Two years ago, the setting was identical: George Washington University visited Agganis Arena to open the season against Boston University.
Of course there was anticipation, but the usual excitement that complements that first tip-off was marred by a flurry of uncertainties. The 2006-07 Terriers were mostly composed of a talented yet inexperienced freshman class. The team returned an average of 16.8 points per game that season, lost to GW (70-57) and recorded 12 wins.
In 2007-08, despite the Terriers being picked to finish first in America East in the preseason coaches’ poll, doubts still surrounded the fortitude of Dennis Wolff’s team. Factor in multiple injuries sustained by key players at the season’s onset and again the Terriers failed to earn a spot in the postseason, accumulating 14 wins.
Toward the end of last year, however, the inexperience dissolved. Turnovers were minimized, extra passes were completed and the defense was suffocating. A redefined offense led to an unprecedented turnaround and ended BU’s season on the brink of an America East championship game berth following a 9-3 record in the final 12 games.’ Still, it wasn’t where the Terriers wanted to be.
‘I haven’t been happy with any of the last three years,’ Wolff said. ‘I never went back at the end of any of those years and said, ‘Boy these were really good years for BU basketball.’ At the same time, you talk to some people and you feel like the bottom has totally fallen out.’
So while the setting for the beginning of the 2008-09 men’s basketball team ‘-‘- the 100th season in BU’s history ‘-‘- is identical to that of two years prior, the circumstances and expectations are vastly different and contrary to the ‘bottom falling out.’
Rather, the foundation has been painstakingly built through numerous impatient shots, heartbreaking overtime losses, ill-fated timeouts, interior breakdowns, untimely injuries and flat-out ugly games. These Terriers have taken their lumps, and now that they’re healthy ‘-‘- both literally and figuratively ‘-‘- the corner is theirs to turn.
In one of the first meetings he had with the media this year, Wolff (entering his 15th season as the longest-tenured coach in BU history) said ‘you’d have to be a fool not to recognize what the goals of this team have to be.’
In case it isn’t apparent from Wolff’s quote, that goal is winning a conference championship. It’s been six seasons since BU appeared in an NCAA Tournament game and three since its last NIT appearance.
While the postseason mantra has probably been the same for every one of BU’s 99 previous seasons, what sets the upcoming campaign apart from the two most recent years is that this time there are no excuses. This time the goal seems well within reach.
‘What I’ve tried to talk to this group about is, for whatever reasons we’ve had some ways to rationalize what’s gone on the last two years ‘-‘- youth or injuries or whatever,’ Wolff said. ‘Now it’s time for us to play the type of basketball we think we are capable of playing based on who we have.’
By no fault of its own, BU’s junior class ‘-‘- which includes Carlos Strong, Scott Brittain, co-captain Tyler Morris and is spearheaded by the team’s returning scorer and unanimous preseason all-conference selection, fellow co-captain Corey Lowe ‘-‘- has been awarded the burden of returning the program to prominence.’
There has been some growth [in the junior class],’ associate head coach Orlando Vandross said. ‘I think this group of guys is battle-tested and I think they’ve finally figured it out, especially during the stretch last year.’
This season will present BU’s juniors with their third opportunity to achieve a winning season. And they’ve got the widest array of weapons with which to do it ‘-‘- a fully healthy roster, more than 60 college basketball games’ worth of experience and an improved supporting cast.
Only two players on the roster last season are gone, and neither were starters ‘-‘- Max Gotzler and Ibrahim Konate. The returning unit accounted for 94.9 percent of BU’s points last season, 99.9 percent of its 3-pointers and possesses an ingrained understanding of what it takes to play defense in a Wolff-coached system.
In addition to the powerful junior class contingent, BU fronts the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, sophomore John Holland, senior co-captains Marques Johnson and Matt Wolff as well as two freshmen forwards about whom Wolff speaks fondly ‘-‘- Jake O’Brien (BC High) and Jeff Pelage (The Pine Crest School).
‘They picked us first in the league last year and they picked us first in the league this year, but at the end of the day, that means nothing,’ Morris, who is completely recovered from shin splints he suffered through last season, said. ‘There’s anticipation for what’s going to happen, but it’s up to the team to make it happen.’
Two years ago, youthful enthusiasm and optimism for what was to come carried the Terriers through a difficult season. Injuries marred their most recent campaign. Now those oft looked-forward-to days ‘-‘- the ones fans began imagining as early as watching Strong score 22 points in that loss to GW ‘-‘- are here and the season will provide an opportunity to observe exactly how far the program and its players have come.
‘I feel like every game this year is going to be a statement game,’ Lowe said. ‘With every one of these teams the past couple of years, with the exception of some of the teams like [the University of Pittsburgh], we should have been right there. We shouldn’t have been blown out like we were. We’ve got a lot to prove.’
