A Jersey Guy: Can BC Be Relevant Any Time Soon?
There was some positive news coming from The Heights on Saturday.
The Boston College men's basketball team won its fourth game of the season posting a 94-90 win over Notre Dame.
The overall ramification of the victory was minimal.
Notre Dame is mired in the bottom tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 9-13 overall record and is going nowhere this season.
BC is already there.
They are not only not any good, they are not even relevant, which is the lowest rung on the ladder.
Outside of a small circle of supporters, NO ONE cares about BC basketball.
The Eagles are a hapless 4-13, looking for a new coach after athletic director Pat Kraft fired Jim Christian two weeks ago.
The Eagles, who have been mired in mediocrity for almost a decade are such a non-entity in town that the Boston Globe stopped staffing their home games a month ago and that when Christian was fired, WEEI--which broadcasts BC football and basketball games--didn't even include it its hourly news updates.
Kraft, who has been on the job at BC for less than a year, made the usual "we will start a national search comment'' after the firing has also handled a Texas based search firm to sort out the candidates.
Good luck with that.
On the surface it's not a good job
In fact, it may be one of the worst in the Major power conferences when you factor in academic restrictions, facilities, lack of fan base or even marginal interest and talent pool in the area.
Throw in some additional baggage such as the lack of diversity issue as well as some racist overtones involving campus life.
And oh yes, Christian's $1.3 million a year salary was among the lowest among all ACC coaches.
Clearly, Kraft has to fix something far greater than a W and L issue at BC.
By firing Christian before the end of the season, BC seemingly got a jump start on the search, but unless Kraft has finds his coach by the end of this week when the regular season ends, he will have lost that edge.
Almost a dozen names have been floated in various outlets. with varying degrees of interest.
According to sources familiar with the process, the search firm was hired to check out the interest level as well as the feasibility factor for the prime contenders .
Kraft has set some parameters.
He wants a coach with head coaching experience, which right now remains a deal breaker, but could change.
What seems more obvious is that it will be a minority hire.
The social situation at BC is toxic enough that although the hiring of a basketball coach will not dissolve the issue, hiring a minority will be a major step in the right direction.
If there is an an exception, it might be Loyola coach Porter Moser, who has succeeded at a Jesuit urban school AND has worked with Kraft in the past (Both were at Loyola several years ago).
But that remains a long shot, especially if there are qualified minority coaches available, who can fill the guidelines BC has set. particularly the issue involving head coaching experience.
Leading that group are:
Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, former Georgetown coach John Thompson III.
Another name mentioned has been Paul Hewitt, who has coached and succeeded at Georgia Tech, Siena and George Mason and who is regarded as a good recruiter.
The X factor in this case is Michigan assistant Howard Eislely, a BC graduate, who has a strong contingent of support at BC, who is regarded as a star in waiting.
The obstacle of No head coaching experience remains, unless there is someone with veto power who can over rule Kraft.
That person exists in the presence of BC president Father William Leahy, whose finger prints have been all over BC athletic transactions for the past 25 years.
NO MAJOR ATHLETIC DECISIONS are made at BC without the approval of Father Leahy.
Including all the candidates and factoring in what BC needs and wants ,Amaker is a clear leader, but BC and Amaker have flirted before and it has not worked out, which may be one of the reasons why no announcement has already been made.
One thing is clear.
BC and Kraft need to get this hire right.
And they need more than a coach. They need a spokesman for the University, someone who will energize not only the campus, and. even only on a temporary basis, the city and the region.
Despite the past seven seasons, there is a rich tradition in BC basketball, wlhich dates back decades and is filled with stories of success.
In the past 30 years, the Eagles have won under Jim 'O'Brien and they have won under Al Skinner, with the same academic constrictions, same level of competition, same lack of facilities.
So it can be done.
Jim Christian was the wrong coach at the wrong time when he was hired seven years ago and the person who hired him, athletic director Brad Bates is long gone.
Now it is Kraft's turn.
How he handles it will not only determine BC's future, but Kraft's as well.