After much too long of a break, I’m back! (Apologies for the lack of coverage the past few weeks). We have a lot to catch up on; since my last column the Eagles have had some very high highs (beating a top-30 KenPom team in Boise State to win the Cayman Islands Classic) and some very low lows (pretty much everything since then). The Eagles now sit at 6-4 having most recently dropped their ACC opener on the road at Wake Forest. There’s a lot I want to get into, so let’s dive in:
1. The 1 spot. Boston College’s frontcourt has been basically as advertised (relative to who’s getting the most playing time). Strong has been one of, if not the most positive surprise of the young season, while Venning has shown flashes and Hastings begins to develop.
It’s in the backcourt that Grant needs to start making some decisions. The starting group to open the season was Chas Kelley, Dion Brown, and DJ Hand. After a strong showing in the Cayman Islands and against Dartmouth, Joshua Beadle took Kelley’s spot in the lineup as the starting 1. I like that move and I think it needs to be permanent (at least for now). Kelley has had ample opportunity to claim the job but in my eyes, he just doesn’t bring enough to the court on either end of the floor. Offensively, he cannot create for himself and his ball-handling is average at best. To his credit, he leads the team in assists at 3.1 per game, but in my eyes the vast majority of his assists are nothing extraordinary and frankly any starting PG in the Power 5 should be making them. Moreover, he’s had the benefit of additional minutes to this point – I would expect Beadle’s numbers to rise if he holds down the starting spot. BC’s offense has been fairly simple this season – high ball screens, looks down low, and take advantage either through Venning and Strong or kicking to open shooters. Defenses have responded by blitzing the ball handler and denying the pass down low; the amount of times Kelley picks up his dribble or just cycles around the perimeter without creating anything is too many to justify him in the starting lineup. He is not a creator, he’s been average at creating for others, and he’s shooting a putrid 28.6% from the floor. Defensively, he’s fine, but nothing about his game shows me why he should be the starter. He’s long, but he doesn’t force many takeaways, and I don’t think he’s perimeter stopper by any means.
On the other hand, I think Beadle gives the team more upside. Let me preface this by saying Beadle is far from perfect. In the losses to South Carolina and Wake he shot a putrid 3-16. He’s been too aggressive attacking the rim and some of his skip passes are downright ambitious, but I see the vision with Beadle; his creativeness with his left hand and his ball handling are assets at the 1. He’s also shown the ability to knock down the open trey every now and again. His court vision is improving — like I said, some of his looks are bad decisions, but I think he does more as an offensive initiator and a creator for others than Kelley. He was also given the difficult task of guarding Wake’s explosive Hunter Sallis, and he did a respectable job. If he can tamp down on unforced errors and overaggression on offense, I like him as the starting PG.
2. The 2 spot. Now for the 2-guard. Dion Brown has been a major disappointment. What hurts the most is that his struggles have nothing to do with effort; I absolutely love his compete and it actually helps the team. His activity on the offensive boards is noticeable and it is incredibly positive for the offense. But for someone who was billed as the offensive creator on the team, he just isn’t living up to the role. He isn’t aggressive enough on the offensive end; he doesn’t look to create for himself and is actually more passive as a spot-up shooter. The real problem, though, has been his defense. He simply hasn’t been able to stick with his man enough to warrant being on the floor down the stretch. In fact, against Wake he fouled his man in a clear 1v1 situation and was replaced by Fred Payne for the rest of the game.
Which brings me to my next point – Payne needs to start. I’ll be the first to admit – with the massive logjam in BC’s backcourt, he is not who I thought would emerge. But he’s a decent and growing on-ball defender willing to make a pest of himself, and he breathes life into the offense. He’s maybe the one guard on the roster who was actually able to penetrate off the dribble against Wake, and he’s shooting 42.9% from downtown. He’s outscoring Brown despite playing nearly 10 minutes(!) less per game. For someone coming off a bad knee injury, his return has been incredible and I think he’ll only get better with more minutes.
All this to say: I believe the Beadle, Payne, Hand, Strong, Venning group that closed the Wake game should start from here on out.
3. Is Elijah Strong the most important player on the team? Last season, I wrote extensively about Devin McGlockton’s value to the team as the X-factor. On any given night, he would be able to contribute in a variety of ways – whether playing strong defense, vacuuming up boards, or looking to provide some offense. Most importantly, McGlockton provided extremely valuable minutes at a position where BC basically had no depth behind him.
Strong is taking that mantle, with a couple caveats. Firstly, don’t be mistaken; I am not calling Strong the best player on the team. He’s still streaky, prone to aggressive decisions, and developing into the college game. Secondly, there’s no question he is a different player than McGlockton. Strong is growing as a scorer and wants to fill the cup while McGlockton was more versatile. But Strong’s ability to provide meaningful minutes at the 4 has been – and will continue to be – absolutely essential to the success of the team, for a number of reasons. Positionally, Strong is the only effective, true 4 on the roster. When he is not on the floor, the most natural backup on the team is true freshman Kany Tchanda, who has not been a regular part of the rotation this season and – while promising – definitely needs some time to physically mature to the college game. When Strong sits or gets into foul trouble, Grant has generally gone to 4-guard sets and thus given up a lot of size to opponents. Furthermore, Strong’s ability to score with his back to the basket has helped the flow of the offense. Teams are generally more aggressive in doubling Venning down low, and he’s generally been fine in passing out of them. But Strong’s ability to score in the iso – with fadeaways, with footwork, with brute strength – has been impressive. And he’s shooting the 3-ball at a 39% clip! (we’ll see how much of that is a small sample size, but still – he’s shooting over 3 per game). He stretches the floor, looks comfortable attacking closeouts (I’ve been really impressed with the touch on his floater) and isn’t afraid to attack the rim. Oh, and he’s the heart and soul of the team; there’s no question he gives 110% every time he touches the floor. I’m excited to see him continue to develop.