Boston College announced Thursday that Jim Christian would be the school’s new basketball coach, and the 49-year-old expressed an eagerness to begin rebuilding the program.
“I am obviously tremendously excited and humbled to be able to take over a program with the tradition and history of Boston College,” Christian said in a conference call. “If you look at the great coaches and success that they have had before me, it is a situation where you wake up every day and you just can’t wait to get to work.
“I can’t wait to get up there, meet our players and spend as much time getting to know them as I possibly can; and just go attack the things that we want. Again, I am just truly excited and grateful for the opportunity that Brad Bates and Father [William] Leahy have given me and I am going to make them proud.”
After spending the last two seasons at Ohio University and 12 years as a head coach, Christian makes his return to the city in which he began his college playing career. Christian played two seasons at Boston University (1983-85) before transferring to Rhode Island and helping the Rams reach the Sweet 16 of the 1988 NCAA tournament. He takes over a team that struggled to break through the past four seasons under Steve Donahue.
“I always look at programs historically and not just where they’re at right now,” Christian said. “I think if you look at Boston College historically and the things they have accomplished, it excites you. Any coach wants to have his chance to compete against the very best. Obviously the ACC is the very best. For me, growing up in New York, going to school in Boston and graduating from Rhode Island, it is just kind of in my roots. These things come down to fits and you have to find a job that you think is just a great fit for you. There is no doubt in my mind that Boston College is a tremendous fit.”
BC has received some criticism for a lack of a high-profile candidate during its coaching search, but Bates, who became BC’s athletic director in 2012 after 10 years at Miami (Ohio), is confident he has the right leader.
“I had the benefit of watching Jim when we both worked in the MAC, so he has always been on my list as someone that I had a high regard for,” Bates said. “During the process, he not only validated my impressions of him but he far surpassed them.
“In terms of characteristics, this sport is about recruiting and coaching. You have to get talented athletes that fit your institution and you have to develop them and coach them. Boston College has core values that you need in your coaches. We are about integrity. There has to be a development of our intellectual young men. You need a coach and a staff that can flat-out recruit and develop those kids with their coaching. Beyond that, we want to win. We wanted someone with championships and postseason appearances. Someone with New England roots was important. Someone with energy and passion and at the end of the day someone who is in this for the right reasons and who genuinely cares about his students. He was obviously right up there in the first round of interviews and after the second round he shot right up to the top.”