A perennial league bottom feeder, the Eagles finally pulled the trigger on a coaching change this offseason, hoping to inject new life into the moribund program. But is Year 1 too soon to expect any real progress?
Coach: Earl Grant; 127-89 in 7 Seasons Overall; First Season at Boston College
2020-21 Record: 4-16 (2-11); 15th in ACC
2020-21 KenPom Efficiency:
| National: | AdjO: | 105.1 (123rd of 357) |
| AdjD: | 103.6 (200th of 357) | |
| ACC: | AdjO: | 99.4 (13th of 15) |
| AdjD: | 111.4 (15th of 15) |
Roster Roundup
Departures:
| PG Rich Kelly (Transferred to UMass)
16 G, 25.4 mpg, 11 ppg, 2.4 apg, 37% 3P% |
| G Jay Heath (Transferred to Arizona State)
19 G, 33.8 mpg, 14.5 ppg, 1.8 apg, 35% 3P% |
| G Wynston Tabbs (Transferred to ECU)
12 G, 27.2 mpg, 13.3 ppg, 1.8 apg, 40% 3P% |
| F CJ Felder (Transferred to Florida)
19 G, 27.8 mpg, 9.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 31% 3P% |
| F Kamari Williams (Transferred to Miami (OH))
15 G, 12.4 mpg, 2.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 30% 3P% |
| PF Steffon Mitchell (Turned Pro)
16 G, 32.6 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 46% FG% |
| F/C Lucas Kraljevic (Graduated)
3 G, 4 mpg, 1 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 25% FG% |
Returners:
| G Makai Ashton-Langford (RS SR)
15 G, 26.4 mpg, 9.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 24% 3P% |
| G/F DeMarr Langford Jr. (RS SO)
18 G, 25.4 mpg, 6.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 24% 3P% |
| PF Frederick Scott (SR+)
7 G, 18.3 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 40% FG% |
| F/C James Karnik (SR+)
14 G, 20.2 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 44% FG% |
| C Justin Vander Baan (RS SO)
10 G, 4.6 mpg, 0.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 40% FG% |
Additions:
| G Jaeden Zackery (SO Transfer, Chipola College [JuCo]) |
| SG Brevin Galloway (RS SR Transfer, College of Charleston)
31 G, 29.8 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 1.8 apg, 36% 3P% |
| G/F Kanye Jones (3-star RS FR) |
| F Devin McGlockton (3-star FR) |
| PF Gianni Thompson (3-star FR) |
| PF T.J. Bickerstaff (JR Transfer, Drexel)
20 G, 24.3 mpg, 10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 51% FG% |
| C Quinten Post (JR Transfer, Mississippi State)
31 G, 8.7 mpg, 2.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 42% FG% |
*Projected starters in bold
Outlook
The Jim Christian era came to a long-overdue end this winter, as after a 3-13 start, BC fired their 7th-year head coach in the middle of the ACC season, no NCAA Tournament appearances to his credit in his tenure.
Replacing him is Earl Grant, an up-and-coming young coach (just 44 years old at the time of his hiring) who went 127-88 in seven years at Charleston, including an NCAAT appearance in 2018 and an NIT appearance in 2017. Grant is promising to bring a tougher style of play to Chestnut Hill.
As with most any poor-results-driven coaching change, roster turnover for the Eagles was inevitable, with seven total transfers outbound this spring. This includes a number of headliners, five of BC’s six top scorers in guards Kelly, Heath, and Tabbs, along with forwards Felder and Mitchell.
Three rotation players return, with the Langford brothers likely starting at the 1 and 3 spots. Super senior (and former Lehigh transfer) big man James Karnik logged regular minutes at the 5 and will be in competition for a big role this year as well.
New faces will make up the bulk of the Eagles roster, however. Grant is bringing in five transfers, with his star Charleston shooting guard Galloway making the move north with him, likely stepping into a starting role at the 2. There may be questions about guard depth, however, with JUCO lead guard Zackery and 3-star rookie Kanye Jones as the only bench options, both potentially struggling to acclimate to the ACC quickly.
There’s no shortage of bodies for minutes at the 4 and the 5, however, with Karnik being joined by youngster Vander Baan and former Rider grad transfer Scott (limited to just 7 games last season) as returners, and the Eagles adding three more new big men in Drexel power forward Bickerstaff, 3-star rookie Thompson, and Mississippi State reserve Quinten Post. I’d tag Bickerstaff and Karnik as the most likely to start today, but expect Scott to factor in heavily as well too.
Ultimately, while Grant is an intriguing hire, and he’s brought in some interesting transfers, ultimately I don’t see them having the guards to make any consistent noise this year. The Langford brothers are both historically bad 3-point shooters, and Galloway can’t be expected to carry the shooting load by himself. Defensively, putting a new system in place quickly is going to be a challenge. Grant may eventually turn things around in Chestnut Hill, but hard to see much improvement in the record this year.