Raining on the Terriers’ Parade

I know: This was a game Boston University wasn’t supposed to win.

And I know that BU is dealing with a plethora of injuries to key players, including senior star Corey Lowe (ankle) and projected starting center Scott Brittain (concussion).  I know that even at full strength, the Terriers just don’t stack up with 13^th-ranked UConn. I know all about the trio of Lowe, John Holland, and Jake O’Brien being the most talented three-headed monster in the conference. I know that first-year head coach Patrick Chambers is a much-needed breath of fresh-air to an emotionally burnt out team. And I know that the Terriers are dealing with a sharp learning curve that comes with trying to learn a completely new offensive, defensive, and cultural scheme and mindset. And I know that this is a down year for the America East. And I know, Holland scored a game-high 23 points against Northeastern and O’Brien had a double-double with 18 and 10 boards.

But – I’m sorry – the Terriers as the America East conference favorite? No. Not the way this team is currently constituted. Not right now. Not the way they’ve played for the past two weeks. And the UConn game was the icing on the cake.

It’s not that BU lost to UConn – the undermanned Terriers weren’t expected to compete against national power UConn – it’s that the very players who are supposed to carry BU to a conference title didn’t bother to show up (and I’m not talking about injured seniors Corey Lowe, Scott Brittain, and Valdas Siruitus, none of whom made the short trip down I-84 to Hartford).

Long before the Huskies’ offense finally sputtered into gear, long before UConn began asserting themselves and playing up to their potential, and long before Stanley Robinson started defying the laws of gravity, BU had beaten themselves.

BU had the opportunity to come in and put up a fight against a team looking past them, as to be blunt, UConn didn’t look like they were taking the game seriously from their opening layup lines.

But the Terriers looked lost and scared on offense. And, frankly, it’s a bad sign when freshman B.J. Bailey and walk-on Tunde Agboola (who up until a game ago had never played a meaningful minute in his career) play with more poise, fire and heart – and do a better job of “getting up” for a big game – than John Holland, Carlos Strong, and Jake O’Brien.

Thus far, Holland has been a player defined by tremendous ability and inconsistent play on the floor – the fact that he could score 15 points against Northeastern, 18 against Harvard, and 23 against UConn, yet still look invisible for large stretches, speaks to both.

And for all the talk about Holland’s 23 points, he was in single digits until the game was a blowout, and scored most of his buckets against UConn’s bench (I don’t put much stock in dunks over Alex Hornat or Kyle Bailey). And on the defensive end, he was completely lost, spending more of his time sprawled on the floor after going for ill-advised steal attempts than he did covering his man on defense.

Chambers has been quick to speak up for Holland, saying, “John is a guy who just needs to stop thinking out there, we just need to calm him down and he’ll be fine.” And in Holland’s defense, he’s a terrific kid with unmatched talent in the America East. But he just doesn’t look like a guy right now who can consistently play at a high-level.

Perhaps more concerning, is the apparent lack of spring in Holland’s step, so to speak, in the early going, as he has appeared tentative on the break, and isn’t elevating as high, or throwing down dunks with as much authority, as he did last year.

Chambers assured reporters after the game that Holland was perfectly healthy, but that only raises concerns as to his mind-set and energy level on the court.

In defense of the team, in his first year Chambers has introduced an up-and-down run-and-gun style of basketball that is something completely foreign to the Terriers’ nucleus that had played under Dennis Wolff’s grind-the-shot clock-down style. And certainly, the Terriers are still learning the system.  Privately, behind closed doors the coaching staff was prepared to start the season 0-8 as the Terriers adjusted.

“We’re still not where we need to be, but were going to get there,” said Chambers. “The guys are fighting through it.  There’s still a learning curve, but I think come the first week of January we’ll be where we need to be.”

But learning curve or not, it’s hard to explain away the play of BU’s veterans when they’ve played in bigger games than this. And perhaps the most lasting images from the UConn game were Holland sliding around on the floor and out of position on defense, chucking and ducking on offense, and Strong – when he was one of only two guards on the floor – sprinting down court with his back to his teammates on an inbounds play during a UConn press.

And it’s hard to not be a bit concerned when I saw “less talented” squads in Stony Brook and Hartford go into the XL center last season and put up much more fight against a much more talented UConn squad.

Even with a healthy Lowe, and if BU can grasp Chambers’ system by the end of the year, this is a seriously flawed team with a seriously short bench and very shaky low post game. Lowe, Holland, and Strong are all streaky players who have the ability to both light up the scoreboard and vanish in a big game.

In the low post, the Terriers have been without the services of 6’9″ starting center Scott Brittain all season long, and shouldn’t count on getting him back, period: Brittain suffered the sixth concussion of his life during the pre-season, and even if he does return, it’s going to be hard to expect much from him.

Additionally, even if Brittain can come back, Chambers is still only working with a three-man bench, and fouls and the grind of the season could be a problem.

Beyond the bench, BU is going to have a hard time in the low post with only O’Brien – who fights with all his heart but is still much more of a skilled and finesse player than a physical presence on the low blocks – and Siruitis and sophomore Jeff Pelage, both of whom are really suited as role players.

How does BU match up against a team that can throw the ball into the post and punch the Terriers in the mouth? The Terriers will have their hands full with the frontcourts of New Hampshire with Dane DiLiegro, and Maine with Sean McNally, so how the heck do they counter Vermont when they throw the ball into the post to Marqus Blakely? How do they match up to a deep and super physical Stony Brook squad that never gives up, employs a ten man rotation, crashes the boards with authority, and plays all-out physical basketball for forty-minutes?

The answer is, right now – the way this team is currently constituted – they don’t.

Not when skinny step-out four-man Jake O’Brien is the only interior defender and low-post option on offense. Not when Corey Lowe and John Holland drift around the perimeter aimlessly whenever they don’t have the ball in their hands, or jack up ill-advised 26 footers the second they get a touch.

Don’t get me wrong, this BU team is talented, and their “A game” is as good as anyone’s in the America East.  When Holland is out in transition, throwing down highlight-reel dunks and slashing to the hoop, when Carlos Strong is bulling his way over and through opposing guards to the hoop, and when Strong, Lowe, and Morris are nailing their threes, and O’Brien is mixing it up inside and out, their going to be tough to beat.

But the problem is, far too often the Terriers show up and play their “C” game, and that starts with the effort and mentality of their go-to-guys. At some point, you can’t blame the lack of focus, effort, and basketball awareness on youth, inexperience, or a previous couching regime: Lowe and Strong are seniors, and Holland and O’Brien have started almost every single game of their respective careers. All of them have played in big games against big-time opponents. They have a coach who supports his players with an unmatched enthusiasm and zeal – one who isn’t going to bench a player for a bad shot, or tear him down verbally for an on the court mistake.

Right now, this is a Terriers team with talent, but one that’s still struggling to find its way in the basketball world. And if the Terriers’ nucleus hasn’t put it together at this point in their careers, do we really believe that they are suddenly going to have an on-court epiphany before the season is over?

And even if they do, BU is going to need their trio of Lowe, Holland, and O’Brien to play at the top of their game every game down the stretch.  That’s a lot to ask of three players who are going to have played a heck of a lot of minutes by season’s end.

But I guess it could be worse, 2-6 is a heck of a lot better than 0-8.

Right?