Blender Guys

Andy Katz has logged many hours following the Eagles in the past few years, and he recently pushed the pen to the paper about Pittsburgh's Levon Kendall. He pegged Kendall as a "blender"-a player who can make a significant difference in a team's season. Katz also sent shivers down my spine by introducing John Oates into the mix:

John Oates, 6-10, Jr., C, Boston College: He takes charges, hits an occasional 3-pointer, makes the entry passes to Jared Dudley and is there for a screen for Tyrese Rice or Sean Marshall. BC coach Al Skinner said if Oates does those types of things, the Eagles have a chance. He doesn't star like shot-blocker Sean Williams, but he can be just as important to making the Eagles fly.

While John does contribute the occasional charge, three-point, and entry pass, Mr. Oates needs to spend some serious alone time looking into the mirror. A bathroom mirror will not suffice, as John needs to examine more than just his burly looks and his unbearable ink job. He needs to walk into one of his female friend's dorm rooms to find a full-size body mirror. This experience will lead to a very critical realization: When John can still only see a portion of his body, he will understand that company's don't manufacture "body-mirrors" with a massive seven-foot, one inch frame in mind.

John's stature is an anomaly- it is a gift. Can you imagine what Jared Dudley could do on a hypothetical Freaky-Friday when he and John switched bodies...?

For every three-pointer that John hits, four offensive rebounds are surrendered as John dances around the arc. For every charge that John takes, an opportunity to turn his body around, press his rear into the opposition, and box a man out is lost. For every entry pass that John makes to Jared, the potential for someone to feed John in the post goes down the drain.

Boston College has a history of the 7-foot point guards and the institution has never recruited Dirk Nowitzki. Canada's Nate Doorenkamp started the trend, and Mr. Oates was the only one with big enough feet to follow in his footsteps.

Don't get me wrong- Oates has an incredible touch for a big man. His ability to stretch the defense with his range is critical to the success of the FLEX offense. However, if John doesn't stop shying away from contact inside, opposing teams will start to assign their shooting guards to our big man... and they will still probably out-rebound him.

Katz is right- John can change the direction of this season with his strong play. In addition to all the three-pointers, charges, and entry-passes, I challenge John to hit the boards. His technical foul following his dunk in the Maryland game is the most fire I have seen from the Junior, and I was thrilled. Keep the emotion, keep playing hard, and you, Mr. Oates, will do just as Andy Katz predicts- make the Eagles fly.




In response to the comment on my last post, Kansas is undoubtedly a statement game in which the team can silence skeptics. However, I want to defer any comments/predictions until after the Sacred Heart game (for an explanation of my logic, please refer to the Vermont and Providence results).