working anymore. We barely had 1,000 for the Albany game, and they were giving away JERSEYS! Methinks the luster of having normal games in Agganis (as a gimmick to get more people to games) may be wearing off.

When it comes down to it, a game against UNH just isn't exciting to the normal student, even if it's at The Greek. That's because it's not so much of a big event anymore, especially when we're playing higher-profile opponents like Vermont and GW there this year.

My friends, prepare for the first sub-1,000 Agganis crowd ever (aside from an ill-fated Creed performance). I don't think the camou tshirts are going to save us, cool as they may be.

And this sucks, because we're finally getting good at playing there. Last time out, the Terriers sank a school-record 16 3-pointers (6 from Los!) en route to demolishing Albany. We have a winning record there this year.

When we played UNH earlier this year, we played OK but were lucky to escape with a win when their best player that day, Tyrone Conley, got hurt in the second half. UNH has never played in The Greek, so I'm hoping they suffer whatever befell the Terriers the first 5 years they played there. The Wildcats do not always set the nets on fire anyway, so that's my prediction for the game: UNH has shooting woes, BU wins by 10.

Shock! BU will not play MAAC Bracketbuster

OMG.

Yes it's still boring, but amazingly BU will NOT play a crappy MAAC team in this year's Bracketbuster!! We get to travel to Delaware instead (Hi... I'm in Delaware....).

After catching St. Peter's and Iona, we finally get someone else. And that someone else is a team we have played the last two years in a row, but whatever!

BU will attempt to extend its 2-0 all-time record in Bracketbuster games against a team that is actually pretty crappy. Delaware is sitting near the basement of the Colonial at 6-16 (2-9 in conference) and a lovely RPI of 205. In terms of common opponents, UD got beat by Northeastern and Bucknell, both of whom lost to BU, but defeated Vermont who has beaten BU.

In any case, this is a game that I could conceivable go to, so I'm happy. And it's a possible win over the CAA, always a good thing. What does everyone else think?

...And now back to 5th place

The only good thing to come out of Saturday's Stony Brook game was that we unexpectedly got two of our injured Terriers back in uniform, Tyler Morris and Brendan Sullivan. It didn't help us on the court, where we looked pretty awful.

The Fighting Popoko's got out to a 13-0 start and never looked back. I don't think we got closer than 6 or 7 for the rest of the game. So frustrating to watch. Each of their guys took turns making shots they shouldn't be making.

On our side, John Holland had one of his worst games he's ever had, and Corey wasn't pretty either. Our three turnovers to start the game (leaving us without a shot 3 minutes into the game) really set the tone.

So my 6-2 prediction for the second half... not looking too pretty right now. We'd have to win our final 6 to make that happen. We're behind freakin Binghamton, and tied in the loss column with Hartford. Awful.

The only silver lining is that 5 of our last 6 are at home. I think we can win 5 of those 6 (counting Vermont at home as the loss), but of course nothing is guaranteed with this league and this team. One thing's for sure though, you can count us out of the race for the top seed -- I don't see Stony Brook losing 3 more games this year. That team is legit. I think #3 is probably our ceiling, though #4 more likely.

More depressing news is likely coming this afternoon when the Bracketbusters matchups are announced. Once again, we're not good enough to get a high-profile TV game (or even a medium-profile ESPN360 game!). There is little doubt that with our mediocre fortunes this year we'll be saddled with another terrible MAAC team. The only suspense left is which it will be.

I think we can rule out:
Iona (played them this year)
Marist (played them this year)
St. Peter's (previous Bracketbuster)
Manhattan (previous Bracketbuster)
Siena (too good and will get a TV game)
Fairfield (not a hosting team)
Niagara (not a hosting team)
Rider (not a hosting team)

This leaves the following possible schools:
Loyola
Canisius

Check back later to see which one of these fun opponents awaits.

Back in Third Again: The Stony Brook Preview

That's twice we've played for first place, and came up short both times. Thankfully this one went a little better than against Vermont, but that doesn't change the fact that we are back in 3rd place again now.

BU didn't exactly play up to their abilities against Maine, but Maine's defense is legit. Most of the game was frustrating -- in fact I said during the game that it was the most frustrating one I've ever seen. However, the final 3 minutes in which BU forced its way back from 10 points down to tie it up with 5 seconds left ALMOST redeemed it. At least we showed some heart.

There was some serious bullshit with the time they put back on the clock after the last Maine timeout... but that's in the past - gotta move on. Proud of the Pelaggio - his layup to tie it was CLUTCH!

