The Boston College Eagles men’s basketball program is one of the great teams of the excellent Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles have been to seven of the last ten NCAA Tournaments with a total of 18 appearances in school history. A total of 31 players from the school have been selected in the NBA Draft. The top NBA players from Boston College include former All-Stars Michael Adams and Dana Barros.
Michael Adams:
The best NBA player from Boston College is former All-Star point guard Michael Adams. Adams took the Eagles to the Sweet Sixteen twice in 1983 and 1985, though he wasn’t a highly touted prospect. Taken in the third round of the 1985 NBA Draft, Adams earned a roster spot and stuck around long enough to make major strides as a passer and shooter. After his first two years with the Kings and Bullets, Adams became a starting point guard in Denver. He had a good run in seven years as a starter, but he had one year in which he was one of the top performers in the NBA; in 1990-91, he averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. For his career as a whole, Adams played ten seasons from 1985 to 1996, totaling 9,621 points, 4.209 assists, and 1,081 steals. He led the NBA in three point baskets twice and retired with 949 treys
Dana Barros:
An outstanding shooter who suited up for 14 seasons, guard Dana Barros was one of the best NBA players from Boston College. Barros scored 2,342 points for the Eagles and he became a first round pick in 1989. Barros played four seasons in Seattle before breaking out with the 76ers. In 1994-95, he was named an NBA All-Star and Most Improved Player with averages of 20.6 points, 7.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a career-high .464 three-point percentage. He returned to Boston as a member of the Celtics, playing 307 games with the team mostly as a backup point guard. Barros retired with a .411 three-point percentage which stands 12th in NBA history.
John Bagley:
John Bagley played 11 seasons as one of the top NBA players from Boston College. Bagley was a great scorer in college, averaging better than 20 points per game in each of his last two years. He led the Eagles to the 1982 Elite Eight before being selected 12th overall in the draft of the same year. He twice averaged more than eight assists per game, ranking in the NBA’s top five leaders in the category both times. Like Barros, Bagley eventually returned to Boston as he played three seasons in Celtics green. For his career, he dished out 6.0 assists per game and scored at a rate of 8.7 points per contest.
Craig Smith:
An undersized but effective power forward, Craig Smith is a top active NBA player from Boston College. Smith left BC as the second leading scorer in Eagles’ history with 2,349 points along with 1,114 rebounds. After being chosen in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft, Smith outshined most first round picks and took home All-Rookie honors by averaging 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Wolves. He averaged a career high 10.1 points while making 31 starts for Minnesota in 2008-09 before joining the Clippers in 2009-10.
Jared Dudley:
The latest Eagle to reach the big stage, Jared Dudley is a top active NBA player from Boston College. After helping the Eagles reach the NCAA Tournament in all four years of his college career, the All-America forward became a first round pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Dudley played his rookie season in Charlotte, averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a regular member of the Bobcats’ rotation. In his second season, he was traded to Phoenix where his role began to grow. By 2009-10, Dudley became a contributor on a strong playoff team, averaging 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds while playing all 82 games; his .458 three-point percentage ranked him fourth in the NBA.
References:
NBA & ABA Players Who Attended Boston College. Basketball-Reference.com
