Full disclaimer: this piece was supposed to be making a case that Earl Grant should be retained for at least one more season. Since Grant’s return is already confirmed, I figured it would be better to take a look at how Grant can maximize his extra year and get the program back on track.
Look, I get it. After yesterday’s blowout to Pitt to officially close Year 4 of Grant’s tenure on the Heights, I am under no illusions about Grant’s capabilities as a head coach in today’s college basketball world. The way I see it, every successful coach in the country today either a) is an excellent X’s and O’s guy, with a crafty scheme and buy-in from his players or b) an excellent recruiter of talent, both through the high school ranks and through the portal. The most elite coaches in sport — the Dan Hurleys and Bruce Pearls of the world — are able to do both. Obviously, these are definitely not the only skills that make a successful head coach, but I think it’s pretty difficult (if not impossible) to have sustained success without either high-level tactics or players.
Grant has demonstrated that his in-game management is perhaps his biggest weakness as a coach. His offensive scheme is simplistic and fails to generate open shots, his defensive coverage schemes are questionable, his timeout use and rotation management can be infuriating at times — I could go on. I’m willing to be kinder in evaluating his talent acquisition, but he’s obviously still not bringing 5-stars that will change the program overnight — and his roster construction for this past season was downright disastrous. So why should he — why is he — staying?
The elephant in the room is money. First and foremost, I’m guessing BC does not want to pay Grant’s buyout. He’s under contract through the 28-29 season, and it would take a lot of money to get rid of him before then committing more money to an incoming coach. Which brings me to my next point — there is no obvious clear upgrade for the job without significant increase in funding towards basketball (which I’m sure we’d all love to see but is just unrealistic at this point, at least in my opinion.) Bill O’Brien was a can’t miss hire for BC, and the job opened up (without having to pay a buyout) at the perfect time for a guy with the perfect resume who just so happens to have deep, local roots in Massachusetts. There is no comparable option for BC’s basketball opening. Moreover, with the state of the program in the shape that it is, my guess is any incoming head coach would demand a major uptick in NIL spending to upgrade the roster. That’s a lot of investment to make for an administration that doesn’t have the best record at hiring basketball coaches, on top of the fact that Fr. Leahy will be leaving at the end of next year. Waiting until Fr. Butler takes the reins as president could be beneficial to BC’s potential future search. Firing Grant does not guarantee a better coach, and it might cause another exodus from the roster. That, in my opinion, would further tank the basketball program at Boston College.
I think Grant has earned — just barely, but earned nevertheless — to have the opportunity to remake the roster himself this offseason. There’s no question that his seat will (rightfully) be scorching hot entering next season. But honestly, BC showed legitimate growth in his first 3 years in charge. I know the record isn’t great, but there are a couple things Grant has done well that I think bear promise for next season.
Above all Grant’s greatest skill has been his talent development. At a place like BC, which has never signed a 5-star recruit and has seven 4-stars to its name in the history of its basketball program, Grant has done a good job with improving his players year-over-year in his program. Quinten Post is the most obvious name here, but Devin McGlockton, Mason Madsen, Jaeden Zackery, and now Donald Hand and Fred Payne can all be added to that list. Now, not all of the players he brings in develop in the program — Prince Aligbe and Chas Kelley are two that come to mind — but what coach has a 100% success rate? Grant’s track record with developing talent gives me hope.
Furthermore, Grant has shows that he hasn’t lost the locker room. This season was terrible, but his players did not give up on him. I think if Grant can keep the players that showed promise this year — and Hand, Payne, and Jayden Hastings should be the top of the list — it’s reasonable to assume that they will be competent ACC-level contributors or better next season. It’s not at all guaranteed that they stay, but I think that it’s much more likely that they do with Grant returning. Those three provide a core to build around. Moreover, Grant has some talent coming in — the freshmen for next year, especially Akbar Waheed, could provide rotation minutes (and potentially more). All are high-3 stars on 247’s recruiting site. There is the outline of a plan with Grant coming back, and if he leaves I have a hard time seeing how BC bounces back quickly. Grant knows his NIL distribution and roster construction was deeply flawed this past year, and in large part is the reason behind this disastrous season. He’s got one shot to make up for it this offseason. Rather than gutting the program and starting from scratch from a roster standpoint with money BC won’t spend, give Grant the chance to hit the portal and retool the roster.
His immediate priority needs to be retooling the frontcourt. As it stands right now, BC’s lineup would look something like this next year:
1: Toews/Beadle/Kelley
2: Payne/Brown/Waheed/Steger
3: Hand
4: Strong/Bailey
5: Hastings
BC’s lack of size has been a consistent problem under Grant, and it was never more pronounced than last year. Hastings has promise, but he’s still raw. Given his foul troubles, getting an experienced big to mentor him and provide a post outlet and rim protection is absolutely critical. Secondly, BC needs a sizable wing. Roger McFarlane was brought in for that role this past season, and while I commend his effort in attempting to play the 4 at 6’4, he simply wasn’t big enough for the role. Strong has offensive potential, but he needs to take a significant step forward defensively next year and refine his footwork down low. I was very impressed by his 3-point shooting, and I’m hoping he can continue to improve. Hand had a major breakthrough this past season, and keeping him needs to be a priority. But simply put, there is no depth behind either of them and that is a problem. Grant needs to bring in a wing with enough size to play the 4 and can space the floor on offense. Lastly, Grant needs to be decisive in his backcourt roster management this season. To me, Kelley has proved he’s not an ACC-caliber player. He should be gone. Beadle has more upside, but again — for a rising senior, you need more production and less turnovers at the 1 spot. Can Toews be the floor general next year? I don’t know. If he can’t, then Grant needs another ball hander. This past season, Grant kept flip-flopping between Kelley and Beadle which in the end hurt both. One other suggestion — try Payne at the 1. He’s shown he’s a capable ball handler, a decent defender, and a good shooter. He should start next year, and his size is less of an issue at the 1.
Grant’s back is against the wall. There’s no questioning that. But given the lack of outside options and Grant’s track record prior to last year, he’s got one shot to fix this thing. It isn’t impossible. Like I said, there are some pieces here and incoming that can play. He needs to nail this offseason — how he goes about that will be critical to watch.