Welcome to The Sports Bank’s fourth annual college basketball season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season. We will rank the 84 power conference teams (including the new Big East and American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
The maturation process of the Boston College Eagles basketball program should come to fruition this season. I really like BC as a sleeper in the ACC and they should take the next step in their rebuilding effort.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Last season: 8th, 7-11 in ACC, 16-17 overall
Predicted ACC Finish: 7th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Dennis Clifford (Jr)/KC Caudill (Jr)
F: Ryan Anderson (Jr)/Eddie Odio (Jr)/John Cain Carney (Jr)
G/F: Alex Dragicevich (Jr)/Patrick Heckmann (Jr)/Garland Owens (Fr)
SG: Olivier Hanlan (So)/Lonnie Jackson (Jr)/Danny Rubin (Sr)
PG: Joe Rahon (So)/Darryl Hicks (Fr)
Gone: C-Andrew Van Nest (Sr)
2013-2014 Outlook:
Steve Donahue practically started from scratch two years ago, having to re-build the BC program. Now that the team has taken their fair share of lumps and gone through the growing pains, the Eagles appear to be turning corner.
To do so, Donahue will rely heavily on the duo or Ryan Anderson and Olivier Hanlan. Anderson’s versatility at the forward position has gone fairly unnoticed on a national level but he has been an integral building block and a guy who do a little bit of everything to help his team. Hanlan proved to be a big time scorer in his freshman campaign, highlighted by his 41-point outburst against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament. He can light it up from deep but also has the handles to run the offense when needed.
Joe Rahon also made a huge impact with the Eagles during his freshman year, showing great poise for a young point guard while logging almost 36 minutes per game. With the likes of Notre Dame transfer Alex Dragicevich, Lonnie Jackson, and Patrick Heckmann, BC has solid depth on the wing to complement Rahon and Hanlan. All three of those guys can space the floor and knock down open shots so opposing defenses better guard the three-point line when they face the Eagles.
The interior play has been and once again will be a weakness for Boston College. 7-1 Dennis Clifford is expected to start but shouldn’t log major minutes while 6-11 KC Caudill adds more size but not a whole lot of skill down low. As a result, Donahue might be forced to use a smaller line-up for significant stretches with Anderson or natural forward Eddie Odio playing the five and sliding Heckmann or Dragicevich to the four. It will make BC vulnerable on the boards but allow them to put their best five players on the floor at the same time.
With the additions of Syracuse, Pitt, and Notre Dame, the ACC will be even more competitive this season. The Boston College Eagles are one of a handful of teams that will fall in the middle of the pack with hopes of sneaking into the NCAA Tournament. A fairly challenging non-conference slate could certainly help BC’s RPI but finishing with a .500 conference record or higher will be a must.
Player to Watch: Olivier Hanlan
The Canadian earned ACC Freshman of the Year honors last season and for a good reason. He’s a big time scorer whether shooting it from deep or creating his own shot off the bounce, is a solid distributor, and can also D’ it up as he led the team in steals as a freshman. The only concern I’d have if I were a BC fan, is the possibility of him bolting for the NBA if his game is even tighter this year.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/8 at Providence
11/10 vs. UMass
11/21 vs. UConn (2K Sports Classic)
11/22 vs. Indiana/Washington (2K Sports Classic)
12/4 at Purdue (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
12/8 at USC
12/22 vs. Auburn
12/28 vs. VCU (at Barclays Center)
1/1 at Harvard
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#56 Saint Mary’s
#57 Maryland
#58 Butler
#59 Minnesota
#60 Florida Gulf Coast
#61 Akron
#62 Temple
#63 Alabama
#64 Florida State
#65 Arkansas
#66 N.C. State
#67 Kansas State
#68 Davidson
#69 Dayton
#70 Miami FL
#71 SMU
#72 Texas A&M
#73 Long Beach State
#74 UMass
#75 Northwestern
#76 Indiana State
#77 Georgia Tech
#78 Oklahoma
#79 Richmond
#80 Manhattan
#81 Belmont
#82 Texas
#83 Houston
#84 Washington State
#85 Iona
#86 Oregon State
#87 Louisiana Tech
#88 Towson
#89 Wake Forest
#90 Central Florida
#91 Rutgers
#92 Drexel
#93 USC
#94 Charleston
#95 Seton Hall
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.