BC’s Dick Kelley an unsung hero in our line of work

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – In our work, we deal with many people. Anyone who reads our stories knows we deal with players and coaches, and at times game officials. There are also athletic directors, commissioners, other school and conference administrators, players’ parents and other family members at times as well. But they are far from alone.

Tying it all together are those who work in media relations, the people that you very rarely hear about. But they are hugely important to our line of work. Known to many as “SIDs” (Sports Information Directors, as titles tend to vary but the work is the same), they rarely get any pub – and Boston College’s Dick Kelley was fine with that. On Sunday, however, he got just that in a ceremony that had so many dimensions to it before Eagles’ game against Virginia. And it was clear he was overwhelmed by it all.

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Virginia can’t turn win over Duke into a momentum builder

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Like Maryland before them, Virginia scored a big win over Duke at home. Then they had to go on the road at Boston College, a team near the bottom of the ACC but one that isn’t far from being in the middle of the pack. Maryland couldn’t avoid a letdown and lost at The Heights, and Virginia came close to a better result but couldn’t put away the Eagles, who took home an emotional 53-52 win to likewise put the Cavaliers in a tight spot for the NCAA Tournament.

Like Maryland, Virginia also has some youth, although they have three upperclassmen who start. The Cavaliers have been a tough team to fully figure out on the bottom line, as they went 0-3 against CAA schools in non-conference but won every other game. They should be able to run the table at home in ACC play with one game still left, but have only knocked off Virginia Tech and Maryland away from Charlottesville. That ability to win on the road is a big one, and it was something head coach Tony Bennett was talking about after the game with regard to how it got away.

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St. John’s not too different without Harrison at first

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – St. John’s didn’t look all that different in their first game without the suspended D’Angelo Harrison on Saturday night.  Playing against a team that has a lot of similarities to them, the Red Storm had some similar results in their 62-59 loss at Providence, a game where they certainly had their chances.

Lavin announced the suspension of Harrison on Friday.  That didn’t leave much time before Saturday’s game to adjust, and he said there wasn’t much talk with his team about what this meant as far as adjustments from an offensive standpoint.

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Bryant avoids letdown to secure a tournament home game

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – So much was on the line two nights earlier for Bryant that it was easy to forget something: they had one more game on Saturday. Besides the quick turnaround, it’s a classic scenario for a letdown since they were at home against one of the worst teams in the conference. But they got their focus together in time and broke the game open early in the second half for an 85-60 win over St. Francis (Pa.) to wrap up at least one home game in the Northeast Conference Tournament.

Thursday night was the big showdown with Robert Morris, and a game anyone in the building won’t soon forget. But the Bulldogs still needed to win on Saturday because the NEC was a jumbled mess behind Robert Morris coming into Saturday, and win they did. After all of Saturday’s games had played out, the Bulldogs were the No. 4 seed and get at least one home game in the NEC Tournament.

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A look around the country – March 3, 2013

Saturday was a big day in college basketball as a number of conferences ended their regular season and a number of big matchups took place among the 147 Division I games. Conference tournaments start in less than a week; by this time next week several NCAA Tournament bids will have been earned.

It was the second time this season I had to cover three games at three different sites and the third time in the past two seasons. In the nine games played on those days, the home team has won just three times, with two of those coming on Saturday. Take from that what you will.

Now, some thoughts coming from the day’s games.

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Old Dominion has a small silver lining at the end of a rough season

BOSTON – One win at the end of a 5-25 season isn’t going to magically make it a good season. Old Dominion’s last go-round in the Colonial Athletic Association has been anything but memorable, to say the least. But the Monarchs did go out in about the best way they could given the circumstances, beating regular season champion Northeastern 81-74 in Boston on Saturday and leaving town feeling like they salvaged what they could.

“After the game I jokingly talked about how there’s only going to be five teams that end their season with a win this year – the winners of all the tournaments and us,” said interim head coach Jim Corrigan with a smile.

That wasn’t all Corrigan did to lighten the mood.

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Jamelle Hagins developed on and off the court at Delaware

The reality of coaching at a mid-major program is that you have to take chances on players more often than not.  When it comes to big men, that is especially the case, as that even happens at the highest level.  Many coaches recruit a big man who clearly has work to do in the hope that they correctly project what he can become.  Plenty of those players don’t work out – some never really get better, some might be one-dimensional, and some more might never develop physically.  But some of them do work out, and when it happens, it can be quite satisfying.

Delaware senior Jamelle Hagins is one of those who has worked out.  While his is a story of what coaches hope will happen when recruiting a young man with the idea of projecting what he will become, Hagins is more than that.  Perhaps assistant coach Jeff Rafferty sums it up best when he says that Hagins “is one of my favorites.”

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Robert Morris wins a hard-earned Northeast Conference regular season title

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Robert Morris has become arguably the flagship program in the Northeast Conference since about 2007.  They have been to four straight NEC championship games, having won it a couple of times, and a big constant during this run of success has been head coach Andrew Toole, who helped them win two outright regular season NEC titles and share another one as an assistant, and now has won an outright title in his third season running the program after Thursday night’s thrilling 77-75 win at Bryant.

This title didn’t come easily.  They never do, but some come a little harder than others, and Robert Morris’ 21-9 record, including a 13-4 mark in NEC play, hides some of that.

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Fordham women earn 21st victory

BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham women earned their 21^st victory with a 62-50 defeat of St. Bonaventure at Rose Hill on Wednesday. The observations and notes on a game with two decidedly different halves:

• What a difference a year makes. Losing three starters, including the likes of Jessica Jenkins and Megan Van Tatenhove, had a pronounced effect on the Bonnies’ outlook this season. What wasn’t planned was the loss of Chelsea Bowker, who was counted on to supply perimeter scoring. Bowker was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA due to injury. For the present though it has been a struggle. A look at the efficiency numbers from last year’s Atlantic 10 undefeated team that went to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and the current season:

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In a tough loss, Connecticut shows tremendous heart

STORRS, Conn. – Kevin Ollie wanted to make sure those covering Wednesday night’s game do at least one thing above all else.

“I hope y’all write that we’ve got heart – at the end of your articles, this team has got heart,” said the UConn head coach.

He’s right.  This team has heart.  It was fully on display Wednesday night in a game they had no business even getting to overtime, let alone a second overtime where they led 78-71 with just over two minutes left.

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