Boston College Men’s Basketball Update: Nik Popovic Out Indefinitely with Back Spasms

Just when you think things could not get worse for the BC Men’s basketball team, they somehow find a way. In a report from Jon Rothstein, Boston College’s center Nik Popovic will be out indefinitely with back spasms according to BC spokesman. This is certainly a huge blow to the Eagles as this pretty much takes away the only experienced interior defender that BC has apart from Mitchell.

Based off of his most recent performances, it isn’t too hard to see that Popovic clearly has not been himself. In the recent four game skid, Popovic has been severely under performing. In those losses, his stat line has been extremely disappointing with him averaging 8 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 2 APG while playing 27 minutes on average per contest. In the clash against Richmond, he shot an abysmal 14.3% from the field and only finished with 2 points while on the floor for a whopping 31 minutes. Now that’s bad.

With this news being revealed, a few things come to mind. Firstly, that this is a huge blow for any remaining optimism on the defensive end as despite his recent performance he is our most seasoned player on that side of the ball. We now have to put the trust of our already lackadaisical defense in the hands Mitchell and true Freshman CJ Felder. Of the two, only Felder has shown any upside of having a decent offensive game as well. Secondly, this news is not entirely shocking given Pop’s recent struggles in defending the paint and shooting effectively down in the post. Clearly he has not been himself on the court the last few games and certainly has not been showing any signs of positive growth from the previous season. Evidently, issues with his back may have been in factor in his lack of success. Lastly, the future keeps getting dimmer for this team as injuries continue to plague the team’s progress. With Tabbs out for the season and Jairus Hamilton almost always appearing to be a game-time decision, Popovic’s injury only adds another layer of disappointment to an already bleak season.

The Eagles travel to South Bend tomorrow for a 2 PM tip-off to take on the Irish. My gut instincts tell me that this is not going to be a fun one to watch...