Boston University Scouting Report

[Hey Adrien!]

Boston University: 1-0
Kenpom Rating: #235
College Insider Preseason Mid-Major Ranking: 74th

First game played was Monday vs Northeastern: 72-63 win

• Walter Whyte w/ 27 points, 13 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 6-9 from 3
• Jones Harper w/ 15 points, 4 assists, 7-10 from the line, 2 steals

Entering his twelve season as the head coach at Boston University, Joe Jones (the younger brother of Yale head coach James Jones) has led a consistently solid Terriers team.

Under Jones, the Terriers have an overall 187-157 record, only four losing seasons, two seasons finishing under .500 in conference play and one Patriot League championship in 2020.

Two starters from that championship team, New Haven’s Walter Whyte and Stamford’s Jonas Harper, and two other rotation pieces from that championship team, Fletcher Tynen and Ethan Brittain-Watts make up four-fifths of this season’s starting lineup, providing the Terriers with a battle-tested veteran core for this season (Brittain-Watts did not play on Monday).

Looking back at Jones’ tenure at BU, on offense, his teams play with a deliberate pace (five straight seasons with offenses slower than the top-200 in tempo), shoot effectively (top-100 nationally in fg% in eight of the last ten seasons) and crash the boards (top-103 in offensive rebounding rate in seven of the last nine seasons).

In the last five seasons, Jones’ teams have been more iso-reliant (lower than top-270 in assist rate in each of the last five seasons) and shoot an average to below-average ratio of three-pointers.

In general, BU teams under Jones are more efficient on offense than defense and this has been especially the case the last two seasons, with BU being a weak defensive team across that time, however they rebound well.

A Look at the Roster and Last Year’s Stats
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With top two scorers Javante McCoy (17.4p, 3.9r, 2.9a, 52.5 2p%, 42.5 3p%) and Sukhmail Mathon (15.1p, 10.2r, 53.5 2p%, 78.5 ft%) graduating after five years at BU, Jones is looking a few upperclassmen to step up in a scoring role alongside New Haven native Walter Whyte.

The Box Score from their first game via local CT company ESPN

Whyte’s high school teammate and Stamford native Jonas Harper showed Monday he can be the top guard in Jones’ lineup, but unless BU can find a consistent third scoring option on Friday, UConn should be able focus easily on stopping Whyte and Harper.

In addition to his improved scoring, Harper, a two-time Patriot League All-Defensive Team selection, will be a good defensive challenge for our new guards.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I feel like any team with a player named Walter Whyte is perhaps a bit suspect. But maybe they have good chemistry? The team could crystalize and be methodical.

 

[UCLJ0211]

I feel like any team with a player named Walter Whyte is perhaps a bit suspect. But maybe they have good chemistry? The team could crystalize and be methodical.

Now you’re breaking out all your bad jokes

 

[karstenkibbe]

Another great preview @Hey Adrien! i was just at St. Luke’s last week to watch my daughter’s volleyball team lose to them and saw a photo of Whyte on the wall outside the gym. He and Harper had a stellar team and I believe they won their lower-level NEPSAC championship twice while they were there. Whyte was legit. He actually played in the Jordan Brand Classic as a senior and was at one point the second-highest rated recruit in CT his year. He and Harper will be a solid test for our guys.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thanks for the excellent write-up as always. My jokes aside, it would seem that we need to stop Mr. Whyte. 27 points on 10-16 and 6-9 is no joke. Normally we'd ask Jackson to do the honors. Somebody has to step up and make things difficult for this guy.

 

[UCFan1513]

I feel like this game, and any game before Jordan and Andre are back is going to pretty darn boring to watch, and pretty ugly. Andre is easily our most fun player to watch IMO, so even last night felt flat without him

 

[Deleted at users request]

May make for a much better game than Stonehill having guys who can somewhat matchup with our guards. Also having some sort of big for Sanogo. Stonehill’s center was 6’8 205. Like damn. Might not have much better height but they at least have some girth at BU.

 

[Samoo]

Nice and concise; great work.

 

[REB1094]

Looks like if we shut down Heisenberg we'll be in a pretty good spot.

I'm assuming we'll be an 8 man lineup tonight with Diarra/Newton/Alleyne/Karaban/Sanogo starting, and Calcaterra, Clingan, and Springs (??) getting major minutes off the bench.

If BU likes to play slow and crash the boards, they'll be in for a rude awakening by our size. I can't imagine the bench unit will significantly outscore anyone, so I'd expect Hurley to always have one of Diarra and Newton in

Sanogo is primed for a huge game with Andre/Hawkins/Samson out

 

[Apollo]

Looks like if we shut down Heisenberg we'll be in a pretty good spot.

 

[husky429]

I would imagine we'll be throwing Newton/Alleyne/Karaban onto Whyte tonight. Will be a great test of their individual defense--especially Newton and Karaban. This is the kind of tough wing with size we'd have had Jackson guard normally (and Tyrese would have locked down last season). This matchup is going to be great to figure out who's going to be that defensive stopper and earn their PT.

Good game for Calcaterra to throw in a few 3s too. I think when we're back to to having Jackson and Hawkins around he's going to have a tough time finding PT. Big game for him to show that he belongs on the court when we need a bucket.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I would imagine we'll be throwing Newton/Alleyne/Karaban onto Whyte tonight. Will be a great test of their individual defense--especially Newton and Karaban.

I would also add its a great opportunity to see Sanogo show progress in help defense situations whenever Whyte is within 10 feet of the hoop.

BUs bigs are not offensive weapons, so more attention to help situations could improve his defensive awareness.

 

[Sole]

This game is making me nervous…with our best players out … im guessing Alleyne will be guarding Whyte the most

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Brittain-Watts didn't play against Northeastern. I like playing against mid-majors that we can beat when they are at 100% strength. I want their best lineup.