Chambers' Challenge
Terriers Coach Pushing O'Brien to Become a Star
by Jeff Cohen
With power forward Scott Brittan ('10) nursing a concussion during the beginning of last season, the Terriers were in dire need of a low-post presence to compliment a budding offense featuring guards Corey Lowe ('10) and Tyler Morris ('10) and small forward John Holland ('11). In the season opener vs. George Washington, an unknown freshmen stepped to center court to fight for the jump ball. Over the course of the game, this unknown freshmen accumulated eight points and six rebounds. Despite some shooting nerves (3-11 from the field), there were signs of promise.
Less than two weeks later, the rookie scored 21 second-half points to help lead the Terriers to a 83-75 victory over Northeastern. After his heroics, the BU fans jumped onto his bandwagon. The freshmen forward made sure those fans never jumped off. Later in the season against Maine, he carried the Terriers to victory with a 24-point performance. He finished third on the team with a 12.5 points-per-game average. He drilled 61 three-pointers, good for ninth in the conference. At season's end, Jake O'Brien ('12) received the America East Rookie of the Year Award.
New Terriers head coach Pat Chambers feels this is only a starting-off point for O'Brien ('12). Chambers told reporters that he is challenging the sophomore forward to become a star.
"I've asked him to do more than just shoot threes. I've asked him to get down low. I've asked him to attack the rim. I've asked him to dunk on people. I've asked him to finish hard. I've asked him to get to the foul line. I've asked him to become our best rebounder," Chambers said. "That's a great challenge for anybody of his skill and his frame (6'8", 220lbs) to take on all of those challenges from me."
One hole in the Terriers high-flying attack last season was the lack of a dominant inside scorer and intimidator. O'Brien was an offensive force last season, but seemingly preferred his outside shooting stroke compared to fighting for points and rebounds in the low post. Defensively, he wasn't feared in the low post despite his height advantage. Conference stars such as Vermont's Marquis Blakely ('10) and UMBC's Darryl Proctor ('09), the latter of whom scored 35 points in a first round conference playoff win over BU, exploited the Terriers lack of an inside presence repeatedly last year.
Chambers, in addition to challenging O'Brien's inside game, will try to sharpen his edge as well.
"We have a thing called the attitude club. I challenge him everyday to be in the top five (on the team). The attitude club is basically doing all the little things that [the media] might not report, that [the media] might not talk about," the coach explained.
"If he can score and do all the little things, we have a heck of a player."
With power forward Scott Brittan ('10) nursing a concussion during the beginning of last season, the Terriers were in dire need of a low-post presence to compliment a budding offense featuring guards Corey Lowe ('10) and Tyler Morris ('10) and small forward John Holland ('11). In the season opener vs. George Washington, an unknown freshmen stepped to center court to fight for the jump ball. Over the course of the game, this unknown freshmen accumulated eight points and six rebounds. Despite some shooting nerves (3-11 from the field), there were signs of promise.
Less than two weeks later, the rookie scored 21 second-half points to help lead the Terriers to a 83-75 victory over Northeastern. After his heroics, the BU fans jumped onto his bandwagon. The freshmen forward made sure those fans never jumped off. Later in the season against Maine, he carried the Terriers to victory with a 24-point performance. He finished third on the team with a 12.5 points-per-game average. He drilled 61 three-pointers, good for ninth in the conference. At season's end, Jake O'Brien ('12) received the America East Rookie of the Year Award.
New Terriers head coach Pat Chambers feels this is only a starting-off point for O'Brien ('12). Chambers told reporters that he is challenging the sophomore forward to become a star.
"I've asked him to do more than just shoot threes. I've asked him to get down low. I've asked him to attack the rim. I've asked him to dunk on people. I've asked him to finish hard. I've asked him to get to the foul line. I've asked him to become our best rebounder," Chambers said. "That's a great challenge for anybody of his skill and his frame (6'8", 220lbs) to take on all of those challenges from me."
One hole in the Terriers high-flying attack last season was the lack of a dominant inside scorer and intimidator. O'Brien was an offensive force last season, but seemingly preferred his outside shooting stroke compared to fighting for points and rebounds in the low post. Defensively, he wasn't feared in the low post despite his height advantage. Conference stars such as Vermont's Marquis Blakely ('10) and UMBC's Darryl Proctor ('09), the latter of whom scored 35 points in a first round conference playoff win over BU, exploited the Terriers lack of an inside presence repeatedly last year.
Chambers, in addition to challenging O'Brien's inside game, will try to sharpen his edge as well.
"We have a thing called the attitude club. I challenge him everyday to be in the top five (on the team). The attitude club is basically doing all the little things that [the media] might not report, that [the media] might not talk about," the coach explained.
"If he can score and do all the little things, we have a heck of a player."
Labels: Corey Lowe, Jake O'Brien, Jeff Cohen, John Holland, Men's Basketball, Pat Chambers, Tyler Morris
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