Eagles soar into memory lane
After his team’s stunning win against No. 1 Duke on Saturday, Boston College coach Jim Christian allowed himself to get caught up in the moment and think about how it will be remembered.
A press conference question was directed to his players about how to put this win in perspective among a history of great BC moments, and Christian couldn’t help himself. When Ky Bowman finished his answer, the coach jumped in.
“Can I answer that? If you walk down the hallway in our office, they have posters of the greatest moments,” Christian said. “All the big wins, the conference championships, the beating No. 1 teams in the nation. We’re putting one up for this one.
“So that’s where I would put it, that we get a poster up on that wall. It’s a big thing because of the proud history of this place.”
For Christian, it was a banner moment, easily the best win in his four years at Chestnut Hill. He understands the magnitude of something like this.
But much in the way he put this moment in perspective within the history of the program, he knows he also has to put it in the proper perspective within the season. More than half the season is still left, and the Eagles can’t afford to get too high over this. The season goes on, and starting tomorrow night against Columbia, how they respond to this success will be critical.
“That’s the first way to calm them down is get back on the court,” Christian told the Herald late Saturday night, hours after the win. “It’s not easy. They’re young kids. It’s easier for me. I’m already watching film on the next opponent, but we have to get everyone back and try to get focused on what we have to do.”
To do what BC did against Duke without transfer forward Deontae Hawkins, who’s out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, was also impressive. Still, it won’t be easy to replace him.
Christian said the team found out about Hawkins before leaving for the game at Hartford last week. It was a hard reality to face. With a week to prepare for Duke, Christian said it gave his staff some time to get players prepared for different roles.
It certainly helps when your backcourt — Bowman, Jerome Robinson and Jordan Chatman — combines for 76 points on 54.2 percent shooting and 56.5 percent from the arc. The trio also accounted for 20 rebounds and 12 assists.
“We still have to do the same thing,” Christian said. “We have to keep developing some of our younger players so we get more depth, and our guards have to play very, very well every night for us to have a chance. Everybody has to do what they have do to make up for it. Just utilize the things they do well so collectively we can make up for the things that (Hawkins) did really well.”
It’s too soon to know if BC can still be a factor in the ACC this season, but this weekend certainly gives the Eagles a great starting point.
“From a confidence standpoint, it’s great to know you can beat anybody in the country,” Christian said. “My message after the game to the team was, ‘Look, this is what we’re capable of doing,’ and now we have to start trying to find consistency.”
Long-distance lull
Harvard is off until Dec. 21 for exams, and that could be useful as the Crimson try to rediscover their shooting stroke. After going 2-for-20 from beyond the arc in a win against Fordham, Harvard ranks 333rd (out of 351 teams) in 3-point shooting percentage (27.9 percent).
It shouldn’t stay that way. Harvard shot 35.7 percent from deep last season and returned its best shooters. Bryce Aiken (24.6 percent) and Corey Johnson (33.1) are both shooting well below last season’s numbers. …
With their overtime win against Framingham State on Saturday, the Suffolk women are on a five-game winning streak and off to their best start since 2012 with a record of 7-2.
After a disappointing ending to last year’s Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament, coach Ed Leyden has injected some new blood. He is starting two freshmen, including Falmouth native Jenni-Rose DiCecco, who is second on the team in scoring behind senior Georgia Bourikas.
Williams’ hurdle
If the Williams men want to make a repeat run to the Division 3 Final Four, they’ll have to do it without their best player, Kyle Scadlock. The Ephs announced that the junior forward, who was leading the team in scoring and rebounding, is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
But the sixth-ranked Ephs have responded well since the injury, beating Fitchburg State and Springfield decisively to go into exams with an 8-1 record.