Grant Says Ashton-Langford ‘Showed Great Heart’ in Chapel Hill
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Makai Ashton-Langford is having the best season of his career. And, after last weekend’s win over Virginia Tech, the graduate guard was amid the best scoring stretch of his collegiate days.
The Providence-turned-Boston College men’s basketball playmaker had averaged 17.2 points per game over his last five outings, twice eclipsing his previous career high of 20 points.
Following BC’s dramatic win against the Hokies, Ashton-Langford discussed his bubbling confidence.
“If I don’t shoot it, they’ll get mad at me,” he said, in reference to his teammates.
BC’s shooting woes at Wake Forest Monday night were contagious, however. And Ashton-Langford went 3-of-16 from the field, contributing to the Eagles’ troubles at the rim—he missed seven layups.
His final miss was the most costly. The high-energy Ashton-Langford corralled an offensive rebound with under five minutes to go and then went up for the second-chance bucket. But, like the last six of his attempts, it was off the mark.
Trying to redeem himself, he dove to the floor to recover a loose ball from a scrum of Wake Forest players. Ashton-Langford hit the deck hard in the process. The held ball resulted in another BC possession, but Ashton-Langford, the team’s leading scorer, wasn’t there for it.
He gingerly walked to the locker room. Later on, he returned to the bench, but Eagles head coach Earl Grant didn’t insert the veteran back in the lineup out of caution and because the game was already well out of hand.
Two days later, Ashton-Langford was in the starting five. He was wearing a bandage on his left hand, which covered his knuckle/wrist. Grant said the fall at Wake Forest didn’t injure any specific part of Ashton-Langford’s body. Instead, the first-year BC head coach said that it made him sore all around.
It showed. Ashton-Langford, despite giving max effort, was 1-of-7 from the floor at UNC with three personal fouls, two turnovers and four points in 25 minutes.
Grant praised his guard’s willingness to keep pushing forward, though.
“He showed great heart to show up and play and fight for his teammates,” Grant said. “But I know that he was in a lot of pain. So we appreciate his efforts.”
After playing three games in five days, BC gets two off days before its Saturday afternoon home game against Pittsburgh. Of course, the impending Boston snowstorm could throw a wrench in that contest.
Still, even if the game is played, the Eagles will have had more time to recuperate than they had all week. It’s a change from the madness that can sometimes be the meat of ACC play.
“It’s a mental wear down,” Grant said. “Getting prepared for the next game. Going over the scouting report. Going through the shootaround, practicing. And it’s quick. So, especially when you have guys who may be getting banged up in one of those games, you don’t have two or three days to recover. You’ve gotta get right back on the horse.”
That’s what Ashton-Langford did Wednesday night.
