Boston College cruised to their second straight win to open the season Tuesday when they cruised past St. Francis, 72-44. For the second game in a row, Tyler Roche led the way with 19 points, hitting five of six three-pointers and 7 of his 12 shots overall. Reggie Jackson chipped in with 17 points on 11 shots, while Joe Trapani and Josh Southern each added 13.
Some observations:
- Reggie Jackson isn't a point guard. when Biko Paris was on the bench, Jackson had most of the ball-handling duties. He had trouble facilitating the offense and getting his teammates involved, even if he did had seven assists (and four turnovers). On the plus side, Jackson went hard to the hoop and hit some acrobatic shots in the lane. His outside jump shots left something to be desired though. Last year Jackson made 51.8% of his 2-point attempts and just 27.3% of his 3-point shots.
- Tyler Roche is BC's best outside shooter. Joe Trapani struggled from the outside in this game, while Roche lit it out from outside. However, most of Roche's offensive value comes from his 3-point shooting, while Trapani has a more versatile offensive game.
- Although Boston College overpowered St. Francis, they had a lack of athleticism without Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji. Biko Paris is quick, and Reggie Jackson can jump, but other than that BC's starting lineup was lacking quickness. Josh Southern is big and shows a much-improved offensive game, but he is still more of a power big man than a quickness one. Dallas Elmore showed an ability to get up and down the court, but his minutes will likely be minimal once Sanders and Raji return.
- Evan Ravenel gives BC another body inside. Ravenel had trouble putting the ball in the hoop, shooting just two for seven, but he grabbed rebounds and even had a blocked shot. He had trouble at times rotating defensively, but I am confident the coaching staff can work with him on that.
Also of note, Boston College officially announced the signing of three players to make up next year's incoming class. This is a promising sign after Skinner signed no players last year. The three players are Kevin Noreen, Brady Heslip, and Papa Samba Ndao. Noreen is a 6'10" forward from Minnesota who will provide necessary size for the Eagles, and was the first recruit Skinner added. Heslip is a 6'2" Canadian point guard who is in the nephew of Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano. Heslip also has an impressive sneaker collection. Skinner's third recruit, Ndao, is a 6'9" forward who plays his high school ball in Florida, although is originally from Senegal. He played for the Senegalese under-18 team in this year's African Championships.
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