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By Sara Normand
March 10, 2005
Al Skinner is a consistent man and coach. You always know what to expect from him, you always know how he’s going to react to something, and you always know what lineup he’s going to use—the same one he’s used in 25 of the 28 games so far. However, what he and Boston College have accomplished this year is anything but expected.
Flashback: two years ago at this point, the Eagles were 17-10 overall. Last year, they were 22-8. This season they’ve improved to 24-4. From the outside, it looks like a consistent, gradual upgrade. Oh contraire. Boston College won 20 games in a row and 9 of their first 10 conference games, marking the best start in Eagle history. 20 opponents tried but couldn’t shoot down the Eagles. 20 teams couldn’t put up more points than the Big East demon. 20 teams wanted to be the one. Well, it wasn’t until February 8 that Notre Dame became the one.
Make no mistake about it though; the Fighting Irish were barely the one. At the time, BC was only one of two schools remaining undefeated, and their 20-win streak was snapped by only a 3-point margin, 68-65.
When it comes down to close games, it’s usually the coaching that can make or break the result. But don’t blame Skinner for this loss. In his eighth year with the Eagles, they are 5-1 in games decided by four points or less. They don’t blow out their opponents but know when it’s crunch time. In fact, the Eagles are generally a second-half team, trailing at the half 11 times and having to rally in the second half 8 times. Even more, the best forward tandem in the nation, Craig Smith and Jared Dudley, score most of their points after halftime. What does Skinner say or do at halftime that is so inspiring to his team?!
Skinner does know what he’s doing. After all, how many college coaches are 16th in scoring and 9th in assists at the University of Massachusetts? How many college coaches have their #30 jersey retired there alongside Julius Erving’s? How many college coaches were ABA Rookies of the Year with the New Jersey Nets? How many college coaches led these Nets to a 1976 ABA Championship? How many college coaches played ball in the ‘70s at UMass with coaching legend Rick Pitino? How many college coaches still remain good friends with Pitino? And how many college coaches are fortunate enough to be nicknamed “Bunny” by Pitino? I’m pretty sure there’s only one.
Not many coaches are as laid back and calm as Skinner either. The stereotypical college coach is loud, feisty, referee-hounding, and temperamental. Not Skinner. It’s not in his style to yell at his players. In practice, he uses minimal volume for coaching, and if he has a problem with a certain player, he will mumble it to that particular person instead of screaming it in front of the whole team. He doesn’t see it necessary to embarrass his players. Even more interesting, not many coaches run late for their own practices, but with Skinner, it happens occasionally. Yet not everyone agrees with his coaching philosophy. When Skinner coached at Rhode Island, people questioned if he was really even coaching because he was so unruffled and composed all the time, but he sure silenced his critics after this year after, the fourth time in five years that the Eagles are headed to the NCAA Tournament.
Skinner is also an independent thinker when it comes to running plays and recruiting. Several years ago, a chubby 16-year-old kid entered his senior year in high school in Los Angeles, California. Other coaches disregarded him because of his physical makeup and young age. Skinner did not, and now in his junior season with Boston College, Craig Smith leads the team in points and rebounds and is part of the All-Big East 1st Team for the second straight season.
So why isn’t anybody giving Skinner and BC the credit they deserve? Why did they receive no attention at the beginning of the year after nearly beating Georgia Tech, a national champion finalist, in the 2nd round of the Big Dance last year? This year’s Eagle team lost only one starter from that year! Why are people writing off the fact that this year they won a share of the Big East crown with Connecticut? Why does it not matter that they earned a #1 seed and a first round bye in one of the toughest basketball conference tournaments? These are all valid questions. The answer could have to do with the fact that BC almost lost to Yale, Kent State, and Providence.
Or it could have to do with the fact that they didn’t make it past the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament after securing the top seed. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ coziness in the first half of games came back to haunt them against West Virginia on Thursday. Just 19 seconds into the second half, BC was down by as many as 25 points. No need to panic, right? Wrong. This time the Eagles’ second half runs of 10-0 and 11-5 weren’t enough to pull ahead of the Mountaineers, who knocked off the top seed 78-72 and sealed themselves an NCAA berth with the upset. Even more impressive was the fact that WVU had to play without its leading scorer Tyrone Sally.
BC’s record of 4-4 after its 20-0 start is nothing spectacular either, and the Eagles sure didn’t pull it together in the tournament to leave the committee with a good taste in their mouths before Selection Sunday. Big production and lots of rebounds from Smith and Dudley will be key, as Smith had only six in the loss to Pittsburgh. Shot-blocking freshman Sean Williams will have to use his long arms to send their opponents packing too.
But one of the hardest things to do in college basketball is win on the road in front of thousands of hostile fans. However, Boston College managed an 8-2 away record in the regular season. If they can use this unfriendly experience to their advantage in the NCAA tournament, their stubbornness and hard wills could take precedent as they refuse to go down easily. While this is the fifth time ever that the Eagles entered the Big East tournament with the top seed, unfortunately it was their last. Though Boston College is moving to the ACC next season, Skinner and his Eagles are still hungry for the last laugh, aiming to finish Dancing as that blissful number—one.
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