For the third season in a row, the SU basketball team is on the NCAA tournament bubble. No surprises there right? And after losses to both Duke and North Carolina in the last week, the prospects of making it to the tournament appear to be shrinking rather quickly. But, SU still has two games left on its regular season schedule to try to make a tournament push and it starts with Boston College on Wednesday night at Conte Forum. The Orange did pick up a huge mid-season win over the Eagles in late January, but they certainly aren’t a team to look past. Much improved from its performances over the last few season, Jim Christian’s bunch has some serious talent on the roster so we should definitely eye the Eagles and meet three players to watch for the all-important matchup on Wednesday.
Ky Bowman
In the words of fellow Fizz staff member Tyler Aki, Ky Bowman is probably the coolest guy under the age of 21 on the planet outside of maybe Lil Yachty. The guy can also flat out ball. Despite ranking second on the team in scoring, Bowman is probably Boston College’s best and most dynamic player and that’s because he does so many things so well. He scores nearly 17 points per game and shoots almost 35% from beyond the arc and while those numbers are obviously very impressive, his best offensive tool is his ability to facilitate. He leads the team with 139 assists on the season (nearly five per game) and is incredibly unselfish and puts his teammates in places where they can succeed. He’s also an excellent defender who leads the Eagles with 42 steals on the season and also has ten blocks from the guard spot. Bowman makes plays that a lot of other guys his size wouldn’t be able to and it’s the incredible athleticism that gives him that ability. At one time a UNC football recruit, Bowman has transformed himself into one of the best guards in the ACC.
Jerome Robinson
If Bowman is 1A on the Boston College roster and in the Eagles backcourt, then Jerome Robinson is 1B. There isn’t really much that separates the two guards and that’s why it was so hard for me to list Bowman above Robinson. Robinson averages over 20 points a game, the best mark on the team and second in the ACC behind only Marvin Bagley and just in front of Tyus Battle. He is a dynamic scorer that uses his big frame (6-foot-6, 191 lbs) to bully smaller defenders and then can turn on the speed and quickness when he draws a matchup with a bit better size. He can get into the lane and finish at the rim, but his best asset his three-point shooting. The junior knocks down nearly 45% of his deep balls and the season and has knocked down a pretty nice amount at 69 on the year, the second-most on the team. Robinson scored 21 points to lead BC against SU in their last meeting and can be trusted to put together a similar performance on Wednesday.
Jordan Chatman
It’s not very often in these three players to watch stories that I preview three guys who all play essentially the same position, but this BC team warrants it because of this guy right here. Chatman is the third guard that the Eagles feature in their starting lineup and he’s just about as talented as the other two and he probably has the coolest story.
A transfer from BYU, Chatman did his mission trip with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in his two years out of high school. After those two years, he began attending BYU and graduated with his degree in Asian Studies after just two years which is absolutely crazy. He then decided he wanted to go to law school at BYU, but found out that the law school there wouldn’t let him continue to both play basketball and attend law school, so he decided he needed to make a change so that he could do both and transferred to Boston College and the rest is sort of history.
Chatman averages just under 13 points per game and like both Bowman and Robinson is a great three-point shooter who cashes in on just about 40% of his attempts from deep. At 6-foot-5 he’s got great size and can defend multiple positions if he needs to. He’s also shown the ability to score in big bunches if opponents let him get hot. He’s scored 17+ in seven games this season including a career-high 30 against Richmond and 22 in BC’s upset of Duke in early December. At times Chatman gets overshadowed by the stellar play of Bowman and Robinson, but SU fans should definitely take notice of him on Wednesday because he could get hot.
