There’s so much on my mind after this weekend in Terrier sports. I don’t want to neglect anyone, so I figured I’d talk about more than one thing. No time to waste:
I. Jon Jonsson
I wish more athletes were like Jon Jonsson. I’m not even talking about at this school ‘-‘- I mean in this world. Jon is a senior midfielder on the men’s soccer team. He hails from Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, and I really can’t say enough good things about this athlete.
Jon makes it fun to be a fan ‘-‘- he acknowledges his fanbase, and I legitimately believe he wants to make The Dog Pound happy. Jon went Tom Morrow on everyone this season ‘-‘- he didn’t score a goal his entire BU career until his senior year, in which he scored two ‘-‘- exactly what Morrow did.
Not only that, Jon is just a talented individual. At the athletic date auction ‘-‘- Terrier Takeout ‘-‘- Jon opened up the event with his own song, which, no joke, brought a tear to my eye. His music is beautiful. He plays the guitar and sings ‘-‘- it’s like Jack Johnson without the suck. When I listen to Jack Johnson, I end up hating myself. When I listen to Jon Jonsson, I end up loving myself ‘-‘- and even my enemies. That’s what Jon’s music does.
As fans stormed the field after the Terriers won the America East title Saturday, Jon gathered his teammates in front of the students who stayed to see the award presentation. Despite coach Neil Roberts’ repeated attempts to get him to bring the team to the awards table, where Binghamton sobbed and waited for their second-place trophy, Jon led the team in an ‘Oh when BU . . . goes marching in’ chant.
II. Stop Playing Basketball Games in Agganis Arena
‘I hate playing in Agganis.’ Those were Corey Lowe’s words to me after his 2-for-15 shooting performance in the men’s basketball home opener overtime loss to George Washington University.
You know what? I hate basketball in Agganis Arena, too.
Hear me out ‘-‘- I know what Agganis can and does do for the basketball program ‘-‘- it makes it seem legit. More than 4,600 people showed up and watched a BU basketball game ‘-‘- the most since the Agganis opener Feb. 12, 2005. I know that getting people out to the games and attendance is important, especially if BU aspires to join a conference stronger than America East. But the most important part of college sports is winning games.
BU is an abysmal 3-10 all-time at Agganis. The team has shot 247-for-715 (34.5 percent) in the building. This deviates from the team’s normal 40-ish field goal percentage. The Terriers have only scored more than 60 points twice and have been held to less than 50 points six times in HAA.
Look, the BU men’s and women’s soccer teams were a combined 16-3-2 on Nickerson Field this season. They practice on Nickerson and play every single home game there. That is their field, no doubt about it.
The basketball team does not practice in Agganis. They play games sporadically at Agganis. It is not their home court. There is no advantage at all to playing at Agganis other than filling seats.
This season, BU plays six games in Agganis and eight at The Roof. The Terriers are losing their home-court advantage for almost half their games.
Let them play on their home court every game of the year. Don’t make them hate playing home games.
III. Thank goodness BU teaches discipline and good behavior
Last week an America East student-athlete made front-page headlines across the sporting nation. Binghamton Bearcat Malik Alvin, a highly regarded basketball transfer from Chipola Junior College in Florida, was charged with third-degree assault last week after attempting to steal 36 condoms from a Walmart. In his getaway, Malik ran over a 66-year-old woman who had to be taken to the hospital. I couldn’t even make this up.
The irony in all this? Fake BU (Binghamton) gives free condoms to its students. Malik has been suspended from the team.
But really, thank Jesus (not the one who stands next to me) BU doesn’t ever have anything this dramatic happen to its athletes. I’m thinking Jon Jonsson is teaching all the Terriers a thing or two about how to be perfect human beings.
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Maybe we should move entirely to Agganis, so the team has the home-court advantage. “The Roof” is still Case Gym–a gym, not a state-of-the-art sporting facility designed to allow players to hone and display their skills in a new facility. Advantage includes fan base, and lots of (very vocal) people I know don’t attend games in Case Gym because it’s dirtier and older and reminds them of high school, or even middle school. I don’t know about you, but I never had an arena full of people cheering for me in high school…
They should play in Agganis as often as feasible. UConn was horrible for decades until the late 80s when in came Jim Calhoun and Gampel Pavillion; good coaching and facilities that appealed to recruits was UConn’s recipe for success. I don’t see how beating up on America East cupcakes at Case Gym, losing some away games, and then being embarrassed on a national stage, helps advance this program. The players need to learn to play in an unfamiliar environment just like every other successful program. This problem falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff, not Agganis Arena.