In Grant, BC Prepares To Get "Gritty, Not Pretty"

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- When Jeff Hafley met the media for the first time over a year ago, he let the emotion flow through his veins as he spoke about his passion for the game. Speaking directly to the staff and supporters of the Boston College football program, he implored them to start the bandwagon with him. His intensity christened the moment as he told them to "get in," and the rallying cry's immediate impact baked itself into the very fabric of the program.

On Tuesday, when Earl Grant was formally introduced as Boston College's 13th head men's basketball coach, a similar battle call to arms echoed through the halls of Conte Forum. In Grant's meeting with the media, an unscripted moment flew from his voice into the corners of the college basketball universe as he planted the first totem for his era.

"I think we have to be gritty and not pretty," he stamped. "This is a gritty, chip-on-the-shoulder type of place. This is a fighter's job. This is a place for a fighter to come play, and I'm excited to evaluate and find some of those guys to help us move this program in the right direction."

It called to mind a previous era stamped by success at the national level. It conjured the images of Louis Hinnant's shoving match with JJ Redick and the Duke Blue Devils and pushed the narrative created by a Troy Bell bucket on a drive to the basket. It recalled when Craig Smith and Jared Dudley splashed a rugged Big East team into the ACC or when BC moved to the cusp of the 1994 Final Four.

Grant's words embraced the journey of those teams more than the outcome, and he pointed to what it would take in the gym in order to make those days happen again. He acknowledged the full-bodied lift, and he specifically pointed out how a team cannot just win by pulling on a jersey.

"The number one thing is that our team is going to be a passionate group," Grant said. "There's going to be an unbelievable competitive spirit. I think those things are the most important, that we want to defend and rebound, number one. We want to guard you with a half-court, man-to-man, and we want to guard full-court man-to-man. We want to change defenses. We want to get out there to create some opportunities to run and attack in the open court, (but) first and foremost, we have to develop a mentality of guys that want to defend and rebound."

It flashed the potential for Boston College in a coach known as a pure basketball mind. The Division II product played in the Elite Eight with Georgia College and won two Peach Belt Conference championships before advancing into the coaching ranks with The Citadel. After stops at Winthrop and Wichita State - which featured numerous trips to the postseason - Grant moved on to Clemson for that 2010-2011 season and joined Brad Brownell's staff for a first taste of an ACC staff. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year, somewhat ironically over Boston College as a bubble team, and won its First Four matchup over UAB before dropping a Second Round game to West Virginia. Two years later, Clemson won 23 games and advanced to the NIT semifinals in New York City.

But Grant's reputation as a builder wasn't cemented until he ended an extended postseason drought at the College of Charleston. He took over as head coach in September, 2014 - one year after the Cougars moved to the Colonial Athletic Association from the SoCon and almost two decades removed from the team's last trip to the NCAA Tournament. He very deliberately built his roster in that first year, turned the program into one of the most improved Division I teams in his second year, and he returned the team to the postseason play with trip to the 2017 NIT.

Grant's 2018 squad captured a share of the CAA regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. His Cougars' squad won 26 games that season, advancing to the Midwest region as the 13-seed and giving No. 3 Auburn all it could handle in a 62-58 loss in the opening round.

It fully entrenched Grant's legacy as a national style coach who could perform on the game's biggest stage. He recruited NBA-caliber talent to both Clemson and Charleston and is recognized nationally for how he helped put together nationally prominent, championship-level programs. And now, Grant is ready to take on his next challenge as a coach at the Heights.

"I was excited about building what we were doing at the College of Charleston," Grant said, "But the thing that excited me the most about Boston College is the opportunity to build something special. If you look at the history of this program and the DNA, if you really do your research of this program and see where the program is - part of the reason you study history is that it's the best indication of what will happen in the future. Some of the team's we've had, some of the players we've had on this campus and in Conte Forum, all that energy and excitement and grit that they displayed in the years of success - I want to build upon that. And I know if it happened before, we can do it again."

In Grant, BC Prepares To Get "Gritty, Not Pretty"

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