Troy Bell stood just 6-foot-1 and weighed 183 pounds, but the little guard made his presence felt for Boston College over the past four years. He broke Dana Barros' school scoring record. He fell just 17 points shy of Lawrence Moten's Big East scoring record. He averaged an incredible 25.2 points per game as a senior.

"Having a lead guard who can score makes coming down the stretch a lot easier," said Boston College coach Al Skinner. "We have to rethink some things. It's unrealistic for us to think we can do the same things we've been doing with Troy and get the same results."

The Eagles will have to find a new method, but the results should remain the same. Boston College appears ready for a fourth straight postseason appearance -- something that hasn't happened on Chestnut Hill since the mid-1980s.

Skinner returns four starters and expects to welcome back senior forward Uka Agbai, who broke a bone in his neck in the third game of the 2002-03 season and missed the rest of the year.

"It's going to be hard to replace Troy because he had been our go-to guy for so long that we started to take him for granted," Skinner said. "As a lead guard and a tremendous scoring threat, Troy made it easier for everyone around him. We'll have to get used to life without him."

FRONTCOURT

The sight of Agbai sitting on Boston College's bench with a halo brace screwed into his skull offered little hope that he would come back for his senior year. But Agbai, who averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds two years ago, has recovered nicely from his neck injury. His return from the potentially career-ending injury will provide muscle and leadership to BC's frontcourt.

"Uka's a coach now," Skinner said. "He had a chance to sit and watch and observe and see how things can be. Because of that, he's looking to really round out his game."

Speaking of round, Craig Smith turned in a pretty fair impersonation of Charles Barkley last season. The under-recruited Smith stepped into the void created by Agbai's injury and averaged 19.9 points and 7.9 boards.

Nate Doornekamp, a 7-foot junior with limited skills, started every game in each of his first two seasons at BC. But Skinner may use Doornekamp as a reserve this season and go with Agbai at center and Smith at power forward.

Andrew Bryant, a sharpshooting small forward who averaged 7.1 points as a junior, was dismissed from the team over the summer.

BACKCOURT

The Boston College backcourt doesn't need an extreme makeover to mask the loss of Bell. Just a little nip here and a tuck there.

This year's probable starter at the point actually started 28 games last season. As a freshman, Louis Hinnant played alongside Bell, but he attempted barely three shots per game -- Bell took about 16 -- and averaged just 4.7 points. Hinnant will have to hold off incoming freshman Steve Hailey for the starting assignment.

"Both those players can distribute the basketball," Skinner said. "They don't have to do much else. Just distribute the ball and don't turn it over."

Ryan Sidney returns at the two-guard. One of the most dynamic players in the Big East two years ago, Sidney took a step back last season; his scoring average dipped from 13.7 as a sophomore to 12.4 in 2002-03. Sidney's not really a shooting guard, but he's got more guard in him than a standard small forward. Skinner plans to put Sidney on the court and hope he regains the energy he displayed two years ago.

Jermaine Watson, a junior who was a key recruit three years ago, must improve his outside shooting if he's going to nudge Sidney aside for playing time at the off-guard spot. A couple of freshmen -- Devon Evertsen and Sean Marshall -- are small forward types who may keep Sidney at guard and Watson on the bench.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Boston College will make for an interesting case study this season. When a great player leaves a program, is it better to replace him with a similar player or go with a new strength? Boston College will go with the latter approach. On defense, the Eagles will try to limit opponents to one shot, and on offense, Boston College will force the ball inside for high-percentage attempts. It's a formula that helped Pittsburgh turn itself into a conference power in recent years.

The only question: Without Bell, what happens during the final minute of a close game? "No question, I'll have to coach a little differently, but I'm not worried about these guys," Skinner said. "I've yet to meet a player who doesn't enjoy scoring."

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