Boston University men’s basketball postseason report card
By: Greg Levinsky
Spring break may be approaching in a few short hours, and I have some midterm grades to give out. Like last year, here is my postseason report card for the Boston University men’s basketball program. Grades are based on the entire season’s body of work and only assigned to players consistently in the rotation.
Juniors
Max Mahoney: 16.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, .629 FG%, .636 FT%
Named to the All-Conference Second Team, Mahoney enjoyed another breakout year. He’s improved steadily in all three of his seasons with BU. Big games in wins over Bucknell (26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and Lafayette (28 points) exemplify the type of impact he could have. Grade: A
Tyler Scanlon: 13.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, .462 FG%
Snubbed from an All-Conference team, Scanlon had an up and down year. He ended the year strong, scoring at least 11 points in 13 of BU’s final 14 games. There were some games, though, like a 3 point performance against Navy and a 6-of-18 shooting performance and 4 turnovers against Bethune-Cookman where Scanlon struggled. If he can play at his peak for an entire season next year, Scanlon has All-League first team potential. Grade: B+
Sophomores
Javante McCoy: 12.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.5 APG
The 30 point game in the Patriot League Tournament first round was impressive. The 6-foot-5 guard ended the year well, putting up 15.8 points per game over the team’s final eight contests. That scoring output was what I expected all year. Like Scanlon, McCoy was inconsistent, but stepped up late in the season. His late heroics should translate into consideration for an All-League team next year as well. Grade: B
Andrew Petcash: 4.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG, .403 3FG%
A concussion forced Petcash into missing a handful of games early in the year. He shot the ball well, filling in exactly the role that Will Goff left upon graduation. I think he is a more complete player than Goff, and I like the trajectory of his development. Grade: B+
Sukhmail Mathon: 3.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, .516 FG%
Not afraid to do the dirty work, Mathon started in 25 of 33 games. The tallest player on the roster at 6-foot-10, Mathon provided a solid spark and solid post play. Grade: B+
Freshman
Alex Vilarino: 6.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.9 APG
The third best scorer among rookies in the Patriot League, Vilarino’s athleticism is through the roof. In limited attempts, Vilarino shot 42.9 percent from deep in league play (6-of-14), and elevated his scoring to 8.3 PPG. He’ll need to work on his playmaking to be a top-notch point guard, but his first college season was certainly a success. Grade: B+
Jonas Harper: 5.2 PPG, .477 FG%, .466 3FG%
A Patriot League All-Rookie team selection, Harper quite literally shocked everyone with his breakout performance. He had 22 points on national TV against Holy Cross, and was the only Terrier to earn the conference Rookie of the Week on multiple occasions. Grade: A
Garrett Pascoe: 2.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.9 APG
He is a nice playmaker and a solid defender. Pascoe ceded his starting job to Vilarino and produced in his bench role. As a starter, Pascoe went scoreless in six of 11 games. If you combined his playmaking with Vilarino’s scoring and athleticism, they’d make one dynamic player. Grade: C+
Jack Hemphill: 3.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG
He played less in league play as Mathon, Petcash and Harper’s minutes ramped up. Hemphill shot decently well from range, about 31 percent, and is a solid rebounder. He simply did not play that much, mostly because of how good and durable Mahoney was. Grade: C+
Jordan Guest: 5.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Guest quite literally disappeared from the team late in the season, not even sitting on the bench during games. No one has really reported exactly what happened. He started three games and displayed his stretch-four potential, but only connected on 23.9 percent of his 3-point attempts. Guest did fill up the stat sheet in his 14.6 minutes per game. Grade: C
Fletcher Tynen: 2.8 PPG, 1.8 RPG, .485 FG%
Someone who I expected to play more, especially with injuries during the year, Tynen’s playing time diminished as the year wore on. He’s long and athletic, but did not play double digit minutes in the final four games of the year. Grade: C+
Overall
BU was picked to finish fourth in the conference preseason poll but finished in eighth at the regular season’s end. While that stat alone is disappointing, there were definetly some highlights during the year. The young Terriers were competitive but also quite inconsistent. Grade: B-
Note: Sophomore Walter Whyte is not included because he missed the entire season due to injury. Adam Mikula and Kamali Chambers did not factor into the rotation and did not play enough to warrant grades.
Greg Levinsky can be reached at glevinsk@bu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @GregLevinsky
