FLAGLER: Chambers brings high hopes

Before the Terrier Tip-Off on Oct. 23, I was experiencing a strange mix of emotions. On one level, I was excited, and not just for all the free stuff.

This was the my first chance to see new men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers speak to a huge crowd of BU fans. I could finally judge personally, not just through his blog or his Twitter account, if this guy really had what it took to bring wins, huge crowds and conference titles to BU. I took it as a good sign that wristbands for the Tip-Off sold out quickly. I couldn’t find one anywhere on campus the afternoon of the event.

But when I arrived at Case Gymnasium that night, I realized my expectations might have been too high. The crowd at the event was huge, but when the men’s basketball highlight tape started showing clips of John Holland dunks or Corey Lowe 3-pointers, I couldn’t help noticing a completely empty Case, or a seemingly emptier Agganis Arena, behind them.

The pattern for BU sports events seems to be that these early-semester events like the Tip-Off or the Terrier Tailgate in September always draw a huge crowd, and then the attendance figures slowly dwindle throughout the season. At a time when I should have been celebrating the official beginning to the basketball season, I became grumpy and sullen. I leaned to the person next to me and whispered, ‘Do you think Case will ever have a crowd like this again?’

But I stopped sulking as soon as Coach Chambers sprinted onto the court. He held t-shirts in both hands and immediately began waving his arms and commanding the crowd to get on their feet. ‘I SAY BU, YOU SAY TERRIERS!’ he hoarsely screamed into the microphone. He even hopped onto the scorer’s table, ripped off his blazer and began firing t-shirts into the stands.

This spectacle was a shock for BU basketball fans used to the more reserved demeanor of former coach Dennis Wolff. Last year, Wolff said a few short words about the team and left to a smattering of applause and a few cheers. Many in attendance forgot about the basketball team when it began its season a couple weeks later. It wasn’t that Wolff didn’t care about fans coming out to see the games; he just chose to focus more on what was happening on the court, and that approach didn’t fit with a student fan base with a reputation for being disinterested and apathetic.

Chambers has already achieved the difficult task of exciting that fan base by showing he’s committed to winning right now. He mentioned in his brief speech at the Terrier Tip-Off that one of his goals is to sell out Agganis Arena. Anyone who attended a basketball game at Agganis last year might find that idea ridiculous, but the goal itself is irrelevant. Even if it doesn’t happen this season, Chambers still showed that he has complete faith in his team and sees no ceiling in what they can achieve.

Chambers’s aggressive approach reflects the way college basketball has changed in recent years. The pressure to win and win now is especially important in power basketball conferences such as the Big East or the ACC because no one knows if a player will stay or declare for the NBA Draft at the end of the season.’

Though the NBA isn’t an issue in conferences such as the America East, that doesn’t mean the pressure to win is any less intense. Just look at how much Binghamton coach Kevin Broadus risked to win last season.

Instead of resorting to questionable recruiting practices, Chambers is banking on fan support and the leadership of BU’s eight seniors as his formula to build success. He has sent the message to Terrier fans that he wants an NCAA Tournament berth just as badly as we do, even though it will be his first season and fans have been waiting since 2002.

Although Chambers has taken the first step to building the Terrier men’s basketball program into a perennial America East powerhouse, he still has a lot to prove on the court. Chambers will bring a faster paced game from Villanova than Terrier fans are used to, and BU has the personnel to make the system work.

Athletic big men such as John Holland and Jake O’Brien can run the floor and step out to take jump shots, creating matchup problems for other teams. Meanwhile, guards such as Tyler Morris, Corey Lowe and Carlos Strong should see some open 3-point looks in a faster-paced system. The Terriers certainly have the talent to deserve their preseason No. 1 ranking in the conference.

That doesn’t mean we should start printing BU’s dance ticket just yet, but if the team starts strong and the fans at the Terrier Tip-Off are as loud at games as they were last Friday, maybe Chambers’s vision of a sold-out Agganis isn’t as far away as we think.