To leave, or not to leave? One transfer, four perspectives

From Terrier to virtual free agent and back again, Jake O'Brien's basketball status has undergone a major evolution since the end of last year. Perhaps the single player on BU's roster with the most unusual skill set -- a forward floating around on the perimeter? Blocked shots from the low block, but no rebounds? -- the America East Rookie of the Year seems even harder to contain with words than before. How does O'Brien's decision affect his future? How will the decision affect the basketball landscape? Let's look at the process -- and the outcome -- from four different perspectives.

Jake O'Brien: The natural starting point for this exercise. O'Brien entered this offseason in an interesting position. On one hand, the freshman forward was the unquestioned third wheel for an offense fueled by Corey Lowe and John Holland, despite possessing the talent to be a legitimate first or second option at many small-conference Division-I schools. On the other hand, the former BC High standout was coming off an excellent first campaign, with a skillset tailor-made for an uptempo offense a la Villanova; even ignoring the strength of O'Brien's relationship with former head coach Dennis Wolff, the forward figured to thrive in Pat Chambers' newly imported offensive system. Mix in some obvious displeasure regarding the timing and circumstances of Wolff's departure, and you have the makings of a difficult decision.

It shouldn't be a surprise O'Brien opted to test the transfer waters. With three years of eligibility remaining, the lanky forward stood to benefit more from a change of scenery than Lowe or Holland, who have just one and two years of eligibility remaining, respectively. Neither should it be surprising to hear O'Brien decided to return. The option was made available by Chambers and the athletic department, the Terriers are in a position to win big next year, and O'Brien has every opportunity to improve on his freshman season beginning this fall. If O'Brien is truly comfortable with returning to Boston for another campaign, the previous few months shouldn't have a negative effect on his play.

Teammates: While O'Brien was considering his options, every other current Terrier opted to stick around and see what Pat Chambers has to offer. To be fair, John Holland was the only other major player with enough remaining eligibility to give any credence to transfer rumors, but the point remains.

If there's a risk in O'Brien returning to BU, it lies in the possibility of his fellow teammates harboring resentment over how this aborted transfer played out. O'Brien's return seems to indicate a willingness to make amends where necessary and get back to basketball, but so far there hasn't been any public indication of how the rest of the Terriers will react. If players don't feel comfortable playing with O'Brien as a result of his offseason decision-making process, it threatens to impact their performance -- whether O'Brien is immune to the effects of said lack of comfort or not -- and hurt the team. The responsibility for maintaining the peace ultimately falls to...

Pat Chambers: Make no mistake, how Chambers handles O'Brien in the coming months constitutes his first big test. How do you best bring a player back into the fold without resorting to special treatment?

By all accounts, Chambers is a people person. It's impossible to hear the man speak for more than a few seconds without becoming aware of his intense enthusiasm. Now the head coach is faced with the prospect of reintegrating a player who was at one point acutely disinterested in remaining a Terrier into a group Chambers is still getting to know. Will Chambers rely on associate head coach Orlando Vandross to ease whatever remaining tension exists? Will he take charge of the situation and attempt to win his charges over with energy and passion? Or will he take a back seat and let events run their natural course?

On a side note, the aborted O'Brien transfer presents a fan interest challenge for Chambers as well. Repeated serenades of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" following O'Brien 3-pointers have served to illustrate fans' affinity for O'Brien. Chambers has already taken a proactive approach to building fan support, starting a blog and emphasizing the importance of student support immediately upon arrival. There is a distinct possibility of the head coach taking an interest in making sure O'Brien's return is greeted with cheers rather than boos.

America East: For the past two seasons, the Terriers have found themselves at the top of the coaches' preseason poll. While the legitimacy of those lofty perches is debatable, BU figured to be a contender again in 2009-10 were it able to retain in-house talent. O'Brien, as one of the Terriers' better players, figured to knock last year's third-place finishers down a peg with his departure. With O'Brien back on board, the Terriers figure to sport a legitimate frontcourt come fall; that, combined with a deep and talented backcourt, instantly makes BU a major contender for the conference crown next season.

BU is a better team on paper with O'Brien on the roster -- a much better team. Yes, it's possible his return causes chemistry problems. Yes, it's possible for those problems to become significant ones. And yes, they don't play the games on paper... but the better team on paper is deemed to be better for a tangible reason. O'Brien is a very good basketball player, he should help BU in numerous ways next year, and when all is said and done the Terriers should benefit from his presence.

Jake O'Brien is returning to BU

This is big news for the Terriers. Here's the press release.

In case you need a refresher, O'Brien began to openly consider the possibility of a transfer following former head coach Dennis Wolff's dismissal. A week after Pat Chambers was introduced as Boston University's new head coach, the 2009 America East Rookie of the Year was granted his official release. O'Brien spent the better part of two months considering his options before announcing his decision to remain at BU.

Links:
Boston Globe: O'Brien says he's staying at BU
Boston Herald: O'Brien returns to BU
Albany Times-Union: America East Rookie of Year to stay at Boston U.

Jake O'Brien update

Here's an update on Jake O'Brien from the Boston Globe...

BU's O'Brien may transfer

Link: Chambers' goal: Make BU a mini-Nova

Some serious linkage for the Terriers and their new coach Pat Chambers on ESPN.com.

Dana O'Neil's story can be found here.

Also, in case you missed it:

The Terriers will be traveling to Puerto Rico to participate in the ESPN's 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The tournament will be held from Nov. 19-22 and field eight teams. Here's the link to the official website. Here's the link on BU's website.

Aside from BU, the teams participating are:
Dayton
George Mason
Georgia Tech
Indiana
Kansas State
Ole Miss
Villanova

Feature: A coach's demise

Feature on the firing of 15-year BU coach Dennis Wolff from The Daily Free Press.

Click here to read. Feel free to discuss.

UMass guard Gary Correia transfers to BU

According to the Northstar basketball blog, point guard Gary Correia has received his release from the University of Massachusetts and has committed to Boston University. Correia, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard originally from Providence, R.I., averaged 11 minutes per game and 2.2 points per game and 1.2 assists per game in his sophomore season. He will sit out a year and have two years of eligibility with BU under new head coach Patrick Chambers.

Incoming guard Daniel Munoz granted official release

Daniel Munoz, a 6-foot-1 point guard who signed a letter of intent earlier this season, has been granted his release by the administration.

Munoz, from St. Thomas Aquinas School in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., was recruited as a true point guard with a high basketball IQ and worked out with BU in early September but will now seek other options.

If Jake O'Brien decides not to return to BU, the Terriers will have three scholarships available for first-year coach Patrick Chambers to use.

Links:
M. Bball recruit Munoz granted release

Jake O'Brien granted official release

The America East Rookie of the Year, Jake O'Brien, was officially granted his transfer from BU on Monday, April 13. He is currently looking at options in the A10, ACC, Big East and CAA.

O'Brien, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 12.5 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign.

Links:
O'Brien one and done
WHITROCK: Life after O'Brien

Pat Chambers introduced

Check back soon for audio from Pat Chambers' press conference Wednesday morning. Chambers was officially announced as the 24th head coach in Terriers history.



Links:
Chambers introduced as new coach
Chambers vows to resurrect BU
Chambers plan BU-tiful
Official University Release

Coaching search update: Press Conference Wednesday

Boston University will hold a press conference at Agganis Arena in the Francis D. Burke Club Room at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday afternoon to officially announce Pat Chambers as the 24th coach in Terriers basketball history.