Boston College Men’s Basketball: Previewing the 2022-23 Forwards/Centers

Do you smell that? It is a whole new season of BC basketball on the horizon. With a year under his belt, Earl Grant will look to build upon what he started to construct last year and strive to make Boston College a competitive program in an already powerful ACC division. In doing so, he is certainly going to want to lean on his big men to facilitate on second-chance opportunities off of the glass as well as hold firm in the paint by consistently contesting all inside opportunities.

In a quick glance back to last season, the Eagles proved to be ‘so-so’ on the defensive front. They finished 6th in the conference in points allowed per game with 68.1 on average. Rebounding wise, they averaged 33 boards per game. 10.7 of those rebounds came off of the glass making them the 4th best offensive rebounding team in the ACC and 23.6 of those on the defensive glass putting them at 10th overall in the conference.

Looking forward to this season, there is a lot to be encouraged by on both sides of the court with the help of some returning veterans who have ACC-experience under the belts. The big losses for the Eagles this season are the departures of James Karnik and Justin Vander Baan, who transferred to Lafayette. Karnik especially will be missed, as he proved to be a rather solid asset for the Eagles in his final season on the Heights.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the forwards and centers for this season to see who is returning for this upcoming season as well as who to get excited by.

Graduate Students

CJ Penha Jr. : Full transparency here. I had no idea that this transfer even happened but I suppose that Grant kept this one under the radar. Or, I am just completely oblivious and missed some groundbreaking news. Whatever the case may be, Penha is a transfer in from a DII school by the name of Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville Tennessee. Prior to that, he was at Taylor University in Indiana for two seasons. The programs themselves were not all that great, but Penha was certainly a bright spot on the teams, especially for Trevecca. Last season, he finished averaging 20.3 PPG and 10.1 RPG. He will certainly be an interesting rotation piece for Grant in the front court and he clearly has progressed his game over the years. Let’s just wait and see how he adapts to ACC style of play before we make any quick assumptions.

Seniors

Quinten Post: Without much need of introduction, Post will prove to be our de facto center, starting on Day 1. With Karnik gone, the interior defense is definitely going to lean on the 7’0” footer to make some big stops. Ever since coming to the Heights, Post’s role has only increased and his game has certainly materialized over this time period. Last season, he averaged 9.4 PPG and 5.4 RPGs. These averages should only increase now that he is not splitting a timeshare with Karnik. Post has shown that he plays with a ton of tenacity, toughness and desire to win, so I expect him to have a solid senior campaign and prove to be a great team leader for the men down low.

T.J. Bickerstaff: Bickerstaff has been the talk of the town ever since he transferred in from Drexel, and not for the right reasons. I recall a multitude of times last season when I was wondering what the hell he was doing on the floor. Often, he seemed rather clueless out there with not much insight into the play design that was being drafted on the floor. Nonetheless, there is some upside to his game and he has potential. He is by no means going to go out there and get you a double-double every night, but he does seem to have settled into his role as not a prolific scorer, but a rebound machine. Especially in an area on the defensive glass where BC struggled last season, Bickerstaff is going to step into the role as that glass-monster. He already averages 7.2 RPG coming into this year so expect that role to stay the same. If he can get an easy layup, he will take it. But, do not expect him to be jacking up a ton of mid-range jumpers.

Andrew Kenney: A walk-on that has found himself succeeding here and there in garbage time. Wouldn’t expect to see much of him in his final year unless BC gets a nasty case of the ‘Injury Bug’.

Sophomores

Devin McGlockton: We have much to see of Devin yet as he didn’t see the floor at all last season. With a bit of a thinner rotation in the front court this season than last year, it is very possible that he could see some floor time, especially in the early parts of this season. McGlockton hails from Cumming, Georgia where he attended South Forsyth Prep. In high school, he became his school’s all-time leader in points and rebounds, while ranking second in blocked shots. He has the build of a tight end at 6’7” and 215 so I expect him to be a pretty important factor in helping to clog up the paint and deny any driving layups to the rim.

Freshman

Armani Mighty: Mighty is one of the top touted recruits in Grant’s first recruiting class. He comes to BC from from Toronto, Ontario. Mighty is a 6’10”, 225 pound specimen with a 7’3” wingspan who I believe will be a huge upgrade from JVB even if he is slightly shorter. He certainly will have some kinks to work out in his first season, but I do not see why he cannot develop into one of the better forwards BC has had in years prior.

That’s it folks for this year’s BC’s forwards. Prince Aligbe, BC’s most highly touted recruit, can play both guard and forward, so I will leave it to my colleague Curran to break down what fans should expect from Aligbe.

The Eagles tip-off their 2022-23 campaign on November 7th at Conte Forum at 8 EST.