Partin the Interruption

Leading returning scorer Darryl Partin looks to fill leadership role on and off the court

Darryl Partin’s poker face came to define the rising star guard in his first year of NCAA eligibility at Boston University.

A 32-point night against Cornell University in November 2010 generated multiple left shoulder shrugs from Partin in his postgame presser. An unsightly 3-for-11 shooting performance in the America East Conference championship game last March still failed to break his calm demeanor afterward.

At the BU men’s basketball team’s open practice Monday, a rare sequence unfolded on the first court of the Fitness and Recreation Center. Co-captain Matt Griffin went around a Mat Piotrowski screen and drove relatively untouched down the lane for an easy bucket. Partin, the Seattle native who’s quiet by nature, was visibly upset with his teammates for the blown defensive rotation.

And he let them know it.

He gathered guards D.J. Irving and Zach Chionuma and forwards Dom Morris and Patrick Hazel in a circle near the free-throw line. On that particular possession, Partin barked, they should have slid over to the weak side and prevented the drive. Whoever was caught underneath the hoop, he added, would take the charge.

The Scarlet squad answered with a smothering display of defense on the White team’s next offensive trip down the floor, culminating in a Hazel block that started the fast break. Partin’s fiery exchange during a break in the scrimmage provided just a glimpse into his emergence as a vocal leader for BU.

This season, Partin is one of six seniors on the Terriers, along with Griffin, Hazel, forward Chris Kurz, co-captain Jake O’Brien and center Jeff Pelage, and has taken it upon himself to lead more by example, both on and off the basketball court and in the locker room.

He’s also felt the responsibility to mentor BU’s underclassmen, such as Chionuma and freshman forward James Kennedy. During Partin’s freshman year at La Salle University in 2007, a campaign in which he averaged a mere 2.0 points per game in 22 contests, the Explorers’ upperclassmen took him under their wing and helped him develop as a college basketball player.

Partin hopes to do the same for the young Terriers on the roster.

“My freshman year, I had it, and really everyone’s freshman year, they had a new situation they were going into and had someone,” Partin said. “It’s nice to have someone to mentor them, show them the ropes and make it a little easier for them. I definitely want to be in that role.”

He also learned the tricks of the leadership trade from playing alongside John Holland, one of the greatest players to ever don a BU uniform, who approached every practice, every film session, every walk-through and every game with a business-like attitude. Partin’s experience watching the way Holland carried himself in all types of situations was invaluable and shaped him into the leader he is today.

“John’s a great leader and that’s something that I want to step into this year, and with our coaching staff, they’re real supportive of that and so are the older guys on the team,” Partin said. “We have a bunch of guys that had a chance to grow up last year and it’s really exciting. I’m glad to be a part of that.”

The Terriers’ biggest concern this year will be replacing the scoring load left behind by Holland, the 2011 America East Player of the Year who finished his career as the America East’s second-ever player to post at least 2,000 points, 700 rebounds and 200 steals. Luckily for BU, it has talented offensive players to pick up Holland’s slack, Partin being one of them.

“We’re hoping that we can get it done by committee,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “There’s always going to be a guy that leads you in scoring, but hopefully we have three other guys that can really bear some of that weight.

“Darryl is our leading returning scorer and we’re going to look for him to put it in the basket because that’s what he does well, but we have some very good players around him and hopefully it can be a balanced attack.”

The modest and humble Partin didn’t stray away from his new bench boss’ words either.

“Collectively, everybody can do it, everybody’s going to step up, raise their game, raise their level of play and get after it every game and every day in practice,” Partin said. “We’re all on the same page, usually at all times, and we’re ready to just get better.”

Although Holland garnered most of the national attention and the focus of opposing coaches’ game plans last season, Partin proved to be a reliable No. 2 scoring option behind him. He ranked second on the team in scoring with 14.3 ppg and even upped his scoring average to 16.9 ppg in league play.

The dynamic duo of Holland and Partin formed the conference’s best one-two punch, accounting for more than 50 percent of BU’s points. The Holland-Partin tandem totaled a combined 387 points during the Terriers’ 11-game winning streak, where BU ran the table in the America East Tournament and eventually drew the top-seeded University of Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It was really exciting,” Partin said. “John’s a great player and it was just really exciting to be a part of that and accomplish what we accomplished. Now, we’re just looking forward to getting better and hopefully doing it again this year.”

Former head coach Patrick Chambers, who utilized his Philly roots to recruit Partin to transfer from La Salle to BU, left the program in early June to accept the same position at Penn State University. Jones, a former associate coach at Boston College the year before, took over the helm at BU.

Partin understands Chambers’ decision was a business one, but he harbors no ill feelings toward his former coach. Instead, he’s already taken a liking to Jones from what he’s seen so far in the offseason.

“Very, very great – very mature guy, very mature coach,” Partin said of Jones. “He trusts us a lot, [he] is a very passionate, energetic coach, charismatic and just an overall great guy – very genuine, cares about us and really believes in us and knows what we can do. He’s established a great foundation for us already.”

A preseason First-Team All-Conference selection, Partin has taken that honor with a grain of salt. True to form, he’s only concerned with taking the season one practice and one game at a time.

“It’s just something that’s nice in the preseason, but you have to go out in the season and play,” Partin said. “That’s what we’re focused on – getting wins, having the season come together and ending the way that we want it to end.”