We play at Stony Brook tonight. Gonna be honest - not overly optimistic about this. We just haven't played well against the top teams in the conference. Number one priority: stick to that young man Brian Dougher like glue.

Boy I'm glad I paid 40 bucks for my jersey: The Albany Preview

We got thrashed on Sunday, early and often. And for once, it wasn't man-beast Marqus Blakely doing the damage, since he ended up with only 11 points and 3 rebounds. We couldn't hit a damn thing for the first half of the game, and after that it didn't matter.

It was a disheartening loss and an embarrassing one, as I had a bunch of people come over and watch it in my apartment building's lounge. This included having get there and stake a claim on the main TV to ward off Cowboys fans. However, I don't think the loss was truly a reflection of our team. Consider:

1) We were coming off 4 games in a week, 3 of which were road games. Vermont came off a week of smoking doobies in the dorm rooms.

2) The Terriers actually showed some fight in the second half, playing hard until the final buzzer and keeping it a respectable 20-point loss (respectable, in that it could have easily been 30 or 35 points).

I don't think this was as bad as it looked. We're still 4-2 in the league, our stars still (eventually) shined and it represents the hardest our schedule gets all year and the most tired our team will be all year.

Well, up until tonight. We end this horrific stretch against Albany at The Greek tonight. It will be the 5th game in 10 days. I mean, come on. Will we have anything left in the tank?

I'm hoping a large crowd greets our weary warriors. They better show up, since the Athletic Department is springing for 1,000 BU basketball jerseys to give out. This is a fantastic thing! This blows every other giveaway they've ever done out of the water. If they gave out stuff like this all the time, people would actually show up... I mean it would bankrupt the Athletic Dept, but whatever.

Best of all, this could hopefully stem the tide of the most outrageous of Terrier fan faux-pas.... of course I'm speaking of the hockey jersey-wearing basketball fan. This phenomenon angers me like nothing this side of genocide, and it's an epidemic at BU. I want to knock these people out on sight. It's a basketball game, wear a basketball jersey or at worst a red t-shirt. If you wear a hockey jersey to basketball, you're not a real fan.

Now, thanks to this giveaway, nobody who calls themselves a BU basketball fan will have any good excuse. It's a FREE freakin jersey. Take one, wear it with pride, and save the hockey sweater for the next loss to UMass-Lowell.*

*Disclaimer: I do like the BU hockey team a lot, just not the people who wear the jersey to other sports.

A Familiar First-Place Match-up: The Vermont Preview

We didn't beat the shit out of Binghamton. In fact they seemed pretty frisky. But we did win, and due to the a-hole fans that is always a tough place to win.

Once again, Corey Lowe... you can's say enough about how good he's been since league play began. He had 22 points in this game and pretty much had his way.

He's going to need to keep it up today if we want to win today. We play our old frenemies, Vermont, in a battle for first place on ESPNU. (Quick aside: The athletic departments like to claim this, but ESPNU does not count as nationally televised. NOBODY gets this channel. I get Big Ten Network, NHL Network, CSTV... yet no ESPNU. I hate ESPNU.)

Here is the top of the standings right now:

Vermont	3	0
Boston University	4	1
Stony Brook	3	2
Maine	2	1

This has been common over the years - BU and UVM in 1st and 2nd place. Today's game is only the latest in a long line of first-place battles. Unfortunately, Vermont has come out on the winning end of these lately, winning 6 of the last 7 matchups.

The key for Vermont is obviously the ridiculous Marqus Blakely - he's their only really good player. Vermont's interior is superior; BU's perimeter is far better. Can we contain Blakely? Can Vermont contain Lowe, Holland AND O'Brien?

Should be a great game to check out on ESPNU (if you're one of the dozens of Americans to get it).

We Must Protect This House: The GW Preview

Today is the day we get to find out if the performance at the Terrier Tip-off worked. Coach Chambers can scream all he wants to rally the students, but if they still don't come to fill up The Greek tonight for GW, you have to wonder if they ever will.

I remember vividly the first game at Agganis Arena, a hope-filled win over Vermont seen by over 5000, a number that hasn't been matched since. Here's hoping today brings us back to that first game.

GW and I go back a long time. As they're my local team now and knowing quite a few alums, I attended quite a few Colonial games in 07-08, and flirted with sub-fandom for a while. I even have GW t-shirt. But it was a love/hate relationship, and ultimately the inferiority of the First Ladies dance team and the creepiness of the mascots pushed me to Howard instead.

