Salute To The BC Women's Lacrosse Team For Winning Its First NCAA Title, 16-10 Vs. Syracuse

 

    I simply had to write something about the BC's women's lacrosse team (and not just because my wife, her two sisters, her dad and one of my brothers-in-law all went there) after they did something this afternoon that had never happened before in program history: the Eagles rolled 16-10 over Syracuse in the 2021 NCAA national championship game at Towson University to win their first-ever title. What made it even sweeter is that BC was appearing in the title game for the fourth straight season after heartbreaking losses in 2017 to Maryland (16-13 at Gillette Stadium), in 2018 to James Madison (16-15) and in 2019 to Maryland again (12-10). Head coach and former Terps star Acacia Walker-Weinstein has quietly built a juggernaut of a program in Chestnut Hill in her nine seasons there and this solidifies her place as one of the best women's college coaches in the country these days. BC had a slim 9-8 halftime lead and their defense clamped down on Syracuse in the second half to deliver an exhilarating moment and lifetime memories for themselves and their school. 

    This was also BC's first NCAA title from a team other than the powerhouse men's hockey program which has won five. The Eagles finished the season 18-3 and in the process split four games (the first time in women's lacrosse that two teams had played four times in the same campaign) with their ACC rival the Orange. They each won once in the regular season at home, BC lost at Cuse in the ACC tournament semifinals but they got they ultimate revenge today behind senior attack Charlotte North (she scored a game-high 6 goals which gave her an NCAA record 102 this season) who was named the tournament's most outstanding player and junior goalie Rachel Hall (she made 9 saves) who was named to the all-tournament team along with three other teammates (attack Jenn Medjid, midfielder Belle Smith and defender Hollie Schleicher). As a college recruiting nerd what's interesting to me about North and Hall-besides the fact that they are two of the best women's college lacrosse players that I've ever seen at their respective positions-is that they are both transfers: normally you associate transfers with football, basketball and hockey but North began her collegiate career at Duke and Hall originally was at Oregon. Oh and they're also both from Texas which is very cool considering that lacrosse had always been viewed as a mostly regional (Northeast and Mid-Atlantic) sport before recent years have proven otherwise in both the men's and women's game.  

    Can we also recognize how hard it is to win a Division 1 NCAA championship for New England schools in sports other than hockey? BC joins a short list of champions in women's lacrosse that hail from New England: UMass won the inaugural NCAA women's lacrosse tournament in 1982, UNH followed in 1985 and Harvard was the most recent local champion in 1990. The Crimson also lost in overtime in 1992 to Maryland and Dartmouth fell in 2006 to Northwestern at BU's Nickerson Field. FYI Maryland with 14 titles and the Wildcats with seven titles are by far the most storied programs in NCAA women's lacrosse. It's hard to overstate how much an NCAA title can do for a program; BC is obviously a wonderful school academically to begin with so that aspect sells itself but now the fact that they can compete with the best women's lacrosse teams year after year means that Walker-Weinstein's recruiting classes (which are already extremely legit) will get even that much better. New England doesn't normally produce the same sheer number of D1 athletes that other areas do for many reasons (namely our spotty weather which limits outdoor training and the level of competition) but you can bet that BC will be at the top of the wish lists now for all the most decorated high school girls lacrosse stars in the area not to mention around the United States. Finally, this title also gives Acacia almost unlimited job security meaning that she can coach at BC basically as long as she wants to, kind of like legendary BC men's hockey head coach Jerry York who has won four crowns with the Eagles and is the all-time winningest coach in college hockey.

Mercifully, Our Regional Nightmare is Over: Fab Melo Traded to Memphis

Look it up, I was never a Fab Melo fan dating back to his brief time at Syracuse so you can imagine my frustration when the Celtics drafted him in the first round (22nd overall) in 2011. I predicted he'd never have an impact in Boston and despite being a beast in the D-League (hold your laughter), Melo couldn't find a place on an NBA team that basically played without a true center for two years. What does that tell you how they viewed him? As far as I'm concerned, his most memorable pro moment so far is bumping his head in a hotel which gave him a concussion.

Today, he was traded for another bust from Syracuse-forward Donte Greene-that was on the Grizzlies last season but never actually played a game. He was a first round pick (28th overall) by Sacramento where he toiled for four seasons, averaging a forgettable 6.1 points per game. This was a chance for Boston to trim salary and get under the luxury tax line next season assuming that they waive him before the regular season starts in October. Also, it's another step in the rebuilding process as they admitted (with this move) that drafting Melo was a mistake from the start.

Oh well, at least now we don't have to watch that big goof painfully try to play basketball. So we've got that going for us.

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2 Orange & 1 Buckeye Are The Newest Boston Celtics

After much speculation about Boston trading up in the 2012 NBA Draft, maybe even to select head coach Doc Rivers's son Austin, the Celtics ended up keeping all three of their original picks: No. 21 (Jared Sullinger, sophomore power forward, Ohio State), No. 22 (Fab Melo, sophomore center, Syracuse) and No. 51. (Kris Joseph, senior small forward, Syracuse).

All three players are particularly well known to college basketball fans since not only are they from two of the better programs and more prestigious conferences (Big Ten and Big East respectively) but the Buckeyes and Orange faced each other in the Elite 8 at TD Garden this past March. I'd say that Danny Ainge did all the scouting he needed then but Melo was suspended for the NCAA Tournament so there goes that half-ass lazy theory.

Of those guys, Sullinger (@Jared_Sully0) is by far the one that makes me most hopeful. The two-time All-American would have been a Top-10 pick if he left Ohio State in 2011 after his freshman year. It's not that he had a bad sophomore season (17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds) as the Buckeyes went to the Final Four but in his case two things worked against him: more exposure meant increased scrutiny and possible issues with his back raised a red flag the last few weeks at workouts.

He's a great low-post player that is also able to step out and hit jumpers consistently. He gets to the basket, draws fouls and hits free throws. Perhaps most importantly for the Celts, he knows how to rebound (one of their biggest issues last season). Sullinger is pretty slow and not particularly agile so it'll be interesting to see if he can be as effective against bigger and faster guys in the NBA. One thing's for sure: he knows how to play the game and he's a winner which is why I think this was a steal for the C's provided his back holds up.



Which leads me to Melo (@fabpmelo); I have already bashed the man in print (check out last week's Metro Boston boom/bust Draft preview) but I have to admit that he made sense in this spot. There weren't many other great options then and his potential upside is huge if he can just get focused. He was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year last season with 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks for the Orange. If nothing else, he can give Boston the defensive presence at center (he's a legit 7-feet) that they've lacked. I don't know if I'd call him a project (although his offensive game is very basic) but I certainly would be surprised if he gives the Celts much his rookie season. It'll probably be a big adjustment for him to the NBA but that's usually how it goes with big men.



One could argue that the Joseph (@Krisjo32) (13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds last season with Cuse) pick was a throwaway choice so it didn't really matter but I have to say that I didn't really understand it. I saw him a million times in college (since he was a senior) and he never impressed me despite the fact that he led Syracuse in scoring the last two seasons. He's just OK at everything: shooting, driving, passing and playing defense. He could have a hard time making this roster next season although that's not to say he couldn't hook on in a less intense environment.

I'll keep you updated to see if these players will be on the Summer League teams that begin play next week. I doubt the Celts' front office would let Sullinger suit up. Melo seems like he could and you know Joseph will be there from Day 1.

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