Joe Trapani is one of eight seniors that will take center stage at noon on Sunday when the Boston College Eagles host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Senior Day at Conte Forum (TV/Radio: ACC Network/WEEI).
Trapani will be honored, along with fellow seniors Corey Raji, Biko Paris, Josh Southern, Cortney Dunn, John Cahill, Chris Kowalski and Nick Mosakowski, for their body of work on the Boston College men's basketball team.
The boys over at BC Interruption took a walk down memory lane to reminisce about the good and bad times that the Eagles' five scholarship players have had in Chestnut Hill.
BC's five scholarship players -- Biko Paris, Corey Raji, Joe Trapani, Josh Southern and Cortney Dunn -- have been through quite a few ups and downs throughout their careers on the Heights.
There was an upset of no. 1 North Carolina down in Chapel Hill, a home win over Duke and an NCAA Tournament game against USC in 2008-09. Big wins over Texas A&M, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Maryland over those four years.
There were also, however, a good number of disappointing results. This senior class went 0-3 against Harvard. Lost to Robert Morris, St. Louis, Saint Joseph's, Maine, Yale and Rhode Island. Blowout losses to North Carolina, Kansas and Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Managed to go just 2-3 in the ACC Tournament, including a disappointing first round loss to Virginia last season.
Each has a different and unique story, and they will all certainly be missed, but none more so than Trapani. In three seasons in Chestnut Hill, Trapani has averaged 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from the floor.
This season, Trapani is second in scoring (14.3 PPG) and first in rebounding (7.4 RPG) on the Eagles. He is shooting a career-low 40.9% from the field. After struggling in the first half of the season, Trapani has looked more like himself, and still remains one of BC's top options on the offensive end.
The first, of course, is junior guard Reggie Jackson. In 29 games, the Colorado Spring native is third in the ACC in scoring (18.5 PPG) and also averaged 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and a team-high 1.1 steals per contest.
Boston College (18-11, 8-7 ACC) is coming off of a hard-fought 76-61 win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Jackson had 20 points and Raji added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles, who shot 45.1% in the victory.
The Eagles have now won three of their last five games, including their last two in a row. BC topped Virginia, 63-44, last Saturday. BC ranks 101st in the country in scoring (71.7 PPG) and 85th in team field goal percentage (45.5%). In addition, the Eagles are 54th in the nation in assists (15 APG) and 294th in rebounding (32.3 RPG).
Due to their recent success, the Eagles are firmly planted on the bubble and are listed as one of Joe Lunardi's Last Four In as of Saturday night.
Unfortunately, the same can not be said about Wake Forest (8-22, 1-14 ACC), which is dead last in the ACC after undergoing an abysmal season. The Demon Deacons are currently in the midst of a nine-game losing streak after topping Virginia, 76-71, on January 29th. In total, Wake Forest has dropped 14 of its last 16 games.
Travis McKie is the Demon Deacons' leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points, and also leads the team in rebounding (7.6 RPG). J.T. Terrell is second in scoring with 11.3 points per game and Gary Clark averages 10.7 points. C.J. Harris is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 3.6 assists.
Wake Forest is 226th in the country in scoring (67.2 PPG) and 265th in team field goal percentage (42%). In addition, the Demon Deacons are 280th in rebounding (32.9 RPG) and 300th in assists (11.3 APG).
BC trails the all-time series against Wake Forest, 7-3, and has lost the last three meetings with the Demon Deacons. Last season, the Eagles were defeated, 92-85, at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. In 2009, Wake downed BC, 93-76, and also topped the Eagles, 83-63, in 2009 at Conte Forum. BC is 2-1 against Wake Forest at Conte Forum.