In his second year at Boston College, head coach Steve Donahue has his work cut out for him.
In his inaugural year with the Eagles, Donahue inherited an experienced array of players recruited by former head coach Al Skinner and led them to a 21-13 record. This season Boston College, which tied for fourth in the conference last year, returns no starters and only two players who saw regular court time, both of whom are sophomores.
Danny Rubin, who played last season as a walk-on, is the leading returning scorer. He averaged 4.1 points and as 1.6 rebounds per game while backcourt-mate Moton added 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds.
Donahue will fill out his roster with a remarkable nine freshmen. The group of nine will be called upon immediately fill out the empty frontcourt, but unfortunately for Donahue, only one of his rookies ranked among ESPN’s top 100 in the Class of 2011.
Power forward Ryan Anderson stands 6-foot-8 will lead the group of youngsters, and he’ll be joined at forward by a pair of centers. The better of the two, who projects to crack the starting lineup is California native Kyle Caudill, who will look to shed some bulk to add quickness after nearly reaching 300 pounds. Dennis Clifford will come off the bench for the Eagles, and he brings a much skinnier frame and more varied skill set.
In the backcourt, Donahue brings in a pair of West Coast products. Jordan Daniels measures just 5-foot-8 but shows outstanding quickness, especially off the dribble, and Lonnie Jackson brings a 6-foot-3 frame and quality shooter’s touch.
On the wings, Boston College adds three 6-foot-7 rookies, rangy shooter Eddie Odio, Phillips Exeter postgrad Ryan Kilcullen, and Philadelphia product John Cain Carney.
The wild card in the group is 6-foot-6 wing player Patrick Heckmann, who brings excellent athleticism across the Atlantic from Germany. He averaged 11.8 points per game last year with his club team, TV Langen, and led the German U-18 national team with 12.3 points per game during the 2010 European Championship. Another potential scorer for the Eagles will be Matt Humphrey, a transfer from Oregon, who averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Ducks two years ago.
While Boston College has plenty of potential, their lack of talent will likely condemn them to a last-place conference finish.
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