Boston College Basketball To Become "Gritty Not Pretty" Under New Head Coach Earl Grant
On Tuesday, Boston College held their introductory press conference to introduce new head coach Earl Grant. The former College of Charleston head coach takes over a program that wallowed in the basement of the ACC this past season, leading to the firing of head coach Jim Christian. On Zoom, the new head coach laid out his vision for the future of the program, and hopefully renewed success in the ACC.
Athletic director Pat Kraft led off the press conference by explaining why Grant was chosen as the next head coach. He said the school was looking for a coach with a dynamic personality, who understands the ACC and is an excellent recruiter and talent evaluator. According to Kraft, Grant checks all those boxes either from his time at CoC , Wichita State or Clemson, and seemed to be the perfect fit.
Next up was the man of the hour, Earl Grant. On the podium he had a steady cadence that clearly laid out his plans for the program.
The buzz from taking the job has not dissipated for the new head coach, and father of three. "I’m on cloud nine", said Grant. "The new chapter of Boston College basketball has already started." He is excited to get to work, building his staff of other coaches who share his values, and working to keep players who want to stay at BC at the school.
One thing that stood out with Grant was his understanding of the school and program's history. He talked about former players coming to Boston College who were under recruited, who had a chip on their shoulders. He also has been in contact with former head coach Al Skinner, "he is like a mentor to me". The two are constantly in contact, and even talk about the Eagles, "I'll probably use Al as a consultant."
And Grant has already established his mantra for the program, one that harks back to the Skinner days and one that has already resonated with social media. "I think we have to be gritty, not pretty." He expects the players to perform with passion. "We have to defend rebound and take care of the ball." he explained during his press conference. This isn't going to be a quick fix he explained, he wants to do things the right way and not take short cuts. That means, like football coach Jeff Hafley did with football, building a culture that saturates the basketball program.
The next steps for Grant? Establishing his staff, one that will be able to recruit and sell his vision to high schoolers around the country. He also is going to be talking to the current BC players to find out who wants to stay with the team, while also most likely exploring the transfer portal to fill holes in the roster.
While there are still a lot of questions to be answered, Grant's vision and character seems exactly what Boston College needs at a time when the school's profile is at it's lowest. He seems to understand the school, and has a plan that could on paper be successful. But now it's time to put the work in, and see if he is the right person to bring the program back to relevance.
Photo courtesy of Anthony Garro/BC Athletics
