Just a Minute: Is the Boston College Frontcourt its Secret Weapon?
With names like Cooper Flagg dominating headlines around the ACC, Boston College has quietly assembled a more than formidable frontcourt to compete in conference play, but how does that frontcourt stack up with the rest of the ACC?
St. Bonaventure transfer Chad Venning has poured it on in non-conference action and is currently averaging nearly 12 points per game, only a few off of his numbers at St. Bonaventure. The 6-10 forward only played 18 minutes last night and still managed to drop 17 points on a reeling Miami Hurricanes squad.
His fellow frontcourt member, Elijah Strong, is right behind him as far as points per game is concerned with 10.4 points per contest. All in all, that means that BC is currently getting over 20 points per game out of its starting frontcourt alone, and both have shown the ability to shoulder the scoring load in mismatches. Strong scored 25 points against Temple earlier this season, while Venning netted 18 against FDU, and only looks stronger each outing.
In a guard heavy conference, Boston College's bigs are making a living the old fashioned way while being supported by the play of Donald Hand Jr., who is in line to earn consideration for some ACC recognition at the end of this season.
While those offensive numbers are impressive, the defensive end of the floor is where Venning and Strong sometimes play their best ball. The team held Miami to just 27 points in the second half last night, and although the Hurricanes are going through a rough patch, holding any division one men's basketball team to under 30 points in a half is a sure fire way to make sure it's winnable at the end.
After play had concluded last night, head coach Earl Grant told his team that they "have to know how we win." How BC has done that so far is through the limitation of paint touches, controlling the rebounding battle, and getting solid production night in and night out from its big men down low.
The tandem of Venning and Strong is as good as any in the conference, and more than enough to withstand the test of conference play. The only question now, though, is where the team will end up in the bracketology picture once conference play is over.
