Terriers ready to spank young Bobcats

Boston University men’s basketball coach Dennis Wolff has often regretted being unable to find enough time for his two freshmen players this year, but his counterpart on the other bench tonight would love to have such a problem. Finding time for only two new players would seem as easy as a layup for Ohio University coach Tim O’Shea.

Instead, as the Bobcats’ head man looks at his team in pregame warm-ups before it takes on BU (1-3) tonight at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, he’ll see six players new to the program this year, all vying for an on-court audition.

But the infusion of talent must seem like a mixed bag for O’Shea.

On one hand, he’s able to put his own recruiting stamp on a team that has struggled during his two years as coach to live up to the 95-year old program’s storied history in the competitive Mid-American Conference. Despite the talents of rebounding beast Brandon Hunter, who is now a member of the Boston Celtics, the Bobcats had a 14-16 record last year after a 17-11 season in 2001-2002.

But on the other hand, O’Shea has to find out if six newcomers deserve playing time, which is one reason his team is off to a 1-3 start. Eight players have started games for Ohio (compared to six for BU) and 10 players are averaging double digits in minutes (eight for BU) after just four games.

Of Ohio’s six new players, three are freshmen, while the other half consists of transfers, including two from junior college. None are in the top four in scoring, nor are any averaging more than 20 minutes per game, though they are all averaging more than six minutes per game. The ever-evolving rotation at Ohio does have a few mainstays the three seniors on the team.

Forward Delvar Barrett was the subject of numerous national stories last season for his off-court courage in taking care of his diabetic mother, who is going blind. On the court this season, he leads the team in rebounds with 5.6 per game and is averaging nine points per game.

The Bobcats’ leading scorer is Jaivon Harris, who is racking up 13 points per game. He is joined in the backcourt by Thomas Stephens, who has averaged 7.8 points over the first four games.

Those three seniors were all playing minor roles last year when the Bobcats were pummeled by BU, 77-56 at Case Gym. Also in minor roles were two BU freshmen at the time, guard Shaun Wynn and forward Kevin Gardner. Wynn played 20 minutes and had four points on Dec. 13 of last year, while Gardner played eight minutes and filled the rest of his stat-line with zeroes.

In what may be a source of comfort for current freshmen guard Pat Martin and forward Etienne Brower the two sophomores will now be relied on as constant contributors if the Terriers are going to come away from tonight’s game with a win, or if they plan on having a successful season.

Wynn has started the last three games for BU in the absence of senior Jason Grochowalski, who is serving an indefinite suspension levied by Wolff due to academic problems. He has sparkled in that time, averaging 7.3 points over those three games in less than 20 minutes a game. What has been most impressive in his play has been his ability to beat defenders off the dribble, leading to easy layups one reason his shooting percentage over those three games is 75 percent (9-12).

Gardner has been equally solid, with his playing time improving from three minutes in the season opener against the College of the Holy Cross to 27 minutes in Monday’s win over Youngstown State University. He was perfect from the field (5-5) on Monday, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds. That was on the heels of his 21-minute stint against Boston College, when he hauled down 12 rebounds against the mammoth Eagle frontcourt.

With the sophomores adjusting to more time in the playing rotation for Wolff, it will make it tougher for him to play Martin and Brower. But Wolff can take solace in one fact: At least he doesn’t have six new guys to insert into the rotation.