Rakim Sanders Leaves BC... More To Follow?

During my preview of the ACC I said that if new coach Steve Donahue could hang onto every player and every recruit then BC would probably make the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11. The worry was that players and/or recruits would leave since the coach who recruited them (Al Skinner) was fired. And the first big transfer is apparently upon us, with reports that Rakim Sanders is transferring, possibly to Fairfield, which is coached by former BC assistant Ed Cooley. Sanders wasn't the best player on BC, but he was a starter, and certainly was expected to be a key starter yet again next season. Sanders has only one year of eligibility left, and usually players don't transfer and sit out one season just so that they can play one more season. The fact that Sanders has done so, and so quickly after the coaching change, suggests a possibility that there is real discontent among the players about the new coach. In other words, there could be more transfers. So stay tuned. The loss of Sanders means that BC is now firmly a bubble team, unless the field expands to 96.

On a side note, if Sanders does indeed move to Fairfield this transfer could swing the MAAC in 2011-12. Fairfield is one of the two key contenders for the MAAC this coming season. Iona returns more talent and is the favorite at the moment, but with their own coaching change there's a chance that they will fall apart and make Fairfield the favorite. In addition, Fairfield is a very young team that was already poised to possibly be even better in 2011-12 than 2010-11. As I talked about in my 2010-11 MAAC preview, of the ten players that had at least ten minutes per game in 2009-10 for Fairfield, six of them were freshmen and sophomores. Throw in Rakim Sanders, who could potentially be the best player in the MAAC in 2011-12, and Fairfield could be a really potent team. Of course, Iona is a very young team as well, and if their new coach can hang onto everybody then they could be improved in 2011-12 as well. And if that's the case, Sanders could be what tips Fairfield over the top and gives them the 2011-12 MAAC title.