ROACH: New Era on the Horizon?

When first-year head coach Patrick Chambers came to Boston University’s Charles River Campus last summer, he hoped to usher in a “new era” of men’s basketball at BU. Chambers’ arrival, some members of Terrier Nation surely thought, would mean more enthusiasm, more support and, most importantly, more wins.

In short, the time for what Chambers had called “a basketball culture change” was upon BU.

Now, nearly a year removed from his arrival at BU, it would appear as though Chambers has put his squad in a position to make hard-court contests relevant to Terrier sports culture.

It won’t be easy. But Chambers knew that much coming in. In fact, after last semester’s “Terrier Tip-Off” celebration, the head hoops coach admitted that he &- and his players &- faced an uphill battle in their quest to bring basketball fervor to a campus largely enthralled with ice hockey. Coaches and players would work their hardest to bring wins back home, Chambers promised. But the support and the enthusiasm?

“We can’t do [that] without you,” Chambers told the crowd that October night.

So, with the Terriers’ disappointing 83-70 defeat still fresh in mind, let’s take time to step back and examine the current state of BU men’s basketball.

Yes, the University of Vermont’s dominating effort Saturday afternoon (led by Catamount senior forward Marqus Blakely, who posted a 24-point, 18 rebound performance) put an end to the BU’s surprising postseason run (and, most notably, squashed any hopes of a Terrier ticket to March’s biggest dance).

And yes, on the heels of BU’s 87-56 shellacking of Hartford University and its 70-63 come-from-behind victory against the No.1 seeded Stony Brook University, it was hard for Terrier fans, myself included, not to hope for a similar result against the second-ranked Vermont Catamounts.

But, even if Terrier Nation finds itself unable to shake the sinking feeling of a golden opportunity missed, I urge fans not to be so quick in forgetting BU’s impressive 2009-10 campaign. Chambers’ men, led by junior forward John Holland, performed pretty well against some of the nation’s “elite” teams (posting a largely unexpected “W’ against Indiana University back in November) and found itself in the America East Championship game (for the first time since 2003), against all odds.
Simply put: BU did its best to hold up its end of the bargain &- the Terriers brought home some wins.

Consequently, for the first time since coming to BU in 2007, I found myself as excited for a basketball contest as I was for an impending Hockey East tilt, Saturday’s HE tournament matchup between the men’s ice hockey team and Merrimack College (unfortunately, both ended in disappointing fashions).

That in itself might be a glimmer of hope for Coach Chambers.
I am, by no means, suggesting that men’s basketball will ever achieve the same level of popularity as ice hockey at BU. Similarly, I have no idea whether my level of enthusiasm heading into this weekend’s championship game was shared by a large part of the BU faithful (it was, however, nice to see and hear some of my fellow Terriers that made the trip to Vermont’s Patrick Gymnasium).

All I can say for sure, Terrier Nation, is that it’s about time to get fired up for our university’s basketball program.

While AE teams may never stack up to the squads in the nation’s more top-heavy conferences (the ACC, the Big East, etc.), there is no doubt that the AE &- and its players &- can produce well-played, exciting basketball contests. Case-in-point: Saturday’s contest. Trailing by 11 points after the break, the Terriers mixed in some drama by using a 22-12 run to pull to within one, with 10:20 remaining.

Still not enough for you? For a terrific individual performance, look no further than Holland’s 43-point onslaught against the Fightin’ Blue Hens of the University of Delaware on Feb. 20, or his 32-point outburst against conference foe Hartford.

The bottom line is this: BU has some exciting players, and they’re led by an enthusiastic coach who, it would seem, is hard not to like. The Terriers, led by nine seniors, worked their tails off this season to win games and put themselves in a position to make the NCAA Tournament.
Now it’s our turn, as fans, to hold up our end of the bargain by showing BU the support that it deserves.

Next season won’t be easy. It never is. The Terriers will watch as nine seniors &- including the sharp-shooting guard Corey Lowe depart, and a host of freshman and transfers arrive.

It may not be easy, but with Holland and Chambers returning for another season, one thing’s for sure &- it will be interesting and worth watching.
It’s time to start watching.

Thank you once again Coach Chambers and the BU seniors, for an exciting, enjoyable 2009-10 campaign.