Freshman averaging 7.6 points per game
As a senior at the Landon School, Danny Rubin’s rare combination of height, good grades, and deft shooting touch brought him to the attention of Cornell.
Just one problem. As coach of an Ivy League school, Steve Donahue couldn’t offer Rubin an athletic scholarship. In addition, Donahue wanted Rubin with a condition — that he spend a year at a prep school.
But everything changed in April when Donahue was named the new coach at Boston College.
Eight months later, Rubin is in the starting lineup for the Eagles. The freshman guard is averaging 7.6 points per game and has hit 15-of-32 3-point attempts (46.9 percent), ranking third in the ACC.
| UP NEXT |
| Boston College at Maryland |
| When » Sunday, 4 p.m. |
| Where » Comcast Center, College Park |
| TV/Radio » FSN/980 AM |
| Boston College junior G Reggie Jackson (19.6 ppg), the ACC’s second-leading scorer, is hitting 47.7 percent from behind the arc. Senior F Joe Trapani (13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is BC’s top inside threat. The Eagles have won the last two meetings at College Park. |
Sunday afternoon at Comcast Center, when Boston College (7-2) faces Maryland (7-3) in both teams’ ACC opener, Rubin will play 12 miles from his home in Chevy Chase.
“I came in here just trying to earn some time,” Rubin told reporters. “I had no idea I was going to play this much.”
Rubin began the season as a reserve, and watched all 40 minutes from the bench as Boston College lost its second game to Yale, 75-67. Four nights later, however, Rubin was in the starting lineup and has remained there since.
In Boston College’s 88-76 victory over Indiana in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Rubin hit three critical 3-pointers, impressing Indiana coach Tom Crean.
“Rubin just killed us. He’s an excellent shooter,” Crean said. “He’s very underrated as a player. You can fly at him and he stays with his shot, which is rare.”
Rubin’s rise is improbable considering his 2-iron frame. He is listed at 6-foot-6, 170 pounds.
“A lot of schools were interested, but they all wanted him to do a [post graduate] year,” Landon coach Andy Luther said. “He was a frail kid and they wanted him to spend a year bulking up.”
Rubin was prepared to play as a preferred walk-on at Colgate, before getting a call from Donohue, who guided Cornell to the NCAA Sweet 16 last spring.
On the same day Donahue received the Clair Bee award as national coach of the year, Boston College fired 13-year coach Al Skinner. A week later, Donahue was named as the successor. But in the aftermath, six players transferred or de-committed leaving the Eagles scrambling. Thus, the SOS to Rubin.
In his starting debut, Rubin scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in a win over Holy Cross.
“I’m not worrying about whether a kid is athletic enough or strong enough or quick enough to play in the ACC,” Donohue said afterward. “I’m just going to watch and evaluate. He did all the things in practice that I should have expected in a game.”
The freshman is a good fit for Donahue’s perimeter offense, a departure from Skinner’s low-post oriented flex. After averaging 15.7 three-point attempts last year, the Eagles have averaged 22.3 a game under Donahue.
“The new coach came in and has really opened it up,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “The players like playing the way they’re playing. It shows in what they’ve done so far this year.”
