seedy-ga,
Their 2001/02 stats were 20-11. Their 2000/01 stats were 27-4. The key
players in the team Agbai, Bell, Walls and Sidney were with them for
both of those seasons, yet the success was significantly different.
Just goes to show you how much a team gelling and believing in itself
can do for you.
I'd look for them to hit right in the middle of those two statistics -
23-8. Why? Just simply because I think that they overperformed in
2000-01 and slightly underperformed in 2001-02. Their 2000-01 season
was put into perspective in the final play of their NCAA tournament
play, when, down by 3 to USC they tried (and failed - not that it
matters) to shoot a 2 point shot with 5 seconds left on the clock.
They had reached dizzying heights that season pulling off
unprecedented wins (including defeating UConn for the first time in 10
years or something - I will have to ask my wife exactly how long it
was since they last beat UConn).
The following season, reality set in - although they were all talented
players, attitude is not enough to secure you a strong tournament
play. To maintain a winning strategy you have to better yourself and I
think that the team rested on its laurels a little too much. With Troy
Bell playing the way he was in the 2000-01 season, people took notice
of the team and put a lot of effort into figuring out how to contain
him in the following season. And the rest of the team thought that he
would be able to pull them through instead of thinking up better ways
of getting the ball to him (or doing the work themselves). It's not
that they played poorly - but to stay up there, they needed to work
harder than they did.
I think they have a lot to prove this season - that the 2000-01 season
was not a fluke in BC's basketball history and hopefully they will
have learned a little more discipline over the off season.
I'm hoping that Ryan Sidney will really step up his game - he showed
that he was a talented player during his freshman season but also that
he is a young and overconfident player (as seen in his courtside
interviews until they wired his mouth shut (!)). If he can step up and
work alongside Bell and Agbai in the same way that he did in the first
season, then the Eagles will have a 1-2-3 punch that should make them
tough to beat. And by taking the pressure of Bell alone to achieve
they will give him the freedom to play his game at the pace he wants
to.
calebu2-ga
BC Eagles Homepage :
http://bceagles.ocsn.com/index-main.html
BC Mens Basketball Homepage :
http://bceagles.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/bc-m-baskbl-body.html
BC Mens Basketball 2001/02 Stats :
http://bceagles.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/bc-m-baskbl-CumulativeStats.html
BC Mens Basketball 2002/03 Schedule :
http://bceagles.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/bc-m-baskbl-sched.html
ESPN.com's stats on BC Mens Basketball
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/teamstats?teamId=103 |
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