However GW is a team that should be doing better. Long-time readers will know that a frequent target of mine is "Little George," who was described thusly by a blog ranking the 25 worst college mascots:

For some reason, the Colonial reminds me of the Norseman, McKinley High's mascot in "Freaks and Geeks." Both are unintentionally terrifying, with their gigantic heads and soulless eyes. While the Colonial isn't sporting a spine-tingling grin, somehow his look of placid indifference is even scarier.

The bad mascot news doesn't end there those. GW features an odd mix of several miscast mascots (see chart).


Now, there fantastic news for Colonial Nation, as Little George has been retired. I guess they got tired of re-painting his papier-mache face every year (really..) and replaced him with a much, much, much better version of Little George. Now they just have to puncture the 10-foot tall inflatable Big George and we'll be in business.

Damian Hollis has been my favorite Colonial for a while, mostly because he constantly looks like he's about to fall asleep. He comes from a long line of tall, athletic GW forwards like Rob Diggs and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, but has never achieved on the level of those two - again, mostly because he's about to fall asleep.

Hollis is the best player, and I'm not sure what to expect from the rest of the team. GW sucked last year, but still beat us.

I do know that BU is going to have to cut down on fouls and turnovers this game. The shots will fall eventually. Hopefully, many will be there to hear it. Hmm, there's a tree-falling-in-the-woods analogy somewhere in there...

Tourney Time: UMBC, we comin for you

The Terriers seemed to be ending the regular season on a high note, then almost a disastrous note, then finally on a relieved note. But eventually, BU finished off the spunky Hawks of Hartford in OT and did not put all of their fans on suicide watch.

The highlight of this game was, obviously, The Rod. We here at BU Hoops Blog have been clamoring for The Rod all season long and especially when the injuries hit, but DWolff went for a miniscule rotation instead of adding Sherrod to it. It's gotta hurt when your coach would risk severe exhaustion and burnout of his stars just so he doesn't have to put you in the game. But The Rod proved him wrong with stellar play, subbing for the quickly injured Matt Wolff.

The latest reports say Matt has recovered from his concussion and is back to practice, but will Sherrod still play a part in the Terriers' first round game? Luckily, we're playing the only team with less depth than us.

UMBC beat Albany on Sunday and earned a date with us. This worked out really well in a lot of ways:

• We get to miss the host school, Albany, who even though they suck will have tons of people rooting for them.
• UMBC's aforementioned depth troubles.
• BU handled them twice already this year, even if one of the games went to 2OT.
  
• We avoid Stony Brook, who beat us already and is my pick for a big-time tourney upset.

As the #3 seed, things work out well except that we meet up with Vermont in the semis. But, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best - and I'd rather get a crack at them in Albany in front of a semi-neutral setting. I'd feel more comfortable at Binghamton in a final than at Vermont.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I like the idea of knocking out the defending champs. Retrievers, you're up.

Bracket Bluster: The Iona Preview

Today is BracketBuster Saturday. While Vermont is on The Deuce (do people still call it that?) playing in a real Bracketbuster against Buffalo, at the same time BU will be stuck inside Case Gym playing a sub-.500 team in a "Bracketbuster Pool game." Unfortunately this does not mean they're playing Marco Polo.

Back during our 8-game winning streak (R.I.P.) I got cocky and complained about the quality of our opponent, Iona College. Right now, Iona is 12-15, under .500 in conference play, and sitting in 6th place in the MAAC. Their RPI is languishing in the low 100's. Basically, they're not very good.

But let's get real, we're not busting anyone's bracket they way we're playing lately. I predicted before the season that we'd get stuck with some shitty MAAC team, and we are, just like usual.

What BU needs more than a better BB opponent is some wins and getting back to playing the way we were before. And some rest. The guys look tired.

Corey is mad from being benched against Stony Brook. We could have won the game if he played, but I'm pretty glad he got some rest anyway. I hope it lights a fire under his ass for the rest of the season. Last time he was benched, he came back to play the best ball of his life.

FCP says Wolff is planning to start Lowe against Iona, so everybody's back on good terms. Wolff also says he's planning to play all the starters their regular minutes. I suppose he wants to get them back into the flow of how we were playing before, but I can't say I wouldn't like to see quite a few minutes of Valdas, Pelage and --dare I say it?-- the Rod.

(Nah.... never happen)