Bryant Preview + 4 Things to Watch

Fans will get their first taste of BC Basketball Saturday at 4 pm in an exhibition game against the Bryant Bulldogs. It will the first of three scrimmages for BC, with match-ups against Seton Hall and Stony Brook coming Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, respectively.

In what was supposed to be a “secret” scrimmage--played away from the eyes of the public, possibly in an underground bunker--the gates of Conte Forum will be open for all to gaze upon this revamped BC squad. With five newcomers on this BC team, this will likely be nothing more than a rust-buster, and expect a lot of lineup tinkering and adjustments.

Either way, this is fans’ first chance to get an in-person look at Teddy Hawkins, Steffon Mitchell, Vin Baker Jr., and Luke Kraljevic. There will likely be a lot of turnovers and defensive issues, but excitement nevertheless. That being said, BC should still win this one, and a win would give the Eagles a taste of victory--and set the tempo for a season with sky-high expectation (for BC standards).

For those that can make it to the game, be sure to bring some cash (admission is free), as donations will be collected for hurricane relief charities.

2016-2017 Record: 12-20 (9-9), 5th in NEC

Postseason: Lost in 1st Round of NEC Tournament

Biggest Win: Defeated Mount St. Mary’s (20-16) 72-71 January 5th

Worst Losses: Lost to St. Francis (NY) (4-27) 80-77, Lost to Dartmouth (7-20) 75-69

Power Five Record: 0-2. Notre Dame, Northwestern

Returning Scorer: Adam Grant, SO, G, 13.4 ppg

Biggest Departure: Nisre Zouzoua, JR, G, 20.3 ppg (Transferred to Nevada)

Newcomer: Ryan Layman, 6-7 G, 2 Stars, Tilton School (NH), BABC

Thoughts:

Former BC player and Assistant Coach Tim O’Shea will be entering his 10th season at the helm of this Bryant program. In his first nine years, O’Shea has accumulated an overall record of 84-133, with a low of 2-26 in 2011-12 and a high of 19-12 in 2012-13. Last season, the Bulldogs were somewhere in the middle, finishing 12-20 with a respectable 9-9 record in NEC play.

Although they finished 5th in the NEC last year, the Bulldogs had the hottest offense in the conference, scoring a league high 75.7 ppg on 44.1% shooting from the field. Unfortunately, their defense couldn’t keep up with their offense--and Bryant finished with the second worst defense in the NEC and a bottom sixty defense in the nation.

To make matters worse, Junior guard Nisre Zouzoua (Boston Trinity HS), who led the Bulldogs in scoring at 20.3 ppg, has taken his talents to Nevada--meaning the Bulldogs will lose about 30% of their scoring. Strangely, the Bulldog’s third leading scorer (and tallest player at 6-8), Marcel Pettway (Hoosac School, NY), has also transferred to Nevada.

So after this mass exodus into the desert, Tim O’Shea will be heading into the season without almost 50% of his scoring from last year, his best overall player in Zouzoua, and one of his premier defenders in Pettway--yikes.

This season, O’Shea will be relying heavily on Sophomore guard Adam Grant (Norfolk Collegiate, VA) and RS-Senior forward Bosko Kostur (Australia). Grant, standing 6-1, was one of the least efficient players on the team last season, posting a 13.7 Player Efficiency Rating (15.0 is average) on the season. Shooting just 40.3% from the field on 11 shots per game, Grant is more of a scrapper than a pure scorer--he fights for every ball and isn’t afraid to get into the paint. For his size, it’s very impressive Grant averaged 1.1 offensive rebounds per game last season, so expect him to be crashing the glass.

Bosko Kostur, who started in 17 games for the Bulldogs last season, is a more traditional stretch-wing, which is a position the Eagles struggled mightily defending last year. A 42% three point shooter, Kostur buried a three in 19 of the Bulldogs’ 32 games, including a 5-8, 26 point explosion against LIU-Brooklyn. Kostur will be a nice test for Steffon Mitchell and Teddy Hawkins, and hopefully they can prove they’re better defenders than Connar Tava was.

All in all, Bryant has some decent prospects, but they’re basically your run-of-the-mill, sub-par, mid-major squad at this point. Don’t expect anything amazing from them--but expect them to put up a fight and play with physicality and speed--which is exactly what you want in a scrimmage like this. This game will be chance for the Eagles to test out their defense and to get the newcomers adjusted to the speed of the game. Not that the outcome will really matter in this game, but the Eagles really have no business winning by less than ten points.

Easily the most hyped graduate transfer in years for BC, Deontae “Teddy” Hawkins should automatically slot in as the third best player on this team. A 6-9 power-forward who can shoot the ball and post it up, Hawkins will give the Eagles versatility on both sides of the ball that they haven’t had since the days of Jared Dudley--at least in theory. Hawkins will be asked to do a lot this season, but right now, we just want him to feel at home at Conte Forum. If Teddy wants to be as successful as he was at Illinois State, he is going to have to buy into Coach Christian’s system on both sides of the ball. At Illinois State, Teddy was the alpha dog, leading the team in points, field goal attempts, and rebounds--all with the second highest usage rating. At BC, Hawkins will likely play third fiddle to Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman, and how Teddy reacts to his newfound complementary role will likely impact the entire BC season. It may not be instantaneous, but Hawkins establishing himself and becoming comfortable with his role on this BC team will have huge ramifications on this team’s success.

