Boston College Men’s Basketball: What’s Next?

When the Boston College Eagles left the floor at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn following their first round departure in the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the hands of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, questions that had been lingering leading into the tournament entered the forefront with the start of the offseason.

For the second straight year, following a first round departure after a defeat laden conference season, the outlook for the men’s basketball team remains unclear.

With that, we look at some questions following the season.

Did BC Meet Expectations?

At the beginning of ACC play, I polled the BC Interruption staff about the expected number of wins going into conference play. It’s worth looking back to see what everyone said:

Arthur: 3 wins

AJ: 2 wins

Grant: 4 wins

John “Coach” Fidler: 2 wins

Joe: 4 wins

Hoffses: 4 wins

Tom: 4 wins

What this data shows is that, while BC’s two wins fell on the bottom of the prediction table, it is still reasonably on the table.

The eye test also indicates BC was as good as expected: the guards were as advertised, and the forwards were as advertised as well, both for good and for bad.

In reality, while the season was disappointing, it was pretty much in line with expectations.

What Will Bowman’s Abilities Be Following Surgery?

It was reported the day after the ACC Tournament that Ky Bowman left the game against Wake Forest with an apparent knee injury that Bowman would have minor surgery to repair cartilage damage in his knee.

It’s first worth noting that the fact that Bowman did not suffer an ACL tear makes this conversation a lot different. It was a big break for the Eagles that Bowman’s injury appears, on the surface, a lot less severe than onlookers at the ACC Tournament feared.

With that said, knees can be tricky things. While we here at BC Interruption wish Bowman nothing but a speedy and complete recovery, worries about what his abilities will be are warranted. A big portion of Bowman’s game is his agility and mobility. If his knee isn’t completely back to where it was this year, his play might suffer.

I am not an MD, so I don’t want to speculate any further on his injury. It might very well end up that Bowman heals completely and he is back to his old self. But until we see him in the fall, it’s a question worth asking.

What’s BC’s Status Recruiting Bigs?

Part of BC’s struggles stemmed from its play inside. Put simply, the reason that BC tried to win games from outside is as much because of its struggles inside as its successes outside.

This isn’t meant to be a dig at Mo Jeffers or Connar Tava. They did what was expected. They just aren’t ACC caliber forwards, and it wasn’t reasonable to expect that they were.

With that said, BC needs bigs. It was reported earlier this week that BC is after a 6’10” forward from Arizona. I would imagine that BC will be looking for more forwards to recruit as the summer goes on.

What’s Jim Christian’s Future at BC?

Jim Christian should be the head basketball coach at Boston College for the 2017-18 season.

Christian will not be fired by a new AD. By the time a new AD takes power, it will likely be June. There is absolutely no way BC will be able to find a capable head coach at that time.

The team was, on a whole, better than it was at this time last season. It is still nowhere near where it needs to be, but there appears to be actual progress. If progress is the burden for Christian, as it should be, the team has certainly progressed. It is still nowhere where it needs to be, but it is better.

Christian said it best when he said following the game against Wake:

“There are no miracles out here. You have to stay with your process, believe in what you're doing. I do. Our kids grew and got better as the year went on, individually and collectively.”

That said, two wins cannot be acceptable next year. If BC has trouble closing out games again next year, if BC can’t bring in a proper 5, and if BC can’t show general signs of improving, then questions about job security are completely reasonable. But BC can’t expect to bring in good recruits, and good coaches, if there is a firing every three years.

I just ask for one more year of patience.