No Excuses From Eagles As Panthers Loom Large on Saturday
January 07, 2022 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
"The mountain climber will tell you that the mountain doesn't care."
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Last week's 91-65 loss to North Carolina was an example of a different kind of adversity for Earl Grant in his first season as Boston College head coach. His Eagles failed to impose their own style and pace over the large bulk of 40 minutes against the Tar Heels. After Carolina shook off its rust, missing the first seven shots from the floor, UNC's straightened-out offense blew the doors open on Conte Forum. A 29-point lead reached into the 30's after halftime, and despite a much more efficient second half for BC, rust was evident on an Eagles' squad that hadn't played a game in almost a full month.
The performance pained both Grant and the Eagles on the premise that they felt ready for UNC, despite short preparation time due to a COVID pause that affected the entire program - both players and coaches. Their three days of practices had been intense and thought the pieces were in place for victory over the blue-blood program to start the 2022 slate.
"We knew this game was going to be tough," Grant said. "We had a good opponent coming into the building and we thought we did a good enough job practicing to be ready for it. But they took us out of some stuff early and our timing was off. We didn't finish some stuff around the rim and they obviously affected some of that with their size."
Grant long ago embraced the growth chart for a BC program without an NCAA Tournament appearance over the past dozen years, but that didn't diminish the sting he felt in the aftermath of the UNC game. The loss dropped BC back to .500 overall and in conference play, due in large part to the Eagles shooting only 31 percent for the game after starting 6-for-36 from the floor. Additionally, the defense failed to generate the turnovers or stops - the BC calling card throughout the first two months of the season.
"Our decision making wasn't as good," Grant said, "and we needed to execute a little bit better. And because of that, they got out in transition and got some open threes. Some good guys got loose, and they found a tempo of the game they wanted to play at, which was faster than we wanted. We wanted to control the tempo a little bit better. So when we played their game, they shot it really well, and you have to give them credit."
Those bad moments felt really bad, but Grant learned a long time ago that rebuilding a college basketball program meant avoid stocking his attitude in the locker room with negativity. Holding the team accountable for the loss would naturally occur through film and practice, but he refused to give into the notion that this game somehow measured worse or better than any of the others built into the learning process.
He also didn't allow the takeaways to diminish the team's effort over the full 40 minutes. Three Eagles saw more than 30 minutes' worth of floor time, and while the overall shooting wasn't there for the two halves, Jaeden Zackery continued to be efficient offensively, as the freshman was 4-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the perimeter. He added three rebounds and didn't turn the ball over.
"You have to make good decision son offense," Grant said, "and we got a better flow in the second half. We started to share the ball and started to get second and third signs on offense. We weren't shooting it quick, so we got better shots.
"A lot of our defense had to do with our lack of sharpness and offensive toughness," he continued. "We ended up taking shots without enough ball movement, and some of those shots were tougher. We only had eight turnovers, but we really had 13 if you put five or six more bad shots in there. So we need to continue to mature and to understand the game as five people on the floor. We have to work together to really try to get a better shot as a group of five working as one."
Understanding how to do that requires a mental approach built by players equipped to put losses behind them. Grant acknowledged the team's fragmentation during practice, but the COVID protocols weren't an excuse for the sluggishness through those opening minutes. He admitted its impact but also refused to let it fester for more than it was worth. Instead, he redirected his attention towards how to improve and focus better on the next game, this weekend, against Pittsburgh.
"I'm sure the break had something to do with our timing," Grant said, "but we still mentally needed to execute a little bit better with what we had talked about the last few days. We'll watch our film and get back in and learn from it, and we'll see if we can continue to improve. We've got everybody back now, so we can find a rotation and find some rhythm.
"This mindset doesn't matter who we play," he said. "We have to execute, we have to be sharp, and we have to be better at working to help each other get better shots. Then we have to defend the way that we're capable of defending. A mountain climber will tell you that the mountain doesn't care. It isn't going to talk to you or sympathize with you. The mountain climber will tell you that the mountain doesn't care, so for us, we have to understand that nobody cared that we had been off for the last couple of weeks. We have to get back in the gym and try to get better within the five days to practice as a full group."
