Men's Basketball Visits #22 George Washington Friday Night
December 1, 2005 | Men's Basketball
RADIO-TV COVERAGE: The BU-URI game will be broadcast on radio on WROL 950-AM. Doug Brown and Dave Wallace, the Terrier captain in Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs first year at BU (1994-95), will provide the call. The radio broadcast can be accessed on the internet at http://www.bu.edu/athletics/fans/tv-radio-schedule.html.
WOUNDED TERRIERS: BU will be looking for some help during practice just to field enough players to compete in five-on-five drills. The Terriers began the season with 13 healthy scholarship players, but that number has dwindled to just nine after numerous injuries and suspensions dwindled the ranks. On Tuesday against Rhode Island, sophomore guard Matt Wolff tore ligaments in his left knee and will be sidelined indefinitely. Freshman forward Ben Coblyn suffered a high ankle sprain against Michigan on Nov. 22 and is questionable against GWU. Freshman guard Tyler Morris tore ligaments in his ankle and developed bone chips, and will miss the entire season after undergoing surgery in mid-November. Forward Tony Gaffney was suspended from the team indefinitely for violating team policy. Of the remaining nine healthy players, just four had seen action in a Division I college basketball game prior to this season.
BUSY STRETCH FOR BU: The Terriers are in a stretch which will see them play seven games in 18 days, beginning with Rider on Nov. 26 and ending with UMass on Dec. 12. Following the George Washington game, the Terriers will take the weekend off then start a four-game in seven-day stretch with contests at home against Harvard (12/6) and New Hampshire (12/8) and away games at Maine (12/10) and Massachusetts (12/12). BU will then have a 10-day hiatus during final exams before returning to the hardwood at Canisius on Dec. 22.
BU-GWU HISTORY: The Colonials lead the all-time series 12-1. George Washington has won six straight in the series, including a 68-55 victory in Boston on Dec. 11, 2002. The last time the teams met in Washington, D.C., BU hung tough but dropped a 79-76 decision on Nov. 28, 2001. The Terriers' last and only win over the Colonials came on Feb. 19, 1979, by an 87-76 score. Rick Pitino was in his first season as BU's head coach.
BACK-TO-BACK VS. A-10: BU is on the back-end of consecutive games against Atlantic-10 members this week as the Terriers faced URI on Tuesday before the game against George Washington. In 2004-05, the Terriers were 2-1 against A-10 teams, beating URI and Fordham and losing by two at Massachusetts.
THE COACHES: The Terriers are led by 12th year head coach Dennis Wolff (Connecticut '78). Wolff is 192-137 (.584) in his career at BU, 222-155 (.589) in 14 years overall, including a 30-18 record in two seasons at Connecticut College. Wolff is the all-time leader in victories at BU, having surpassed Mike Jarvis (101) on Jan. 22, 2001. Wolff is a three-time America East Coach of the Year (1997, 2003, 2004) and has twice been named both NABC District I and New England Coach of the Year (1997, 2004).
Under Wolff, BU has dominated in America East play, sporting a stout 124-67 (.649) mark, including 71-25 (.740) in home league contests. Wolff has led the Terriers to at least a share of four America East regular-season titles (1997, 2002, 2003, and 2004) and two America East Tournament championships (1997, 2002). BU has advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournaments under Wolff and has won 20 or more games on five occasions during his tenure.
Wolff's assistants are Orlando Vandross (America International '92), Mike Winiecki (Richmond '89) and Mike Costello (BU '00).
George Washington is led by former BU assistant Karl Hobbs, who is 67-53 in his fifth season at the helm of the Colonials. Hobbs, who was an assistant for Jim Calhoun at Connecticut from 1993-2001 and helped lead the Huskies to their first national championship in 1999, worked at BU from 1987-93. He began his coaching career under Mike Jarvis (1987-90) before Jarvis left BU to come to GWU. The Terriers advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both 1988 and again in 1990 with Hobbs on the staff. He then was on Bob Brown's staff for three seasons (1990-93).
