It’s Thursday and that means it’s time for only one thing; and no, I am not talking about Friends or Scrubs repeats on NBC. No, Thursday means it’s time for another edition of Thursday Evening Ramblings. Well, it does unless I get lazy and don’t write my column until Saturday…
In this week’s column: an around-the-horn look at some important happenings in Boston College athletics.
Craig Smith placed on "the Wizard’s list":
Boston College sophomore power forward Craig Smith was named to the Wooden Award Preseason List. He was one of 50 returning men’s basketball players honored with inclusion on the watch list for the most prestigious post-season award in his sport. Smith was one of eleven representatives from the Big East, the most of any conference in the nation.
As a freshman, Craig Smith averaged 19.9 points and 7.9 rebounds, starting every game following Uka Agbai’s injury in the third game of the season. He led the Big East with 60.8% shooting from the field and was named to the Big East All-Rookie first team, All-Conference second team, and All-Tournament team.
This season, Smith will team with Uka Agbai to form one of the toughest frontcourts in the Big East.
Sandro Sciortino on Groza Watch List:
The senior kicker from Canada was named to the preseason Lou Groza Watch List. The Groza award is presented annually to the best place kicker in the nation. In 2002, Sciortino led the Big East completing 71.6 percent (23 of 32) of his field goals.
Belated Congratulations to Two from BC’s best team:
In 2002-2003, the Boston College men’s soccer team won both the Big East regular season and tournament titles, reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, and finished ranked sixth nationally. Without a doubt, the team was BC’s best for the last academic year.
Two key players on last year’s squad were junior back Guy Melamed and junior midfielder Bill Arnault, who were both named to the Preseason All-Big East squad last Thursday. In 2002, Melamed was selected third team All-American and first team All-Big East and Arnault earned All-Big East second team honors.
News from football camp:
A week after I spoke with the New Jersey speedster and reported here that he would not be attending Boston College in the fall, Tom O’Brien officially announced that Dorien Bryant did not meet the NCAA standards for incoming freshmen and would not be returning kicks (or taking classes at BC) in the fall.
Coach O’Brien also stated that senior walk-on (and U.S. Naval Academy transfer) fullback Charlie Jones will not be returning to the team this year. He was an invaluable scout team member. The roster on the athletic website was updated accordingly.
Well, there you have it for a quick look around this week in Boston College athletics. Tune in next week for another edition of Thursday Evening Ramblings. Until then, let’s continue to get ready for August 30th!
Aaron Rose is a staff writer for EagleInsider.com. He can be reached at InsideTheEagles@yahoo.com.