Boston College's Jermaine Watson's attempt at a game-tying three-pointer as time expired in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Georgia Tech clanged off the base of the rim, sending the Yellow Jackets into the Sweet 16 and eventually to the national championship game. BC's leading scorer, Craig Smith, had to watch his team's season end from the bench, as the super-soph had fouled out 31 seconds prior with a career-low two points.
"It was one of the worst positions I have ever been in as far as playing college basketball," Smith said.
Now a junior, Craig Smith has his Boston College Eagles in the top 10 and many in the country are finally starting to notice this upstart team. Boston College is coming off wins over ranked UConn and Providence before traveling to what Smith called the hardest place he's had to play, West Virginia. The big play from Smith and his Eagles continued as they routed the 24th-ranked Mountaineers 73-53 for their eighth straight road win. Despite the success, Smith still finds himself thinking of that hard loss to the Yellow Jackets last March.
"It's in the past, but it still brings fuel to the fire," Smith said. "It's something that made me want to work harder in the offseason and get more prepared this season so I won't ever have to be in that position again.
Craig had been a great scorer through his first two years at BC, but had been slightly overweight. He was listed around 260, played around 270, and often couldn't keep up with the more dominant and quicker big men in the Big East. Players such as Emeka Okafor, Hakim Warrick, and Ryan Gomes would often 'blow by' the slower Smith.
"I was a little slow in that area," Smith said.
The operative word in his statement is "was," as Smith spent the summer getting in shape and working on his lateral defense. Craig can now guard the more versatile big men and plays at a chiseled 250 pounds. The Big East is a conference of great Big Men, and Craig Smith ranks near the top. The junior forward is in the top five in scoring and rebounding and will more than likely be on the Big East first-team for the second straight year.
While Craig's scoring has been fantastic, he knows the real key to winning in March.
"Defense," Smith said. "That's how we won the majority of our games in the Big East tournament last year and that's how we won a lot of close games at home too; just by strapping down at the end of the game."
It's been Boston College's ability to "strap down" at the end of games that has them undefeated at 14-0. They have won ugly at times, including a three-point overtime win over Holy Cross and a win over Kent State on a buzzer-beating shot by Smith. However, even a win uglier than a Jimmy Kimmel monologue is still a win and Boston College has done nothing but win lately.
The Eagles have been one of the most underrated squads in the country and are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve. Disrespect is nothing new to Craig Smith, who wasn't even a top 400 recruit during his senior year of high school according to several recruiting outlets. Smith, who is just starting to get some recognition, said the constant lack of respect he's encountered in his career is something he doesn't give much thought.
"During my career, I've always had to prove to people that I could play the game of basketball," Smith said. "It's the same situation for most of the guys on this team; they are guys who have been overlooked and don't get the chance and recognition most players get. Now we are all together trying to prove to people we are a good team."
They have proven that to most of the country with their wins over UConn, Providence, and over West Virginia. With Smith and guard Jared Dudley leading the way, Al Skinner's Eagles will be a force in the NCAA tournament. This team will go as far as Smith can take them and something tells me Craig will be leading the team this March instead of watching from the bench. I think that any last-second three-point attempts will come from Smith, resulting in teams learning something that no one really knows about Craig.
"I can shoot," he laughed. "I think people are going to give it to me more, and I'm going to knock 'em down."
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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