BU vs. ATLANTIC 10: BU is 50-84 all-time against current members of the Atlantic-10 conference, including a 48-38 loss to Rhode Island Tuesday night at Agganis Arena. BU went 2-1 against the A-10 in 2004-05 (wins over URI and Fordham, loss to Massachusetts). The Terriers have three games against the A-10 this season - against URI and George Washington this week, and at Massachusetts on Dec. 12.
Dennis Wolff is 6-14 against the Atlantic-10 in his career at BU. His Terriers have knocked off at least one A-10 school in each of the last two seasons, with a win over Fordham in 2003-04 and the aforementioned victories over URI and Fordham last year. A look at BU's all-time marks against the Atlantic 10, with Wolff's career record in parentheses:
Charlotte 1-4 (1-1)
Dayton 0-0 (0-0)
Duquesne 0-0 (0-0)
Fordham 4-0 (3-0)
George Washington 1-12 (0-4)
LaSalle 1-1 (1-0)
Massachusetts 29-38 (0-3)
Rhode Island 11-20 (1-4)
Richmond 2-1 (0-0)
St. Joseph's 0-3 (0-2)
Saint Louis 0-0 (0-0)
St. Bonaventure 0-2 (0-0)
Temple 0-3 (0-0)
Xavier 1-0 (0-0)
TOUGH EARLY SCHEDULE: After opening the season at top-ranked Duke and facing teams from major conferences such as Michigan and Rhode Island, the road does not get any easier for BU when the Terriers face 22nd-ranked George Washington Friday night. Playing tough games early in the year is a trademark of Dennis Wolff's teams at BU. Last year the Terriers took on Boston College, Michigan and Massachusetts in the preseason; in 2003-04, BU faced #13 St. Joseph's as well as BC and Michigan; in 2002-03, the Terriers played at Stanford, BC, St. Joseph's and Arizona and also faced GWU and Florida State; and in 2001-02, BU faced eighth-ranked Iowa and #17 BC in back-to-back games.
GARDNER HARVESTING THE BOARDS: If there is a missed shot in a game, there is a good chance Terrier senior forward Kevin Gardner will be the one to grab the rebound. Gardner leads the team and is second in the America East with 9.2 rpg, and is on a pace to destroy his career-high on the boards. Gardner came in to 2005-06 with a 4.1 rpg average in his three years, with his best season of 5.7 rpg coming last year. He has already recorded games of 11 boards (Michigan 11/22) and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds (URI 11/29) this season. In 85 previous games, Gardner had just three performances of 10 or more rebounds (@BC in 2003; Binghamton and Northeastern in 2005). Tunji Awojobi was the last Terrier to average double figures in rebounding in a single season, grabbing 10.2 caroms per game in 1996-97.
RHODE ISLAND RECAP: BU dropped a hard-fought game to the Rhode Island 48-38 Tuesday night. The Terriers were led by senior forward Kevin Gardner who had nine points and 12 rebounds. A short-handed Terrier team was also aided by Ibrahim Konate, who had eight points, while Shaun Wynn added seven points and four assists. The Terriers shot just 28% (14-50) from the field. Rhode Island was led by Dawan Robinson's nine points, while Will Daniels had 11 rebounds.
The Terriers started off cold from the field and did not score their first basket until the 14:32 mark of the first half. WynnâÂ?TMs three-pointer got BU on the board and despite the opening drought, the Terriers trailed just 4-3. Down 7-3, BU fought back with a pair of strong hoops, as both Wynn and Corey Hassan fed Konate for slam dunks to knot the game at 7-7.
Rhode Island proceeded to go on a 9-0 run, as BU could not score in the next four minutes, missing four shots along the way. Konate ended the slump with another jam to cut the deficit to 16-9 with 7:24 left in the half, but the Terriers would score just one more basket the rest of the period and trailed 26-14 at the halftime intermission. Wolff injured his knee on a collision in the paint with 14 minutes remaining in the first half and did not return.
