The Right Hire For The Right Vision

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Patrick Kraft couldn't withhold his smile.

Boston College's WIlliam V. Campbell Director of Athletics sat at a table, socially distanced from his new men's basketball coach. He watched and listened as Earl Grant spoke and the enthusiasm he carried for the program was both obvious and contagious. There was a vision for how he saw the Eagles, and the more Grant spoke, the more the energy flowed freely through the press conference - as much as it could in a virtual setting, at least.

For Kraft, it was a good day and a day worth celebrating. It was the start of a new era for Boston College basketball, and he couldn't help but enjoy the moment.

"I'm on cloud nine," Kraft said to the gathered virtual setting on Tuesday. "The new chapter of Boston College basketball, I think, has already started. When we set out to find our next leader for this basketball program, we had a couple of traits and characteristics that we really wanted to hone in on."

A coaching change is one of the more difficult responsibilities for an athletics director. Sure, it's part of the job, but moving from one staff to another upends a program by shifting its identity and direction. It introduces elements of the unknown and churns the waters by bringing a new coach to established players. It's a heavy weight for any administrator, but the process is one Kraft attacked head-on.

"We wanted someone with a dynamic and charismatic personality that would be able to engage the student body, the alumni, and really all the Boston College fans," Kraft elaborated. "We wanted someone who had experience in rebuilding programs by doing it the right way, and we wanted someone who was an elite recruiter and an elite evaluator. We wanted someone who saw all the unlimited potential and the great opportunity that is set in front of us."

It required a realistic and holistic approach to the program and why Kraft saw Grant as the right coach to turn the Eagles back into national contenders. His resume as a recruiter and evaluator was impeccable from his stops at Winthrop, Wichita State and Clemson. His head coaching resume produced multiple trips to the postseason at the College of Charleston, headlined by a trip to the 2018 NCAA Tournament after capturing the CAA regular season and tournament titles.

Under his tutelage, the Cougars recorded three consecutive seasons with at least 24 wins and had a 3:1 win-loss ratio on home court over his first six seasons. Two of his players - Jarrell Brantley and Grant Riller - were the third and fourth players ever drafted into the NBA from the College of Charleston. The Cougars were one of only 21 programs nationally to have players drafted in the 2019 and 2020 NBA Drafts. Another player - Joe Cheally - played with the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 season.

"He's helped rebuild programs through evaluating and recruiting talent," Kraft said. "He understands the ACC and what it takes to win and what it looks like to win at a high level. He's had two NBA draft picks (in the) last two years. He was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which recognizes those who have success on the court but also carry themselves with integrity off the court. He's a great leader. He makes no excuses and doesn't flinch. He's built consistent winners."

It's exactly the personality and resume Kraft sought to end the NCAA Tournament drought currently scorching BC's program. The Eagles last made the Big Dance in 2009, and the years since produced only two other tournament berths in the NIT. BC hasn't won a postseason game since the 2011 NIT win over McNeese State, and it hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since its 2007 First Round win over Texas Tech.

The harsh reality is what defined the last decade in Conte Forum, but Kraft understands it doesn't have to touch the future. He knows there's still the passion for Boston College basketball, and his clear values delineate a road back to that line of demarcation. It has happened in the recent past and in short spurts, but it has to be consistent in order to bring this program back to its ACC levels of prominence.

"I personally was looking for a partner," Kraft said. "I want someone to help rebuild a storied program that can consistently compete in the ACC, nationally and on the national landscape. I wanted someone with integrity, passion and wasn't going to take shortcuts. This is a process, and I'm so excited to know that we found that in Coach Grant."

And so the new era for Boston College began on Tuesday morning in a virtual setting unlike any other day in program history. Grant is primed and ready to attack the state, the region, the conference, and the country in order to restore glory to the Heights. An athletics director tasked with tough decisions found his coach and is set to embark on a voyage everyone hopes ends with raining confetti and cut nets worn as triumphant necklaces.

"When it related to investment, we've got to be committed from the top to the bottom," Kraft said. "We all have to be elite, we have to want it, we have to have a chip on our shoulder to go get it, see the dream and go get it. We had some areas that we had to address, and I'm very blessed to have people around me that understand that the commitment needs to be there."

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