In a more literal sense, hopefully Teddy can adjust to Conte Forum’s rims. At Redbird Arena--Illinois State’s home arena--Teddy was a significantly better shooter than in any other gym. In home games last season, Hawkins shot 54% from 2 and 49.4% from 3, while in away/neutral games, those splits dropped to 47% from 2 and 39.7% from 3.

It’s certainly natural to shoot better in an arena you’re more comfortable with, but if Hawkins doesn't feel at home in Conte Forum, we may see his overall efficiency dip more than expected.

Jordan Chatman is now 24 years old. On the good side, Jordan’s game should be a lot more finely tuned than the younger players, as he is more used to playing in his full size body. Jordan knows his limitations and doesn’t try anything insane—rarely turning the ball over and not taking any wild shots. On the bad side, what you see is most likely what you get with Jordan Chatman. His defense is solid for his size, but the rebounding statistics are not kind to him and he is pretty lackluster inside the three point arc. Don’t expect Jordan to turn into a Danny Green or a Kris Middleton anytime soon. Jordan is an offensive spark-plug off the bench who can provide you with instant offense and can guard 2-3 on the defensive end. Coming off the bench, you need that kind of player, and Jordan can be very good in that role. Hitting 41.7% of his threes this season, we are unlikely to see any major improvements on the three point shooting, and it will be more important to not see those numbers fall.

However, with the loss of AJ Turner, Chatman will be asked to be a lot more than a spot up guy off the bench, and he may very well be this team’s starting small forward. In a way, that is a good thing, as Chatman will be playing fourth banana to Bowman, Robinson, and Hawkins, and won’t be asked to create his own offense on the second unit. But now, Chatman is going to be guarded by some of the best defensive players in the country, and not being able to put the ball on the floor and create space will be a big disadvantage. Last season, Chatman attempted just 69 twos on the year compared to 139 threes. Worse, he shot just 42% from inside the arc last year, and got to the line just 46 times. In the ACC, the starting small forwards are long and they’re physical, and Chatman will have to show some sort of ability to put the ball on the floor if he wants to keep the defense honest. In the past few practices, it’s clear that Chatman is aware he needs to develop an ability to attack the basket and make a play for himself or a teammate if he wants to prove he is a valuable starter in this league. He doesn’t have to become James Harden, but if Chatman can put the ball on the floor, and become a smidgen of a slasher, Jim Christian’s playbook will open up a lot more.

In a game like this, Chatman will get his first real chance to test out his handle at game-speed, so let’s hope he shows us some positive flashes of things to come.

In terms of athleticism and sheer physical potential, Sagay in the best player on this BC team. With a chiseled 6’7” frame and long arms, Sagay looks like an NBA player akin to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Despite such promising physical gifts, Sagay is still extremely raw and is a lot closer to Bruno Caboclo than MKG. Last season, Sagay saw just 67 minutes on a BC squad that saw Garland Owens log 294 minutes. When Sagay was on the floor, he looked like a deer-in-the-headlights, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Although he flashed an ability to shoot the deep ball, going 4-7 from three on the year, it’s really impossible to call Sagay a shooter with such a small sample size--especially when he shot just 4-10 from the free throw line last season.

This season, however, things will likely be different. With AJ Turner gone and the Eagles relying on players like Jordan Chatman to defend the wing, Mike Sagay will have a real opportunity to contribute to this BC team for a good 10-15 minutes a night. I’m not saying he has to be perfect, or that he even has to be above-average, but to get a repeat of last season would be a disappointment for a player with such natural potential.

If Sagay can come out in a game like this and show that he has some spacial awareness on the court and can contribute in BC’s defensive system, then he may be a real rotation piece for this squad. If he still looks lost on defense and too raw on offense, then we may have to keep dreaming.

So far, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Steffon Mitchell from the BC coaching staff. Although they lost AJ Turner, this staff clearly believes they will be just fine with Mitchell, and that Mitchell can be one of the best defensive players in the ACC. Described as an amazing rebounder with great defensive awareness, expectations are as high as they could be for the 371st ranked recruit--and maybe for good reason.

Although his offense may be a work in progress, it won’t matter much because Mitchell is out there to be the glue guy and grab rebounds. Rare is it that a freshman can step into an ACC program and be considered the best system-defender on the team, but that’s exactly what the Eagles’ staff believes they have in Mitchell. Practice, however, is a lot different than a game, and this will be Mitchell’s first test as the “Luke Kuechly” of this BC defense. If Mitchell can show flashes as the defensive leader of this squad, then the Eagles may have found their next diamond-in-the-rough. Against a school like Bryant, Mitchell will have a physical advantage against anyone he is guarding, and he has a perfect opportunity to prove he can be the next great grit-and-grind BC player.