Back To Basics As New-Look Eagles Set To Hit The Floor On Monday

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Last year's run to the National Invitation Tournament changed the game for the Boston College basketball program. Advancing to the postseason for the first time in six years offered the clearest evidence of the growth within Earl Grant's greater mission, and beating Providence shook the cobwebs off a long-standing rivalry for an Eagles' team that notched its first postseason tournament win since 2011. And then the offseason happened.

It is impossible to ignore how the 2024 offseason impacted Boston College after its entire core from last season departed. Center Quinten Post, exhausted of his eligibility, left the largest hole by heading to the NBA's Golden State Warriors, but a quick census of last season's roster stripped Grant's Eagles of any continuity. A program built on year-over-year growth faced a new reality of augmenting existing pieces with its own transfer portal additions, and the wide-eyed excitement from last year's run entered this season with questions not easily answerable by one or two games.

That was the unavoidable reality facing Grant when he stepped to the podium for his media day press conference, but in true fashion, the Boston College head coach addressed change with a head-on style that's now deeply embedded in a program defined by a headstrong resilience.

"It's different for me and different for a lot of people," admitted a smiling Grant after being asked about his roster changeover. "There was an opportunity to bring in new players that are experienced but from other places. So we have a team that has half of our players back from last year, and the other half is new guys, but the good thing is that it's a group of new guys who can produce. They were all-conference players who average a lot of points, so we're not all freshmen. We're a little older than we were last year, but now we have to clean up the understanding of how to win at Boston College."

Over 1,900 players entered college basketball's transfer portal after last season, but the group that arrived at BC's Hoag Basketball Pavilion represent more than just numbers. Guard Roger McFarlane, for example, averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game in a swing role at Southeastern Louisiana while posting near double-double numbers in Southland Conference play. Big man Chad Venning earned All-Atlantic 10 status at St. Bonaventure while leading the Bonnies in scoring and blocked shots, a style exemplified by the old-school northeast mentality of a Brooklyn-based basketball player. Junior Dion Brown - a local product from Western Massachusetts - was a first team All-America East product who averaged 19 points and nearly eight rebounds per game at UMBC, and graduate forward Joshua Beadle played 65 games for Clemson and was a key cog in the Tigers' Elite Eight squad before entering the portal with two years of eligibility to his profile.

Combined with Elijah Strong, the frontcourt reserve who experienced a postseason breakout in the NIT, and Jayden Hastings, a redshirt freshman who spent last year preparing for his debut into the college ranks, it's a different style that's more reminiscent of older, defensive-minded teams unafraid to bang through the paint.

"We're more of a traditional, 'big guy' team," said Grant. "Last year, with Quinten Post, that was a rare case. I never coached a guy like that. He shot threes, and my big guys dunk, have rebounded, scored around the basket, and are physical in the paint. So we have more of that type of team from a physicality standpoint and just from a big guy standpoint."

Grant never tied himself into a specific system but acknowledged how this year's team offers similar construction to the half-court sets of his prior years at BC. Never one to mince words, he almost relished the idea of building schemes running against the grain in a modern game that's increasingly built around five-out shooters. A half-court, motion-based offense isn't necessarily a perimeter-type game, so harnessing the counter-culture mentality is allowing the Eagles to establish themselves as a team built around pulling players into dirty areas where they don't usually play anymore.

Last year's team excelled in that area, and the numbers pointed towards BC's overall mentality even as personnel changed in the aftermath of the 20-win season. The overall rebounding plus-1 rebounding margin, while modest, helped produce an average scoring margin of approximately two points per game, and the one-possession losses from from the 2022-23 season flipped when BC defeated The Citadel, Richmond and Harvard by less than 10-point differentials in the first four games ahead of closer wins over St. John's, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Miami and Louisville.

"We may have to spread it out and play with a four-guard package," Grant acknowledged, "but the game is moving towards that anyways - shoot a lot of threes, spread you out - but I think we can go a lot of different ways with this group. I'm really excited, and I think this team has a chance to be really competitive. But, again, we just have to focus on the growth and getting better every day and let the chips fall where they may."

Opening week for the 2024-25 season will see two very different opponents and settings. On Monday night, BC welcomes The Citadel at 8 p.m. in a doubleheader with the women's basketball team. After that, the Eagles head to Annapolis for the 11th annual Veterans Classic, taking on Atlantic 10 favorite VCU at the U.S. Naval Academy. No matter the opponent or location, Grant's new roster of Eagles have embraced this newest version of his old-school style and philosophy as they start the 92nd season of Boston College Men's Basketball.

"My upbringing has been defensive rebounding and taking care of the ball," said Grant. "We want to give players the freedom to go attack. When they have those misses and get those steals and deflections, we want to give them the freedom to attack, but we have to be a team that can execute in the half-court as well."

To buy tickets for the 2024-25 season opener against The Citadel on Nov. 4, or to purchase single-game and season tickets, visit BCEagles.com or call the BC Athletics Box Office at (617) 552-GOBC.

Back To Basics As New-Look Eagles Set To Hit The Floor On Monday

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Joshua Beadle

Dion Brown

Jayden Hastings

Roger McFarlane

Quinten Post

Elijah Strong

Chad Venning

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