The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a face lift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference. I’ve already counted down the Pac-12, Big 12, SEC, and AAC, and now turn my attention to the already new-look ACC.
With Steve Donahue getting the boot, the Boston College Eagles turn to Jim Christian of Ohio to lead the program into the future. Christian has his work cut out for him though since BC is coming off their worst season since joining the ACC nearly a decade ago and loses two key contributors via transfer.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Last season: 14th, 4-14 in ACC, 8-24 overall
Predicted ACC Finish: 13th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Will Magarity (So)/KC Caudill (Sr)/Dennis Clifford (Jr)/Idy Diallo (Fr)
F: Eddie Odio (Sr)/Alex Dragicevich (Sr)/John Cain Carney (Sr)
G/F: Aaron Brown (Sr)/Patrick Heckmann (Sr)
SG: Lonnie Jackson (Sr)/Garland Owens (So)
PG: Olivier Hanlan (Jr)/Darryl Hicks (rs?Fr)
Gone: PF-Ryan Anderson (transfer-Arizona), Joe Rahon (transfer-St. Mary’s), G-Danny Rubin
2014-2015 Outlook:
The key holdover from last season is combo guard Olivier Hanlan who is coming off a solid but still somewhat disappointing sophomore season. Hanlan has the potential to be a first round pick in the NBA Draft and could have left for the pros but made the smart decision to return for his junior year. He is a big-time scorer but with Joe Rahon transferring out of the program, must also take over the full-time point guard duties.
There are several players hoping to provide Hanlan with some help on the wing. Lonnie Jackson was the team’s top three-point threat a year ago. He and Southern Miss graduate transfer Aaron Brown are likely to earn spots in the starting rotation. There are talented shooters as well in Patrick Heckmann, Garland Owens, and Alex Dragicevich who all saw quality minutes off the bench last season. At 6-8, Dragicevich gives Christian the option to use a smaller, four-guard line-up that can certainly space the floor.
Inside is where the Eagles really need to find an answer to try and replace Ryan Anderson. Eddie Odio brings energy to the forward position but isn’t much of a threat offensively. Will Magarity is probably the most talented of their bigs but has to compete for minutes with KC Caudill and Dennis Clifford, who missed all but three games last season due to a knee injury. Freshman Idy Diallo brings even more size upfront and could steal away minutes as well.
Boston College has shooters on the perimeter but not many guys who can get to the tin or a real true low post scoring presence. It’s hard to imagine things getting much uglier than last season, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/16 vs. UMass
11/20 vs. New Mexico (Puerto Rico Tip-Off)
11/21 vs. West Virginia/George Mason (Puerto Rico Tip-Off)
11/23 vs. UConn/Charleston/Dayton/Texas A&M (Puerto Rico Tip-Off)
12/5 vs. Providence
12/21 vs. USC
1/14 vs. Harvard
OTHER ACC PREVIEWS:
#14 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
AAC PREVIEWS:
#1 UCONN HUSKIES
#7 UCF KNIGHTS
#8 SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
#9 HOUSTON COUGARS
#10 TULANE GREEN WAVE
#11 EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
SEC PREVIEWS:
#1 KENTUCKY WILDCATS
BIG 12 PREVIEWS:
#1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS
PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
#1 ARIZONA WILDCATS
#4 UCLA BRUINS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.