Hassan, BU's leading three-point shooter coming in, had been 0-4 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, but he drilled his first three of the second half to bring BU to within 11, 28-17. Rhode Island would go on a 10-3 spurt to stretch the lead to 18, 38-20, as the Rams got hoops from Jamaal Wise, Daniels and Darrell Harris. The Terriers would whittle the deficit back to eight, 42-34, with a 14-4 run with 6:55 remaining, as Omari Peterkin and Gardner combined to score 10 of the points. BU would get as close as seven, 45-38, on a pair of Wynn free throws with 2:01 remaining, but Harris and Daniels hit 3-4 free throws down the stretch to salt away the win for URI.
RHODE ISLAND NOTABLE:
- Kevin Gardner's 12 rebounds tied his career high and were the most for a Terrier since Rashad Bell hauled down 12 boards at Hartford last season.
- BU is now 11-20 all-time against Rhode Island.
- Senior guard Shaun Wynn did not start for the first time in 36 games, since his sophomore year against Stony Brook on Feb. 26, 2004. Wynn had started 59 of his last 61 contests for the Terriers. He still came off the bench to score a season-best seven points.
- Wynn and Brian Macon led the team with four assists. It marked the third time in four games Wynn has led BU in dishes this season.
- BU's 38 points were its fewest since a 64-34 loss to Georgetown in the NIT last season and its fewest at home since Jan. 6, 1964, a 39-35 loss to Stone Hill.
- Freshman Brendan Sullivan made his first career start. He was scoreless in nine minutes.
- Junior center Omari Peterkin logged a career-high 23 minutes. He scored a season-best five points and grabbed three rebounds.
- The BU bench accounted for 12 of the team's 38 points.
- After having three players score in double figures against Rider (Hassan, Macon, Sullivan), BU did not have a player score 10 points against URI. Kevin Gardner had a team-best nine points.
- Ibrahim Konate had a career-high eight points, all in the first half when he was a perfect 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. He scored all eight consecutively for the Terriers in a seven-minute span in the opening 20 minutes.
- The Terrier defense continues to be strong, as it has allowed just 58.5 ppg to opponents this season. BU has forced 56 turnovers and allowed just 38 assists.
- BU doubled its output from the free-throw line for the season. After having shot just 13 free throws in its first three games, the Terriers were 8-13 from the charity stripe on Tuesday. Opponents still hold an 85-26 advantage in free-throw attempts on the year.
HASSAN THE ASSASSIN: Just four games into the season, true freshman Corey Hassan is proving to be BU's biggest long distance threat. The Merrimack, N.H., product leads the team with nine three-pointers, and in fact just nine of his 41 shots on the season have not come from behind the arc. Although very early, Hassan has a chance to be one of the great freshman three-point shooters in school history. Paul Seymour made 70 threes as a rookie in 1999-2000, while Chaz Carr hit 45 during his freshman year of 2001-02. Hassan is tied for the team lead with 8.8 ppg as well. The last freshman to lead BU in scoring was Tunji Awojobi, who averaged 18.9 ppg in 1993-94.
BU TOP-10 FRESHMAN THREE-POINTERS MADE
No. Name Total Year
1. Paul Seymour 70 1999-2000
2. Chaz Carr 45 2001-02
3. Tremain Byrd 38 1993-94
Jason Grochowalski 38 2000-01
5. LeVar Folk 35 1995-96
6. Raja Bell 33 1994-95
7. Mike Costello 32 1996-97
8. Mark Daly 22 1988-89
9. Brian Holden 21 1990-91
10. Barry Huckeby 19 1991-92
A HELPING HAND: Senior Shaun Wynn continues to get his teammates the ball in scoring opportunities. Wynn has handed out a team-high 19 assists in four games, including a game-high six at Duke (the same amount as the entire Blue Devil team) and seven against Michigan. He has and picked up where he left off in 2004-05. Last season, Wynn was fifth in the America East with 100 assists (3.4 apg) and he now has 231 for his career. Jeff Timberlake '89 holds the school record with 772 dishes, but Wynn could climb into the top-10 with a solid year; Jim Schwartz '97 currently is 10th all-time at BU with 332 assists.
