Boston College has gone 2-2 since my last column, and with two ACC matchups now in the books it’s time for another column. Let’s get into it: I know, I know, big shocker. Yet the level to which we are seeing offensive struggles through two ACC games is very, very concerning. We saw warning signs […]
Boston College has gone 2-2 since my last column, and with two ACC matchups now in the books it’s time for another column. Let’s get into it:
- The offense is struggling against better competition.
I know, I know, big shocker. Yet the level to which we are seeing offensive struggles through two ACC games is very, very concerning. We saw warning signs that this was coming; posting a 7-6 record through a particularly easy non-conference slate in spite of strong defensive numbers left the blame at the feet of Grant’s offense. As we talked about in my last article, much of that has to do with the fact that last year’s primary option has cratered in effectiveness. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: BC has no go-to bucket-getter.
Since we discussed Hand in particular last time, however, I want to concentrate on what we’re seeing from BC’s offense as a whole through two conference games. Instantly, the biggest flag for me is our pace of play. Normally, when teams struggle in half-court offense, they look to push the pace of the game and run in transition to hunt easy baskets against an unset defense. Georgia Tech provided a textbook example of this against BC. Outside of guard Kowacie Reeves — who dealt with foul trouble in the first half — Tech lacks a bucket-getter. So they work around that by pushing the ball in transition; they torched the Eagles on the run multiple times in both halves and was a big reason why BC lost the game. BC, however, does not want to hunt baskets in transition. Per EvanMiya, the Eagles rank 283rd in tempo; the Yellowjackets are 20o spots higher at 82.
The result has been a lot of really ugly half-court possessions. Grant’s strength has never been scheming offense, and that has persisted this year. We see a lot of dribble hand-offs and ball screens, but we rarely look to scheme a shooter (such as Caleb Steger or Fred Payne) an easy catch-and-shoot look by running them off screens. Instead, the Eagles tend to work the clock very low by swinging the ball around the perimeter for one of 3 outcomes: an entry pass to either Kapke or Hastings opens up; a guard attacks a matchup that they like; or (and this happens far too often) the Eagles run out of time and either attack a bad matchup or chuck a grenade.
Against teams with less size, athleticism, and talent, it was easier to justify such an approach even if it still was not that effective. Through two games of the ACC slate, it is clear this is not a sustainable system. Simply put, asking our guards to create pretty much every bucket in isolation just doesn’t lead to wins. How many times do we see a guard or wing attack off the dribble, get walled up in no-man’s land, and then have to reset to the perimeter? There’s been a ton of discourse around BC’s poor shooting percentages from three (especially after Grant claimed that this was his best-shooting team he’s had in his BC tenure). I think the single biggest reason BC shoots so poorly from 3 is because often a contested or off-balance 3 is the only look the offense can generate. Statistically, those shots just do not land consistently. If BC wants to salvage something this season, it needs to begin with some offensive structure in the half-court and a faster pace of play.
2. Fred Payne’s Righty Floater
Time for a little positive. Fred Payne has had a lot of ups and downs in his third season on the Heights; in particular, he’s had to shoulder a much larger offensive load than many envisaged at the start of the season given Hand’s struggles and the lack of scoring guards on the roster. He’s had some flashes in this new, expanded role — including breaking his career-high scoring record twice in three games — but he’s also had some clunkers, like the 1-13 clunker against Georgia Tech.
Fred Payne is a lefty. He’s taking 6.5 threes per game and connecting at a middling 33% clip. But my favorite part of his game is a righty floater he’s developed. Payne loves to bait his defender into defending his catch-and-shoot 3, only to then attack the paint immediately after catching the outlet pass. Rather than getting to the rack for a layup, however, this season Payne has unveiled a sleek floater with his off-hand, and it is working. I’m not sure there’s a shot that anyone on BC is connecting on more consistently, besides maybe Toews’ midrange jumper (which, as of the past 2-3 games, has gone a bit cold). He’s shooting 46% from within the 3-point line, and that righty floater is a large part why.
3. The Four Spot
Grant made another shift to his starting lineup against NC State, inserting Boden Kapke in place of Aidan Shaw. I’m interested to see if he keeps both bigs in the starting lineup moving forward. To me, it is pretty clear that the staff trusts Kapke slightly more than Jayden Hastings. Through 15 games, in close moments down the stretch Grant has largely gone with Kapke at the 5 instead of Hastings. Part of that is definitely foul trouble; Hastings has been improved this season at avoiding unnecessary calls, but his aggressiveness protecting the rim inevitably leads to foul calls. More importantly — and Grant highlighted this in his postgame presser — is his search for offense in the lineup. Kapke is simply a better offensive big than Hastings right now. I have been impressed with Hastings’ developing footwork in the low post, but Kapke has a better feel around the basket and can stretch the floor with his jump shot. Rather than swap Hastings — and his significant shot deterrence — for Kapke, however, Grant pulled Shaw.
I’m not opposed. Shaw has proven to be a capable defender and an excellent rebounder who is also good for at least one highlight-reel dunk per game. Unfortunately, he is also otherwise a black hole on offense. He cannot handle the rock, but he also can’t be hidden in the corner because he doesn’t shoot threes. Grant has used him in a lot of ball-screen actions, but despite his nuclear athleticism he isn’t a great roll-man. Pairing Kapke and Hastings puts four “shooters” in the starting lineup, with Toews, Payne, Hand, and Kapke all willing to let fly from deep. Defensively is where this pairing will sink or swim. I’m of the opinion that Kapke is simply not athletic or laterally quick enough to guard ACC 4s; I’d rather see Hastings guard 4s — but that also risks putting him in foul trouble and could take him away from where he is at his best, which is defending the rim. I’ll be watching this pairing closely in the weeks to come.
Category: General Sports
