Grant Wants to ‘Move Program Forward’ in Year One
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Staff Writer
Earl Grant has been part of and led program rebuilds before.
When he was an assistant at Wichita State, a mid-major power throughout the 2010s, the Shockers transformed from an 11-win team in 2007-08 to a 25-win team in 2009-10, his final season with the program.
Then, of course, during his seven-year tenure as the head coach of College of Charleston, Grant piloted the Cougars to CAA and national relevance. After back-to-back sub-.400 seasons in the conference, the second of which was Grant’s inaugural year with the team, Grant guided the Cougars to five consecutive winning campaigns, including a trio of 20-win seasons and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999.
He’s tasked with doing the same thing at BC, which hasn’t sniffed the tournament in four years or actually booked its ticket to The Dance since 2008-09.
“My goal for this year is to move the program forward,” Grant said at Tuesday’s ACC Basketball Tip Off in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It’s pretty simple. … Look like a team and love each other. Compete to the highest level of our ability. And, if we do that, we’re going to find ourselves being successful.”
BC’s roster is a work in progress after it was thinned out in the wake of Jim Christian’s firing. But, even during Christian’s stay on the Heights, retaining players was a problem.
In fact, a dozen players recruited by Christian and his staff transferred away from the program while he was BC’s frontman, including Jairus Hamilton, who, at the time, was BC’s first four-star recruit since Craig Smith in 2002.
But Grant already has the wheels in motion to build a new and better program. He has two four-star commits for the Class of 2022: forward Prince Aligbe, the 64th-best prospect in his class, and point guard Donald “DJ” Hand Jr. Since Rivals began tracking recruiting data in 2002, BC has never had two four-star signees in the same class.
Those players won’t be ready for another year, though, hence Grant’s point that getting BC back to where it needs to be will take some time.
“I see something special,” Grant said. “I see us making history. But the first phase is this year. We’ve gotta find love in the process of becoming something.”
He’s focused on the now, and he does have immediate help. Grant brought in a handful of transfers, including forward TJ Bickerstaff (Drexel), center Quinten Post (Mississippi State) and guard Brevin Galloway (College of Charleston), who Grant has known for years.
True freshmen Gianni Thompson, Kanye Jones, Jaeden Zackery and Devin McGlockton will also help soften the blow that was the departure of Jay Heath, Wynston Tabbs, CJ Felder and Steffon Mitchell.
Grant isn’t trying to let the big picture of the program metamorphosis cloud his vision for the near future of the team.
“We’ve got a one-game season every game,” he said. “I can’t see the whole season. I don’t think that way. We got practice. When we get back, I see that. We got a scrimmage coming up this weekend, I do see that. I really don’t see past that. I just want these guys to have good days, to get better every day, to enjoy the process of what we’re doing.”
Grant, who played two years at Division II Georgia College, talked about how he knows what it feels like to be a student-athlete. He wants to make the experience about his players, not him.
He is confident that he has a blueprint for success.
“I feel like I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been in programs where we’ve had to turn it around,” Grant said. “And we won, we did it.
“I don’t know exactly what this year will hold, but I got great peace in knowing that whatever comes out of this year is what was supposed to happen.”