A FAMILY AFFAIR: For BU head coach Dennis Wolff, the office can feel like home sometimes. His son, Matt, is a sophomore guard on the Terriers this season. Matt Wolff, who is 6-6 and played in every game as a freshman, is a solid defender who can light it up from the outside and creates match-up problems for opposing defenses. Matt played his high school ball at Walpole HS, where the family lives, where he averaged 19 ppg as a senior. The basketball connection for the Wolff family does not end with the father-son combo; Nicole Wolff, Dennis' daughter and MattâÂ?TMs sister plays for the University of Connecticut as a junior guard. Dennis Wolff graduated from UConn in 1978, where he was a two-year letterwinner.
IN THE POLLS: BU has not received any votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches top-25 poll. The Terriers have scheduled four opponents who appear in the rankings: Number-one Duke (BU's opponent on 11/14) and no. 22 George Washington (12/2) are ranked. Michigan (11/22) received enough votes to unofficially be ranked 43rd, while Bucknell (12/28) received one vote, unofficially checking in at no. 51.
COUNTDOWN TO 200: Dennis Wolff is just eight wins shy of his 200th win at BU. Wolff is 192-137 in 12 seasons on the Terrier bench and is already the school's all-time leader in victories. Wolff won his first game at BU in his debut, an 80-78 victory over Rider on Nov. 25, 1994. It took Wolff 80 games to reach the 50-win mark, 108 games to go from 50 to 100, and 83 games to go from 100 to 150. BU is 42-14 since Wolff won his 150th game.
Dennis Wolff: DEAN OF AMERICA EAST COACHES: With the retirement of Vermont's Tom Brennan at the end of last season, Dennis Wolff is now the elder statesman among America East coaches. Wolff is in his 12th season on the bench, and no other leading man in the conference has coached at his current school for more than five years. Brennan had been at Vermont for 20 years. Wolff's 192 wins at BU are more than the coaches at the other eight schools in the America East combined (174). In terms of total years coached among league mentors, Wolff's 13 total years of experience trails New HampshireâÂ?TMs Bill Herrion (18), BinghamtonâÂ?TMs Al Walker (17) and UMBC's Randy Monroe (14).
BU ON TV: The Terriers will make a minimum of seven television appearances in 2005-06. BU begins the season at Duke on ESPN2 in the preseason NIT. The Terriers will then play three games at Agganis Arena (Michigan, 11/22; Vermont, 1/22; Maine, 1/29) on the New England Sports Network (NESN) as part of a university package with the station. Eric Frede will provide play-by-play for those games, with Ronny Perry handling analysis. The Terriers will also be televised at Holy Cross (NESN), Massachusetts (CN8), Albany (2/4 - NESN) and at Vermont (2/23 - NESN).
SPECIAL GUESTS HIGHLIGHT RADIO BROADCASTS: BU alum Doug Brown returns to the microphone to broadcast Terrier basketball over the airwaves this season. A collection of former Terrier players and former rival coaches will aid Brown in providing color analysis.
Former forward Billy Collins (2000-2003) will serve as the color commentator in the majority of the broadcasts. Collins will anchor Brown in all 11 home games, as well as select road contests. Collins was a two-year starter and three-year captain for BU and averaged 10.3 ppg in 74 career games in the Scarlet and White. Former Vermont head coach Tom Brennan, who led the Catamounts to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005 before retiring in the off-season, will work games at Duke (11/14) and at Binghamton (2/14). Dave Wallace (1992-95), who was captain of Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs first team at BU, will work the games at George Washington (12/2) and at UMBC (1/5). BU Hall-of-Famer Drederick Irving (1984-88), who is second in Terrier history with 1,931 points, will work the Rider game (11/26). Jim Schwartz (1994-97), who was a captain on the Terriers 1997 America East championship team, will work at Stony Brook (1/19), and former Boston College and Ohio State head coach Jim OâÂ?TMBrien will call games at Canisius (1/22) and at the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara (12/28-29).