BC and Pitt will tip off on Saturday at 4 p.m. from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game can be seen on the ACC Network with radio broadcast available through the Boston College Sports Network from Learfield, broadcast locally on WEEI 850 AM.
The performance pained both Grant and the Eagles on the premise that they felt ready for UNC, despite short preparation time due to a COVID pause that affected the entire program - both players and coaches. Their three days of practices had been intense and thought the pieces were in place for victory over the blue-blood program to start the 2022 slate.
"We knew this game was going to be tough," Grant said. "We had a good opponent coming into the building and we thought we did a good enough job practicing to be ready for it. But they took us out of some stuff early and our timing was off. We didn't finish some stuff around the rim and they obviously affected some of that with their size."
Grant long ago embraced the growth chart for a BC program without an NCAA Tournament appearance over the past dozen years, but that didn't diminish the sting he felt in the aftermath of the UNC game. The loss dropped BC back to .500 overall and in conference play, due in large part to the Eagles shooting only 31 percent for the game after starting 6-for-36 from the floor. Additionally, the defense failed to generate the turnovers or stops - the BC calling card throughout the first two months of the season.
"Our decision making wasn't as good," Grant said, "and we needed to execute a little bit better. And because of that, they got out in transition and got some open threes. Some good guys got loose, and they found a tempo of the game they wanted to play at, which was faster than we wanted. We wanted to control the tempo a little bit better. So when we played their game, they shot it really well, and you have to give them credit."
Those bad moments felt really bad, but Grant learned a long time ago that rebuilding a college basketball program meant avoid stocking his attitude in the locker room with negativity. Holding the team accountable for the loss would naturally occur through film and practice, but he refused to give into the notion that this game somehow measured worse or better than any of the others built into the learning process.
He also didn't allow the takeaways to diminish the team's effort over the full 40 minutes. Three Eagles saw more than 30 minutes' worth of floor time, and while the overall shooting wasn't there for the two halves, Jaeden Zackery continued to be efficient offensively, as the freshman was 4-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the perimeter. He added three rebounds and didn't turn the ball over.
"You have to make good decision son offense," Grant said, "and we got a better flow in the second half. We started to share the ball and started to get second and third signs on offense. We weren't shooting it quick, so we got better shots.
"A lot of our defense had to do with our lack of sharpness and offensive toughness," he continued. "We ended up taking shots without enough ball movement, and some of those shots were tougher. We only had eight turnovers, but we really had 13 if you put five or six more bad shots in there. So we need to continue to mature and to understand the game as five people on the floor. We have to work together to really try to get a better shot as a group of five working as one."
Understanding how to do that requires a mental approach built by players equipped to put losses behind them. Grant acknowledged the team's fragmentation during practice, but the COVID protocols weren't an excuse for the sluggishness through those opening minutes. He admitted its impact but also refused to let it fester for more than it was worth. Instead, he redirected his attention towards how to improve and focus better on the next game, this weekend, against Pittsburgh.
"I'm sure the break had something to do with our timing," Grant said, "but we still mentally needed to execute a little bit better with what we had talked about the last few days. We'll watch our film and get back in and learn from it, and we'll see if we can continue to improve. We've got everybody back now, so we can find a rotation and find some rhythm.
"This mindset doesn't matter who we play," he said. "We have to execute, we have to be sharp, and we have to be better at working to help each other get better shots. Then we have to defend the way that we're capable of defending. A mountain climber will tell you that the mountain doesn't care. It isn't going to talk to you or sympathize with you. The mountain climber will tell you that the mountain doesn't care, so for us, we have to understand that nobody cared that we had been off for the last couple of weeks. We have to get back in the gym and try to get better within the five days to practice as a full group."
BC and Pitt will tip off on Saturday at 4 p.m. from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game can be seen on the ACC Network with radio broadcast available through the Boston College Sports Network from Learfield, broadcast locally on WEEI 850 AM.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballWomen's Basketball: Duke Postagme Press Conference (Jan. 1, 2026)
Thursday, January 01
Women's Basketball: North Carolina Postgame Presser (Dec. 29, 2025)
Tuesday, December 30
Men's Basketball: Le Moyne Postgame Press Conference (Dec. 28, 2025)
Sunday, December 28
BC Men's Hockey All-Access
Saturday, December 27
