A Jersey Guy: BC hoops needs a major overhaul
In the grand scheme of things, it was hardly worth more than a footnote on busy weekend of college football and basketball.
But what happened on Saturday at Boston College's s Conte Forum in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener between BC and Syracuse deserves a second look.
And so does the rapidly deteriorating situation with the BC basketball program, which hasn't been on a truly competitive record in more than a decade.
Let's start by saying early indications are that is one of Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim's lower level teams.
Which is why the score, a 101-63 Syracuse victory, was worthy of interest.
It was BC's worst game EVER at Conte Forum, surpassing a 37-point toss to a Jim Calhoun coached UConn team in March of 2003, a Huskie team which would win 23 games.
Which raised another question about the future of BC and coach Jim Christian, who is in his seventh season at The Heights.
That would seem more than a reasonable time frame to assess the quality of the program.
Let's look at some numbers.
Since being hired in 2013, Christian's record at BC is 76-124, with only one winning season in his first six.
During that time frame the Eagles endured a two-year stretch of play in the ACC in which they compiled a 2-34 record, which remarkably merited a contract EXTENSION from then BC athletic director Brad Bates.
Digging deeper, Christian's resume also shows some interesting trends.
Before coming to BC, Christian had made two stops in the Mid-American Conference at Kent State and Ohio University and one stop in the Big 12 at TCU.
In 8 seasons in the MAC, Christian's teams never had a losing record and compiled an i181-81 record, an impressive 100 games OVER .500.
In 11 seasons coaching HIGH Major teams, including a 1-5 start this season, Christian's teams are 65 games UNDER.500, with ONE winning season.
The nature of the loss on Saturday perplexed even Christian, who looks overmatched at this level of basketball if you use his coaching record as a measuring stick.
"We looked lethargic and I have no idea why,'' said Christian, who has attempted to build a program using transfers and individual pieces rather than a program with a foundation of young talent. |"There is no way I saw that coming. The guys are not communicating.''
None of that sounds good, especially in early December, when the season is relatively fresh.
There might be a solution for BC, if not for Christian, whose status remains shaky at best as the final years in his contract extension wind down.
Relatively newly minted (July 1) BC athletic director Patrick Kraft could make an unusual move in COVID-19 laced athletic season by simply going across the Charles River and doing what BC should have done a decade ago--make Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker an offer he could not refuse.
With Harvard basketball suspended this season, Amaker certainly has time to make some career decisions, but after two serious flirtations with the Eagles, there is a growing suspicion that the only move Amaker will make will be south to his alma mater Duke when Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski decides to retire.
Technically, Kraft could make the move in the next few weeks if he decided enough was enough and he had a replacement ready to go.
But BC literally and figuratively does not make in-season coaching changes, so it is entirely likely it will be the Ides of March before there is any final announcement.
But barring a major change in profile, a DECISION will probably be made during the next few weeks.