By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

The past two seasons have ended as close to nightmares as possible for the Boston College Eagles and their fans.  In 2009, the Eagles watched as their hated ACC rival, North Carolina, cut down the nets at the end of the NCAA basketball tournament.  A few days ago, the team watched another hated conference foe, Duke, narrowly beat Butler to claim their fourth national title.  BC’s athletic department is hoping that former Cornell head coach Steve Donahue is the answer to the Eagle’s latest struggles.

Donahue was hired this past week as the Eagle’s newest coach, replacing the winningest coach in the programs history, Al Skinner, who was let go after a 15-16 season because of his lack of ability to garner top recruits.

“It was extremely difficult to leave Cornell.  I loved being the head basketball coach at Cornell University. For 10 years, my family and I developed great relationships. I had an unbelievable experience with tremendous student-athletes. I had a great administration,” Donahue said in an article through the Boston Globe.  ”I knew it would take an unbelievable opportunity to leave. That opportunity presented itself when Gene (DeFilippo) made the call.”

There’s no question as to whether or not Donahue will fit in with the maroon and gold.  He will go from the Ivy League, an athletic conference that does not hand out athletic scholarships, to another premier academic program that is known to be more strict when it comes to student athletes and their playing qualifications.

Donahue has proven he knows how to help his players handle the work load while getting the most out his team.  Just this past season, he took Cornell to the sweet 16.  It was the first time an Ivy League program made it that far since 1979, when the University of Pennsylvania made it all the way to the Final Four.

“There are few, if any, jobs in America that embody everything I believe in better than being a basketball coach at Boston College,” Donahue said in an article through ESPN.  ”When I think about the great coaches that have been in this program, the history, it’s humbling to think that now I get the opportunity to lead this basketball program. When I think about the level of play in the ACC, the history of this program, the great players that have worn the uniform, and the passion I know Gene has for all his teams, I get so fired up to take this journey and take the basketball program to the next level.”

Donahue will have a tough road ahead of him as there are no premier players coming into Chestnut Hill next season while the other teams in the conference such as UNC and Duke consistently fill their rosters with top 100 recruits.  As a matter of fact, UNC has the top recruiting class in the country that features the number one ranked player in Harrison Barnes, and two more in the top 20 alone.  However, Donahue has a track record that proves he is able to win without the top players in the country, this past season being a prime example.  Eagles fans certainly hope that he’ll only have to do that for one more season.

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