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: Despite losing its top three leading scorers from a team that went 20-9 and advanced to the NIT a year ago, the Terriers were chosen to finish second in the America East Preseason CoachesâÂ?TM Poll. BU garnered 52 total points, including three first place votes, to finish behind Albany and just ahead of Maine. This marks the third straight season BU has been the coaches' choice to finish second. The Terriers were picked to win the conference in 2002-03. BU won the league crown in 2002-04 and finished third in 2005.
Preseason CoachesâÂ?TM Poll
Rank) Team - Points (First-Place Votes)
1) Albany - 61 (5)
2) Boston U. - 52 (3)
3) Maine - 46 (1)
4) Binghamton - 43
5) Hartford - 41
6) Vermont - 31
7) Stony Brook - 21
8) UMBC - 15
9) New Hampshire - 14
WYNN PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: Senior guard Shaun Wynn (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was tabbed by league coaches as a preseason all-conference selection. Wynn led the Terriers with 3.4 assists per game in 2004-05 and his 2.27-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was the seventh-best in school history. Wynn was the 2003-04 America East Defensive Player of the Year.
Preseason All-Conference Team
Lucious Jordan, Albany
Jamar Wilson, Albany
Andre Heard, Binghamton
Shaun Wynn, Boston U.
Kevin Reed, Maine
FOUR INCREDIBLE YEARS: The BU basketball program has flourished in the last four seasons under head coach Dennis Wolff, accomplishing things never seen before in the program's 103-year history. BU went 20-9 in 2004-05, the Terriers' fourth consecutive 20-win season. BU went 22-10 in 2001-02, 20-11 in 2002-03 and 23-6 in 2003-04. The 85 wins are the most in any four-year period in program history. Prior to 2001-02, BU basketball had achieved 20 or more wins just seven times in 92 seasons of competition. The Terriers also earned an invitation to the 2005 postseason NIT, marking the fourth consecutive season the school participated in postseason play. BU earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 2001-02, and has been to the NIT three straight years. Prior to 2001-02, BU basketball had made seven postseason appearances: NCAA in 1959, 1983, 1988, 1990 and 1997, and NIT in 1980 and 1986.
BU LEADS NATION IN FG PCT DEFENSE IN 04-05: A major reason for BU's success last season was its ability to gum up opposing offenses. BU led the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing foes to shoot just 37.1% from the floor. The Terriers also held opponents to just 55.7 ppg, the third-lowest total in the country. BU allowed 59 points or less in 18 of 29 games last year, and the Terriers were 16-2 in those contests. The Terriers completely neutralized Hartford on Jan. 6, holding the Hawks to just 22 points in a 73-22 victory; it was the lowest point total scored by a Terrier opponent in 64 years.
TOP THREE SCORERS DEPART: The Terriers lost 59% of their scoring output from last year with the graduation of Rashad Bell and Chaz Carr and the transfer to UMass of Etienne Brower. Bell led the team with 15.6 ppg and finished his career ninth all-time in scoring at BU with 1,367 points. Carr averaged 13.1 ppg and was eighth all-time in scoring with 1,406 points. Brower averaged 8.3 ppg. At least one member of the trio led the Terriers in scoring in 26 of 29 games.
DUAL HOMES OF BU BASKETBALL: BU will split its home games this season, playing four contests at the sparkling new Agganis Arena, which opened in January 2005, and seven games at its traditional home, Case Gymnasium, otherwise known as "The Roof". The games at Agganis Arena feature some of the heavyweights on BU's schedule, as the Terriers host Michigan (11/22), Rhode Island (11/29), Vermont (1/22) and Maine (1/29). The Maine contest will be the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's team. Agganis Arena seats 7,200 and was christened in basketball last season when the Terriers upset Vermont 61-55. Agganis Arena is the permanent home of BU men's hockey and the facility will host the early rounds of the 2007 America East Men's Basketball Championships.
