Packed to the Gills: The Northeastern Review

Let's get this out of the way.  We lost to one of our main rivals, in overtime.  It sucked.  Moving on...

This needs to be said: I've never seen the Roof packed like that in my life - and I've been to two America East Championship games there.  Every seat was filled, and people kept streaming in.  Kids were filling every aisle, stuffing every corner of the gym and basically hanging off the rafters.  I'm not sure how many standing room tickets were sold, but I'm damn glad the fire marshal didn't show up tonight.  Terriers, PLEASE keep this up!

The BU student section was phenomenal, the best I've ever seen it.  It was huge, it was loud, and it was on its feet the whole game.  Northeastern brought a nice little contingent as well, which made for a REALLY fun college basketball atmosphere.  Chants back and forth, screaming no matter who was scoring or had momentum.  I must admit I questioned the NU students' decision to remove all their shirts during the overtime period, considering their various physiques (flabby/manboobs or scrawny nicole ritchie types)... but hey they won the game so maybe that was the right play.

As for the basketball itself, BU showed some flashes but we have a ways to go before we're a really good team. Lots of dumb mistakes tonight - holding onto the ball after a rebound, free-throws, inbounding???  It was pretty obviously the first game of the season, because things looked rusty.

But I saw good things too.  DJ Irving and Darryl Partin showed the type of scoring versatility that we'll need from them this year.  I thought Pat Hazel was very solid, on offense and defense, when he wasn't picking up fouls.  Mattt Griffin came up with some huge 3-pointers in the last couple minutes.  The freshmen Chionuma and Kennedy showed glimpses of why they're so highly touted in the few minutes of action they got. 

And that comeback from 11 points down with 3 or 4 minutes to go??  Very gutsy.  That alley-oop tip-in to Hazel with 1.1 seconds left was INCHES from ending that game.

I like this team.  They'll get better and make some noise this year, count on it.

#7 Egregiously Omitted Summer Story: Touted frosh join the team

While we have to wait a full year to see what we've got in John Papale, Maurice Watson and Nathan Dieudonne, we need only wait mere days to see what BU has in newcomers James Kennedy and Zach Chionuma.

Again, I plead general ignorance about players before they actually join the team.  But, so far I have heard (unsurprisingly) great things about both players. 

These guys are the final link to Coach Chambers, and thankfully they stayed on board after he left.  Thanks for the parting (Partin?) gift, Coach!

ZACH CHIONUMA is known as an explosive scorer, getting to the basket any number of ways -- slashing, pulling-up, dunking, bombing from deep.  At 6'5", he's got serious "length" for a guard, and though he has quite a few guys in front of him, I'm hearing he'll see a lot of court time.  His size could create matchup problems similar to a guy like Darryl Partin. 

It is incredibly depressing that Zach was born in the year 1992.

NERR story

JAMES KENNEDY has been described to me as a "bulldog"... which makes me wonder why he didn't end up at Yale or Georgia... I personally prefer my Terriers to be terriers.  Kennedy already has one strike against him, since he chose the uniform 23, of the Immortal John Holland.  However, despite being a trifle undersized for a forward at 6'6", everyone reports that he has an amazing "motor" and has strength that will keep him pushing the bigger boys around underneath the basket.

This quote from Kennedy brings joy: "I probably could have gone higher but when I got to the campus I knew it was the right fit."  That's right, you heard him - he knows he coulda gone higher but eff that noise.

NERR story

By all accounts these guys are great pieces to add to the club, in addition to redshirters Malik Thomas and the 7-footer Mat Piotrowski - both of whom I really have no clue what to expect, if anything.  I wouldn't look forward to seeing these guys on the court at tip-off on Friday, but you'll see them before halftime.