Everything from Earl Grant after FSU collapse
We don’t need to revisit it.
Most of us here saw the ugliness that continues to force the once proud BC basketball program into a mind boggling downward spiral with zero end in site. Here’s everything Coach Grant said following the 14-point collapse in Tallahassee:
Opening thoughts
“Yeah, again, Florida State made some shots at the end. They got to the free throw line a lot. We controlled the game for 35 minutes. I thought that we played good basketball for long period of times. Missed some shots at the rim, missed a few free throws (3-13) in a close game like that…we had a chance to extend the lead when we were up seven, maybe about five minutes to go. They made some shots. Our defense, we didn’t continue to defend at the level we capable of and Florida State made us pay.”
On how the team played without Donald Hand Jr.
“I mean, we were really good. Really good. We shared the ball, we had balanced scoring, we were very unselfish. Defensively we were very tough. So, I thought we were really good. Obviously, he’s a big part of what we do, but we knew we wasn’t going to have him. So, we came up with a plan and I thought we had a good plan. Guys were ready to play. We couldn’t finish the game. It’s 35-13 foul disparity. They shot 22 more free throws than us. They made some big threes at the end. I thought Wiggins’ three at the end was huge at the end, as well as Swinton. They made two big threes at the end of the game to kind of get them over the hump. But, I thought we played well without Donald.”
On what they did defensively early and didn’t in the 2nd half
“Yeah, our defense failed us in the second half. First half we were really good. But again, I think they went to the free throw line maybe 20-something times in the second half. So, it’s hard to defend the free throw line. It’s a free shot. I think that’s where…when I watch the film I’ll look and see. They were aggressive driving it. But, you know, they shot it maybe 23-24 times in the second half and it’s hard to guard the free throw line.”
On if it’s tough leaving Hastings in late in games because of his poor FT shooting
“We went offense, defense. Obviously, he’s a really good defender. We were trying to get Boden Kapke back in to do offense, defense towards the end of the game. So, we try to use that strategy to end the game. They were fouling Jayden a good bit, he got to the free throw line. But, we wanted offense, defense.”
On how frustrating it is to lose 7th straight despite making 11 threes
“I mean, yeah, it’s frustrating. Obviously, you spend a lot of time preparing for these games. I thought we were very prepared, we were ready to play. We played great basketball for a long period of time, but we didn’t finish. So, yeah, it is frustrating. But, what do you do about it? You go back to work. You continue to try and help these guys understand what it takes to win and that’s all we’ll do at this point. But, definitely it’s frustrating. I thought we had a good plan to win and we were on pace to do it, but then we came up short.”
On how he keeps the team together
“I mean, just tell them the truth. Just tell them the truth and you challenge them, you encourage them. There’s a lot of things to encourage them about. There’s a few things to challenge them about. So, you tell them the truth and you get back to work. You try to continue to make the improvements and the adjustments. That’s all you can do, a lot of truth telling.”
On the officiating
“I’m going to have to watch it. I felt the start of the second half, with us having a lead, I thought the whistle was being blowed every possession. So, I’ve got to watch the film just to see if…what really happened? I feel like every possession the whistle was being blown in the first 8-10 minutes and they were shooting free throws at the 13-minute mark. Six minutes into the game they were in the bonus. So, that’s a challenge to overcome when you’ve got 13 minutes left and they shot a lot of free throws. But, again, I gotta watch the film to see how I feel about that. I’m not 100%, maybe we did foul.”
