The Outlook of the Season

First, let me remind myself and everybody else about the teams I am committed to write about. Cibona and Partizan from Croatia and Serbia respectively; Boston Celtics, arguably the most famed NBA team (LA Lakers come as very close second); BC Eagles and Harvard Crimson for college basketball; and Belmont Maruaders for high school basketball. This year I am adding the Maine Red Claws NBDL team, associated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Why did I chose exactly these teams. Either because they are geographically close to where I live, so I am more likely to watch live games, or because of the memories from years ago (I used to watch Partizan in the late-eighties and Cibona in the mid-nineties).

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How Far Can the Eagles Fly?

The bracket for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was released today, with Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and North Carolina earning top seeds in their respective regions. What is interesting with this tournament, like all past tournaments, is not the top seven or eight teams, but the lesser teams who have a chance to make some noise. In my opinion, Boston College has a great oppurtunity to surprise most people. The Eagles are matched up against USC in the first round.

Obviously, when talking about these Eagles, you have to start with their point guard, Tyrese Rice. In his senior year, Rice is determined to go out with a bang. This year, with averages of 17.4 PPG and 5.4 APG, he has once again shown that he is not only one of the best scoring point guards in the ACC, but in the entire country. What is encouraging for Boston College is not that Rice is an explosive scorer, but that he has solid pieces around him to make a run. Rakim Sanders is an athletic forward who can score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds with ease and Joe Trapani is a skilled forward who can knock down the three. Also, Corey Raji and Reggie Jackson give the Eagles more depth at the wing positions.

Perimeter-oriented teams are always dangerous in college basketball, especially if they have a good shooting night. While the lack of a post presence is why I don’t think BC will reach the Elite Eight or Final Four, but I do have them advancing in the first and second rounds. Do not forget that BC has the ability to beat quality opponents, which was in display when they defeated UNC in North Carolina at the start of ACC play. This is just another reason why I think the BC Eagles will fly high in the 2009 NCAA Tourney.

Final Four for the Demon Deacons?

Wake Forest, the newly-appointed top team in college basketball, is undefeated through sixteen games and a seriously contender for the NCAA championship. Over the past two weeks, the Demon Deacons have knocked off North Carolina, once-undefeated Clemson, and Boston College, the team that beat UNC in Chapel Hill. Behind the impressive play of sophomore point guard Jeff Teague, Wake has opened eyes not only in North Carolina, but around the country.

Teague, who is averaging 21.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 2.1 SPG, is arguably the best guard in the nation. Not only is he scoring, rebounding, and dishing out assists, he is doing it efficiently. The sophomore is shooting 53% from the field and 82% from the line, in addition to shooting 52% from downtown. These numbers are amazing considering that Teague shoots from behind the three-point line often (almost 3 attempts per game). However, perhaps Teague’s greatest asset is his defensive play. Not only does he rack up steals that turn into dunks in the open floor (he had four such dunks against BC), he moves his feet very quickly and does not allow his opponent to penetrate into the lane.

Take the game at Boston College, for instance. Tyrese Rice, BC’s primary guard, committed 8 turnovers to go along with only 4 assists. Teague, who forced the majority of those turnovers, turned them into highlight reel dunks on the other end. Teague forced Rice to play one-on-one basketball and not get his teammates involved, which shows in the fact that 7 of Rice’s 13 field goal attempts were from downtown. Since he could not get in the lane and dish out to open guys like Joe Trapani (who shot 3-8 from downtown; all of which were contested) on the perimeter, he settled for threes. This type of game did work for Rice and his stats, who shot 4-7 from three and had 20 points in total, but it resulted in a twenty-point loss in the end. Because of this style of play, Rakim Sanders, BC’s second scorer, scored only 4 points in the game and committed 5 turnovers. On the contrary, Jeff Teague finished the game with 29 points off of 10-17 shooting and a couple of steals.

In terms of the combination of outside shooting, ability to penetrate, and defense, Jeff Teague is the best guard in the nation. His explosiveness has Wake Forest at 16-0 for the season and poised for a trip to the Final Four in Detroit. Having already beaten teams like UNC and Clemson, the Demon Deacons have shown that they can not only hang with the best out there, but beat them.

Wake Forest Routs Boston College

• No. 2 Wake gets 1st-ever win over Boston College, Associated Press

“I told them, ‘We’ve never beaten Boston College, and pretty soon you’ve got to say: Enough’s enough,’” Demon Deacons coach Dino Gaudio said. “We rubbed salt in that wound this week.”

• It was a case of split personalities, Bob Ryan, Boston Globe

As amazing as it now seems, BC really did beat North Carolina. Beat ‘em fair and square, in the Dean Dome. Well, Wake beat Carolina, too, and last night No. 2-ranked Wake laid one on BC by an 83-63 score in Conte Forum. The game was, and wasn’t, that close.

The first half was ug-lee. Wake took advantage of a nonexistent interior defense to embarrass the Eagles with alley-oops and other assorted easy inside shots, few of them properly contested. At the other end, BC was confused and sloppy. The Eagles were never really in the game, and by the half, it was a 20-point game (47-27) and the only real remaining issue for BC was to see if it could salvage some dignity. Sure, Wake is good, but the game was not remotely competitive.

• Eagles learn a fast lesson, Julian Benbow, Boston Globe

Jeff Teague would be out on a fast break, and he’d finish it by bending the rim with a one-handed dunk designed for your nightly sportscast.

• Wake Forest just too good for Boston College, Deacons teach Eagles a lesson, Jerry Spar, Boston Herald

Wake Forest, which posted its first-ever victory over BC in eight meetings, scored the first five points of the second half to take its biggest lead of 25 points (52-27). BC fought back and closed the gap to nine after a Rice 3-pointer with eight minutes remaining, igniting the sellout crowd. However, Wake would not give in, pulling away down the stretch.

• Side Story: Teague’s growth puts Wake Forest in good hands, more hoop thoughts, Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated

During the summer of 2006, Dino Gaudio, who was then an assistant coach at Wake Forest, watched Jeff Teague, a point guard from Indianapolis, play AAU ball more than a dozen times. On the occasions when Gaudio’s boss, Skip Prosser, wasn’t with him, he would call Gaudio to ask how the prospect performed.

“Skip, he played great,” Gaudio often replied, “but he’s going to drive you nuts.

• Side Story: Teague reminds some of Wake great Paul, Jeff Rabjohns, Indianapolis Star

Chris Paul is the former Wake Forest point guard, who four seasons ago led the Demon Deacons to their only No. 1 ranking in school history before becoming an NBA star.

Jeff Teague is Wake’s current point guard, who as a sophomore has the Deacons sitting at No. 2 after leading them to a 92-89 victory Sunday over preseason national title favorite North Carolina.

“I wasn’t highly recruited. I didn’t get a lot of pub with the great high school players in Indiana like E’Twaun and Eric,” Teague said, referring to E’Twaun Moore, starting shooting guard for Purdue, and Eric Gordon, starting shooting guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. “I always used it as motivation.”

Yes, Harvard Beat Boston College!

Yes, it did happen!!! Not only did Harvard Crimson basketball team beat a ranked team for the first time in history, but they did it to the Boston College Eagles, the team that had just beaten North Carolina Tar Heels – up to that point the number one ranked college team. Isn’t this why college basketball is so wonderful, tnone of the NBA predictability here. It was such an upset that Google News search produced 442 articles covering the story. Read more ->