The Boston University men’s basketball team will officially begin its 2014-15 campaign Sunday afternoon when the team takes on Northeastern University at TD Garden.
The Terriers are coming into the season without their top three scorers from last season, as guard D.J. Irving and forward Dom Morris graduated and point guard Maurice Watson Jr. transferred to Creighton University in early April.
“Right now, none of us are necessarily concerned with what happened in terms of how many guys we miss, but how to make sure this team is ready to go on Sunday,” said BU coach Joe Jones.
With only three upperclassmen on the roster, Jones said it might take some time for his team’s young players to adjust to more playing time.
“Right now, I think the biggest thing is our guys understanding what we’re trying to do on both sides of the ball,” Jones said. “Really understanding our concepts offensively and defensively… Those are things I want to make sure we have an understanding of and obviously as the year goes on, we’ll have a better understanding, but going into this game, we have to know what we’re doing clearly.”
Junior guard John Papale, sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson and junior forward Nathan Dieudonne will be leaned on early for leadership and scoring.
Papale is the highest scorer of the three, as he averaged 9.3 points per game last season. The Wallingford, Connecticut native was dangerous from beyond the arc last season with an impressive .414 3-point percentage.
Hoping to fill the voids left by players such as Irving and Morris will be sophomore guard Eric Fanning and sophomore center Blaise Mbargorba.
Both are transfers who were forced to sit out last season due to NCAA rules.
“All the new guys are going to play some role. It’s just too early to tell who’s going to do what,” Jones said. “Right now, in terms of being ready – Eric Fanning, Blaise Mbargorba, [freshman guard] Eric Johnson, [freshman guard] Cheddi Mosely, [freshman forward] Nick Havener – all these guys are guys I feel like are going to have a hand in what we’re doing.”
Mbargorba has actually not played a minute of NCAA action yet in his career as a shoulder injury kept him out of the entire 2012-13 season before he transferred.
The Highstown, New Jersey native will be crucial for the Terriers, though, as he is the only center listed on the roster.
Fanning has NCAA experience as he played 16.7 minutes per game at Wagner College and averaged 6.4 points per game in his freshman year in 2012-13.
Northeastern, on the other hand, has garnered significant preseason praise and is a favorite for the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship this season.
“They got most of their guys back from last year, so I’m pretty familiar with their personnel,” Jones said. “They’re a well coached team with talented players, and they’re a pretty big team.”
The Huskies are bringing back six of their top seven scorers this season, including Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year Scott Eatherton, who also led the team in points per game at 15.9 and added 10.2 rebounds per game.
Junior David Walker was another member of the Huskies who put up impressive scoring numbers, as he averaged 11.5 points per game on the season and also earned a spot on the CAA All-Defensive Team.
“The strength of their team is scoring in the paint,” Jones said. “That’s why we have to control the paint and not allowing them to get deep post positioning, and we have to do a great job rebounding the basketball. Those are two things we have to be able to do.”
The fresh-faced Terriers might have many questions marks going into the season, but Jones said the team has had enough time to iron out some of the issues.
“We’re such a young team and so inexperienced. We have to get a good understanding of what we’re trying to do out there” Jones said. “The good thing is we’ve had a chance to go through this thing and go to Italy for four games, played two scrimmages.”
