After a 5-0 start in ACC play, Boston College sat atop the conference standings with whispers of serious ACC title contention beginning to amplify.
Those whispers were all but silenced Wednesday when the Eagles dismissed center Sean Williams and forward Akida McLain from the team.
Both players had a history of off-the-court issues and had each been suspended twice previously during their careers for violating team rules.
An early front-runner for National Defensive Player of the Year, the 6-foot-10 Williams had been a prolific presence in the paint that will be impossible for BC to replace. In 15 games this season, Williams tallied an ACC-best 75 blocks while averaging 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
The gaping hole left in the Eagles lineup became immediately apparent, as they limped to a 74-54 loss to No. 19 Clemson Saturday.
Despite such a serious blow to the Eagles ACC title and NCAA Tournament hopes, head coach Al Skinner remains confident that Boston College can adjust to the front court loss of Williams and the 6-foot-8 McLain.
"The most important thing is that some people that didn't play, we have to get them into the position quickly to play and have a bigger role," Skinner said. "It's not something that happens overnight, but I would think that hopefully somewhat shortly we'll be the team that we want to be."
Entering into the heart of BC's ACC slate-with two games each against Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech and one against North Carolina and Clemson remaining-it will be a trial by fire for some of Skinner's least experienced players.
Six-foot-11 Tyrelle Blair, currently averaging 10.5 minutes per game, will need to suddenly step into a major role, while 6-foot-6 freshman Shamari Spears will now enter the starting lineup, Skinner said. Skinner also named sophomore guard Marquez Haynes and freshman forward Tyler Roche as players that will see an increase in minutes.
The speed and success with which these players and the rest of BC's bench are able to contribute through the final 11 games of the season will decide if the Eagles are dancing in March or sitting at home thinking about what might have been.
"I'm not looking for our core of individuals to do anything more," Skinner said. "What I'm looking for is we have to get some play off the bench, and I'm asking those guys to step it up a little bit as far as what they can give us-defensively, rebounding, some of the intangibles you need in order to have a good club. That's really what we're looking for, and hopefully we'll be able to get that."
But it remains to be seen if the Eagles can recover from the psychological loss of one of their key players at such an important juncture of the season. The adjustments Boston College will need to make in the coming days and weeks will likely put increased pressure on ACC Player of the Year hopeful Jared Dudley, who continues to play with a stress fracture in his left foot. Dudley will now need to further elevate his offensive and defensive play from the 19.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game he has been averaging.
"The thing about it is that some of your perimeter players are probably going to get a couple more shots than they have been," Skinner said. "And I've asked our people up front to get a couple more rebounds, and we'll see if we can do that. The scoring I'm not concerned about, the rebounding is a factor for us."
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