A Jersey Guy: A Plan To Revive BC Hoops

In what may be the most important move in the history of Boston College basketball, BC athletic director Patrick Kraft has received one clear message from the small core of Eagle basketball fans: "You've got to get this one right.''

As Kraft and his inner circle hold their daily war room, zoom meetings in a suite at Conte Forum, discussing their options, we will offer some advice and vetting (which will not cost him the six figure total BC is paying a Texas-based search firm).

Let's cut to the chase quickly here.

BC basketball is now at the lowest level of the grading system.

It is beyond bad.

It is IRRELEVANT.

No one cares about BC basketball outside a small Chestnut Hill zip code area.

If I were a BC season ticket holder in men's basketball for the past seven seasons and I had enough funding to retain a lawyer, I would consider filing a claim of Consumer Fraud against the Eagles.

Get the case past a trial judge and in front of Boston based jury and at the very least you might get the cost of your season tickets back for the past seven years under Jim Christian.

Consider some numbers, which produced one above .500 (none in the Atlantic Coast Conference) an overall record of 78-132, lowlighted by an 0-18 goose egg in 2015-2016, which was preceded by an 0-8 ACC record for the football team under Steve Addazio that fall.

Kraft fired Christian three weeks ago, which immediately turned the focus on the future.

BC had the timing edge on its coaching search for awhile.

That is about to change.

In the next few weeks, there are likely to be numerous openings in the Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, and AAC as the rest of college basketball makes its post season evaluations.

BC is a special needs project, however, with its own parameters and requirements.

With all of that in mind, here are three plans to consider.

Plan A.

This one has been a slam dunk for weeks.

Hire Harvard coach Tommy Amaker.

He fits every profile BC wants and needs in its next coach, starting with the most pressing issue, Diversity.

It should be noted that Amaker, whose pedigree includes a Duke education and winning coaching stops at Seton Hall and Michigan as well as Harvard, where he is the all time winningest basketball coach in school history, was named the Champion of Diversity by the NCAA last month.

He knows how to coach.

He knows how to win with the highest level of students.

He also is the smoothest transition BC could make.

He's available—NOW.

Amaker's Harvard teams have won 7 Ivy League titles and missed a few more by losing last second decisions in Ivy League championship playoff and tournament games, but his Harvard teams have not only made it to the NCAA tournament, but actually WON NCAA tournament games.

They were shut out of legitimate opportunities the past two years because COVID-issues.

Amaker and BC have flirted a few times, the last time was seven years ago before Christian was hired.

Amaker made it clear that he did not want to part of a "beauty contest'' of contestants, but wanted the choice to be made as it is commonly done at many other schools, with if you want me, let's talk and if we can make a deal, we will make a deal. If we can't, good luck.''

BC made didn't feel comfortable with that, so Amaker said, "thanks, but I've got a great job at Harvard''

Various sources have suggested that the lukewarm attitude towards Amaker this time comes from the upper tiers of the BC administration because of that rejection.

Which is interesting because that would appear to be a case of selected amnesia by BC, which had made grandiose plans to be part of an expanded ACC in 2004, was assured it was going to be done and then REJECTED at the last minute when Virginia (with help from North Carolina State) demanded that Virginia Tech and Miami be the first ACC expansion raid into Big East, rather than Miami and BC.

Faced with that set back, BC officials immediately rallied around their Big East brethren, talking about moving forward together, while at the same time secretly continuing talks with the ACC.

In a business where honesty is often a casualty, it remains one of the more duplicitous moves in modern times and one that has not been forgotten or forgiven by some Big East officials.

A scant three months after BC was rejected by the ACC, they were welcomed by the conference.

BC officials had no problems forgetting the previous rejections from the ACC.

It is part of history which BC officials should recall when referring to Amaker.

In making a survey throughout the world of college basketball, in talking to coaches and administrators from other conferences as well as a faction of BC backers, the first response when talking about the BC job was universal: "They have the best guy right (Amaker) right up the street.''

Factor in Amaker and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Pinder Amaker—a clinical psychologist at Harvard—you would have a move which could revive the atmosphere in a manner similar to what Jeff Hafley created in football.

Whether BC eventually makes the same conclusion remains to be seen.

Plan B

Deal with the diversity issue by hiring former BC player Howard Eisley, who is earning his coaching credits as part of Juwan Howard's staff at Michigan.

Eisely has made it clear he wants to come back to BC, but he lacks the one item that Kaft has contended was a deal breaker: Experience as a head coach at the Division 1 level.

To get around that issue, BC will have to be creative and generous in some areas.

It will have to increase its pay scale for coaches--Christian was on the ACC low end at $1.3 million a year.

BC might have to at least double that total, not necessarily to get Eisely, but perhaps get a coaching STAFF that is loaded with experience.

Several names have been mentioned as possible, ranging from former BC head Jim O'Brien (not going to happen) to such veteran coaches as Paul Hewitt and John Thompson III, although Thompson's presence as a head coach would be enough to create some excitement.

One name that has received some consideration is former Ohio State coach Thad Matta, the all time winningest coach in Ohio State history, who has dealt with as series of health issues which forced him out of the game four years ago.

Matta, who took Ohio State to a pair of Final Fours, is only 53 and has been involved in coaching vacancies such as Alabama, Georgia and most recently Wichita State.

Whether he can be enticed back to coaching at BC, even as a well compensated associate head coach ,remains problematical.

He is more likely to resurface closer to Indianapolis where he now lives and where his daughter is a student at Butler U.

Plan C

Go conventional and hire the best most experienced coach who is willing to come to BC and understands the culture.

The most obvious choice would probably be St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, a B C graduate who has done a superb job with the Bonnies--he was just named A-10 coach of the year.

Schmidt is 59, and is the mold of former BC assistant Bill Coen, who has done an equally good job at Northeastern.

BC needs more than X's and O's guys on the bench. It needs crusaders, promoters and salesmen, fund raisers who will generate some life in a program which is on life support in many ways.

It also needs diversity.

What Kraft does will shape not only Kraft's legacy, but BC's athletic profile.

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