Aug. 14
The Boston College Eagles and coach Al Skinner certainly received some bad news this week in Chestnut Hill, Mass. What a tough time to learn that one of your potential stars, Ryan Sidney, a jumping jack with incredible athleticism, has decided to leave the program for personal reasons.

	BC's Ryan Sidney, left, won't be battling for rebounds this season.

Sidney, a junior, is an explosive athlete -- and this is a major blow to the Eagles program. With the school year right around the corner, there's no time to recover or to replace Sidney with a recruit.

Skinner and the Eagles anticipated the loss of Troy Bell, a four-year star who completed his eligibility and was a first-round NBA draft pick. Now, suddenly, the backcourt is decimated.

Skinner must be in Shock City. Sidney was a tough player who often went on the court despite injuries. What did he mean to the Boston College program?

He started in all 31 games last season, playing an average of 35 minutes per game. Sidney was versatile, averaging 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and a team-best 4.6 assists per contest.

Obviously, this puts more pressure on the inside game, especially super soph Craig Smith. Last season, he was one of the surprise diaper dandies in America, averaging 19.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

With dominant teams in the Big East like Connecticut (led by Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor), Syracuse (with Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara and Billy Edelin), Notre Dame (returning Chris Thomas) and Pittsburgh (featuring Julius Page), it will be interesting to see how Boston College responds to the absence of Bell and Sidney.

It will be a difficult challenge for Skinner.