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Column: A guide to the men’s basketball team

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on March 21, 2010 7:20 PM

By Michael Mullin, Gavel Writer -

In light of the season-ending loss to Virginia in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament, it is almost completely inappropriate to profile a squad that mustered enough ineptitude to defy even the lowest of expectations. But, like ski pants and jackets, the best sales pop up after the season ends. I have heard arguments against writing this column at the end of the season, that this is the worst time to attempt a single-handed visibility boost of a team that won’t play again until next winter. I think it is more appealing to begin following a team when its stock is low. The personal gratification of fandom is that much sweeter when you know that you loved your team when no one else did. Judging by the attendance at basketball games against teams other than Duke or UNC, there is as much love for hoops here as there is for ResLife.

Basketball is criminally underrated at this school. Maybe it’s not underrated; maybe the prevailing student body mentality has too much else to focus on when it comes to athletics. I’ll let you in on Boston College’s best-kept secret: basketball games are easily the premier sporting events to attend. For the first half of the season, no one shows up for the games, so you can sit courtside and yell at head coach Al Skinner. Let me repeat: you can sit. If you are like me (lazy, unmotivated) this is all you need to know. Football games are great, until you actually show up at the stadium and have to stand up for 3 hours. I left at halftime more than once this year, solely because it rhymed with naptime. I’ve never left a basketball game before it was over., because, nourished by Papa Gino’s, there is no reason to leave my seat when I can sit in it.

The best reason I can give for the basketball team’s superiority over all other BC sports is the personalities. Every player is a character. Yeah, they are real kids and I see them walking around campus or at the Plex sometimes, but, after watching them for two full seasons, they’re still larger than life. In September, I sent a text to my friend that read, “OMG JOSH LOOKS GOOD TODAY,” which is hilarious now because Josh Southern proved this season to be void of excitement. The only football players that have garnered a reaction like that from me are Montel Harris, Mark Herzlich, and maybe Colin Larmond, Jr., whereas every guy on the basketball team has been the subject of a text or a conversation at one point or another. It’s not just because I like basketball so much – I have taken that into consideration. Going to the games, sitting close, getting to know each player’s style and role – you don’t need stats to get attached to these guys. Only five are on the court at any one time, with ten (or twelve – Nick Mosakowski and Peter Rehnquist – in blowouts) getting playing time on a given night, so the number of players to learn about is not as daunting as that of the football team.

The starters from this season will all be returning, so any self-professed Beginner’s Guide would not be much use without introducing the main actors from this season’s installment of the Skinner Saga, what I like to call, “Picking Up Rese’s Pieces.”

I’ve had an 8” x 12” professional photo of Reggie Jackson shoving the ball down some non-factor from North Carolina State’s throat pinned up on my bedroom wall in Jersey since the summer. Reggie is the man: if you haven’t seen him literally jump over Miami’s 6’10” center, Reggie Johnson, and throw down a superman dunk, look it up on Youtube. Reggie is Mr. Unpredictable; he can shoot, he can distribute, he can make things happen.

Injuries marked the season for shooting guard Rakim Sanders. Expectations for him to take over Rese’s mantel as alpha dog were deserved, but he was unable to deliver. The most disappointing moments this season were turning to my friends during games, and asking, “ Superstar Rock?” But, inevitably, he would stop putting the ball on the floor, and start chucking up threes. If nagging injuries were the true cause of his momentary lapses of disinterested play, there is still hope! Rock Superstar will be back, mark my words.

At small forward, Corey Raji, alias Corey Swag, holds down the starting job. All the guy does is grab offensive rebounds and shoot jumpers. He is the definition of a Tommy point. The phrase “typical Raji basket” should be the universal way of describing an offensive board, followed by a quick put-back. He has the nicest style, and it demands your respect.

Last are the big boys, the bodies, the grinders. Sadly, the only player worth mentioning is Joe Trapani. Joey is a 6’8” power forward, who led the team in scoring this season with 14 points per game. Joey is a streaky shooter, but he can score from downtown, and his range and size create tough mismatches for opponents. Although earning recognition from the ACC this year, Joey has shown a knack for pulling a Patrick Ewing and disappearing in big games. On the bright side, he possesses a voice with remarkable timbre, on par with Dikembe Mutombo.

Only four players out of a possible 12, and I had to cut a substantial portion off of what I wrote about them. These guys write the column themselves. The team will always have my support, but one guy, yelling “DALLAS!” every time Dallas Elmore gets a touch, is not enough to maintain a home-field advantage. Don’t forget about them next year.