2023-24 Preview: Bigger, Badder, Better

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Basketball bigs look different in the modern era from the traditional bangers of years past. The seven-footers who used to stand under the basket with their limited range are now shooters on the outside perimeter and their games are no longer limited to their post presence or their ability to rebound and dunk.

Their expanding roles force defenders into more face-up situations, but the "modern big" and its ability to space a floor is forcing teams to find other players who can still patrol and protect the rim. Guards are posting higher rebound numbers with more regularity, but the teams that intentionally cook rotations around the outside are more likely to trust the taller, more powerful options who can play with a mean streak when they enter the battle that exists around the glass.

The job requires a special brand of grittiness, but the toughness is a staple hallmark of Boston College head coach Earl Grant's overall system and mindset. He's always valued players who enjoy standing in the paint, and rim protectors are trusted with an exalted status when it comes to life in the half-court. It's not enough to simply have one player battle in the paint for rebounds and putbacks, but the rugged players who turn defense into offense are forming an army for the Eagles that's wholly capable of making shooters regret stepping foot inside its house.

"Devin McGlockton and Quinten Post both played center last year," Grant said, "but then the next guy up is Armani Mighty. It's time for him to go get some minutes and make plays. He's a sophomore and is a guy who deserves the opportunity based on his labor and his everyday mentality. He's gained 20 pounds of muscle in the weight room, so especially with his reputation for blocking shots and getting on the offensive glass, he can help us get some more possessions."

Having both McGlockton and Mighty is a major asset for a front court that's still built around Preseason All-ACC center Quinten Post, but they're headlining a crop of players that aren't bound by comparisons to his outside shooting or agility. Each player is built differently, and their individual games allow BC to fluidly customize its full-court game around their individual skill sets.

McGlockton, for example, can play both the power forward and center positions, and he spent most of last year substituting for Post while the seven-foot center nursed back from a preseason injury. He was a block machine on the defensive end, and he helped wilt opponents by treating them to black-and-blue bruising whenever players dared to enter his section of the defense.

The Eagles were 11-4 last year when he blocked at least one shot, and BC went 8-4 in situations where McGlockton saw 20-plus minutes of floor time. Filling the lower slot, even when Post returned to the lineup, helped BC defeat both Florida State and a nationally-ranked Virginia Tech team in the latter minutes, and he posted identical performances against both teams by scoring double figures in the latter minutes against tired defenses.

"I'm a power forward," McGlockton said, "but I had to play the majority of time at the five because QP was out for half of last year. So for this year, being more in the four-spot, which will allow me to crash the boards from the perimeter while still going inside as well."

McGlockton is the ideal undersized center who fills into the paint when Post steps out, but traditional power forwards are built to attack the glass from the outside-in. Having a player like Mighty step up in that situation would then allow the redshirt sophomore to step outside of the post a little bit more while consequently adding a big, muscular presence to the low post.

"Armani's 6-10, 250 and he's really aggressive," Grant said, "He's different from QP...but he does his job at a high level, and he's going to give us a second rebounder who can run the floor and block a shot."

Mighty gained 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, but he remains a largely-unknown commodity after only 16 appearances last year. Even in an improved setting, having Post in a modern center position should allow Grant to work with a bigger lineup against teams while maintaining the rotational offense that sets picks and enables dribble-drives.

"We all can rebound across the board," McGlockton said. "We're all capable of doing the dirty work. We have me and QP, we have Prince, and we can start rotating Jayden Hastings and Armani into big roles that can come in and help the backcourt this year."

Grant openly courted toughness as a part of his offseason improvement checklist, but the further development of McGlockton, Mighty and others offers a glimpse into BC's bigger ability to beat up opponents. Nearly every team in the ACC has a similar story, but BC enters the season with a deeper roster at the big position. The big men involved are ready to contribute, and as the season begins on Monday, how the rotation falls into place is as big of a story as how many players are at the ready behind the all-everything center at the top of the roster.

Players Mentioned

Jayden Hastings

Devin McGlockton

Armani Mighty

Quinten Post

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