BU has played at The Roof since 1972-73, compiling an extraordinary 180-74 (.709) record there. Dennis Wolff-coached teams have been even better, running up a 94-32 (.746) mark at Case since his arrival in 1994-95. BU has a current nine-game home win streak at The Roof and is 39-8 (.830) there since the beginning of 2001-02.
A LITTLE GREEN: The 2005-06 edition of BU basketball ranks among the youngest in the America East. The 12 players on the active roster have combined to start 90 games in their college careers - 89 of which have come from two players. Seniors Shaun Wynn and Kevin Gardner have combined for 167 games played and 89 starts, leaving the other 11 Terriers with 106 games played and one start (Matt Wolff, last season) between them. Only Vermont has a more inexperienced team, as the Catamounts lost four starters who helped lead them to three straight NCAA Tournament berths. A look at the league's experience coming in to 2005-06:
School Games Started Games Played
Vermont 40 177
BU 90 273
UMBC 119 289
New Hampshire 126 228
Maine 133 292
Binghamton 155 283
Stony Brook 169 299
Albany 247 396
Hartford 271 449
In terms of total games played on the current roster, this is not the youngest BU team in Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs 12 years. The 1999-2000 Terriers combined for just 231 career games played heading into the season.
WYNN IN THE RECORD BOOKS: After WynnâÂ?TMs lethally efficient season last year, in which he handed out 100 assists and recorded 53 steals while only committing 44 turnovers, the senior guard has an opportunity to leave his mark in the Terrier record books. Wynn has 127 career steals, just five shy of cracking the top-10 all-time at BU. Shawn Teague holds the school mark with 201 thefts, but a comparable season to 2004-05 could move Wynn as high as fourth. Wynn also has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.92, the fifth-best in school annals. Jeff Timberlake (âÂ?~89) is tops on the list at 2.24.
ELITE COMPANY: BU has won 20+ games in each of the last four seasons. The Terriers are one of just 23 Division-I programs in the nation that can boast such a streak: BU, Vermont, Wake Forest, Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Illinois, Utah State, Memphis, Kent State, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Utah, Arizona, Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi State and Gonzaga.
MORRIS OUT FOR THE SEASON: Freshman guard Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind.) will miss the entire season after tearing several ligaments in his foot in preseason practice. Morris, who was expected to contend for playing time in the backcourt, landed on a teammateâÂ?TMs foot less than two weeks into practice, and underwent surgery on November 7 to repair the ligaments. Morris will redshirt this season and return for his freshman year of eligibility in 2006-07.
MACON: A RARE JUCO FIND FOR BU: Guard Brian Macon becomes just the second junior college transfer to suit up for the Terriers in Dennis Wolff's 12 seasons. Macon comes to BU from Miami Dade College, where he averaged 10.1 ppg and 7.1 apg for a SharksâÂ?TM team that went 27-5 and won the Southern Conference. Stijn Dhondt (2001-02) is the only other juco player in the Dennis Wolff era.
NOT AFRAID TO PLAY THE BIG BOYS: A staple of the Terriers under Dennis Wolff has been their willingness to play anyone, anytime, anywhere. A look at some of the major programs BU has gone up against in the regular season in WolffâÂ?TMs first 11 years: Providence, Kentucky, Duke, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Carolina State, George Washington, Rhode Island, TCU, Connecticut, Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, California, Iowa, Boston College, Stanford, Florida State, Arizona, St. JosephâÂ?TMs and Michigan. Some of the most significant wins in school history have come against this list, including back-to-back victories at Michigan (2003 and 2004) and a 15-point win over Florida State in 2002.
