Senior Snapshots: A view from the court

They have the jerseys, the warm-up apparel, and a mid-range game that most would kill for. Since joining the team in the fall of 2003 as walk-ons, Ted Dunlap and Tyler Neville, both A&S '06, have also had the best seats in the house.

"We say it to each other during the games, like the Duke game, and others of that magnitude," says Neville. "It's kind of surreal at times."

Remember when BC came together down the stretch in 2004? How about when the team started 20-0 a year ago? Or this year's Sweet Sixteen trip? Dunlap and Neville were courtside for the whole ride, and they've loved every minute.

"We're not expected to score 20 points a night," says Dunlap. "We're able to enjoy it. Tyler and I sit over on the bench and think that we're coaches, saying what plays we would run."

For a program that prides itself on the team element, Dunlap and Neville have spent plenty of time as the anonymous heroes of BC's development into a nationally prominent team.

The two saw the court for a combined 35 of BC's 7,325 minutes during the past year, but to overlook their contribution would be improper. Other players may get the bulk of the playing time, but make no mistake about it: Neville and Dunlap can ball.

Anyone who intently watches the pre-game shoot-around knows the two knock down more 15-footers from the elbow than mere Plex-goers can hope to hit during a full year of play.

Neville, who put up 17 a game as a senior in New Jersey's talent-rich Bergen County, honed his game as a freshman, playing pick-up games with his friends.

In his own estimation, "I pretty much killed them."

Dunlap, meanwhile, honed his skills at the Quonset Hut on Newton Campus freshman year, before joining the practice squad for the women's team during the second semester.

The process that they each went through to even earn the walk-on spots was excruciating, though they took different roads to making the team. Neville had practiced with the team during the fall and knew he would earn a walk-on spot. Dunlap's Amateur Athletics Union coach put in a good word to the BC coaching staff during his freshman year, but there were no walk-on spots available then. A year later, he went through round after round of tryouts.

"They never told me to go home," says Dunlap, "and on the day of the first game, I saw my jersey hanging up in the locker room. That was pretty sweet."

Since he did not join the team until his sophomore season, Neville has another year of eligibility remaining. Get ready for another year of his fans' "G-Unit Tyler" T-shirts.

Dunlap, on the other hand, is moving on. He is heading out to Loyola Marymount University as a part of Los Angeles' Teach for America program, working with underprivileged high school students. He will also be coaching basketball. As he moves on to help another set of aspiring youths, he will surely take his experiences from BC.

"Anything is possible," says Dunlap. "I never thought, when I came to college as a freshman, that I'd be on a D-I team that'd make the NCAA Tourney three years in a row."

Whatever lies ahead, the odds are pretty good that both will be equipped to handle whatever is thrown in their direction.

They've pretty much seen it all.