Everything Earl Grant said after season finale

Despite beating Notre Dame in the regular season finale at Conte Forum on Saturday, Boston College is going home early once again.

Pitt knocked BC out of the ACC tournament field with an overtime win against Syracuse hours after the Eagles took care of the Fighting Irish. Now, all eyes will be on the decision makers at BC to see if any change is coming in the next few days or the next week.

Before Pitt eliminated BC, here’s everything Grant said postgame following the win over their rivals:

Opening statement

“You know, Senior Day, good turnout by the crowd, which was great. Just really happy we were able to play to the level we played. Unfortunate for one of the seniors Donald Hand, you know, he goes down early in the game. We had to find a way to win it for him, win it without him. So, just really happy for our guys that they were able to get it done. Had peace all day. Like, we kind of had confirmation we weren’t in control of everything. Control what you can. Obviously, God was amazing for us today. In terms of, he had a plan for us today. I woke up feeling that. Not that I knew we were going to win the game, but I did feel God had a plan for us. So, hopefully, we’ve got to trust him. Just happy for our guys. There was a lot of peace in me today coming into the building with one game left, Senior Night, three tremendous seniors and we got it done.”

On the group battling adversity all year long

“Well, nobody loves adversity and trials and tribulations, but that’s the only way you can grow. I think I’m a better coach now than I was a few years ago. It’s nice to win them all. I’ve been on that side of it. We win 40 games in a row at home. I’ve been a part of that too as a head coach. But, that wasn’t this season. This season was a lot of adversity and a lot of challenges. You’ve got to get up every day after hitting the mat. We were in close games with every opponent in the league and we came up short, no cigar. Good games, but no cigar. So, that’s hard. That’s really hard. I’m just happy for our players the way they handled it. If you would have came to our practice three weeks ago, two weeks ago, you really would have believed we won four games in a row.

“The spirit, the energy, the attitude, the mentality, not folding your tent, showing up every day fighting for each other. That’s what they continued to do. I think we all grew this year and hopefully, we’ll keep playing and have a chance to advance in March.”

On if he had heard anything from BC about being back

“No. No. Not really on my mind at all. I don’t control that. Like I told you, God got a plan. Trust him. We (Earl and BC) communicate all the time. We travel together. We talk, we text. So, you know…business as usual. For me, that’s nothing on my mind. On my mind is, can we continue to play in March? That’s what we thinking about. On my mind is, ‘is Donald Hand going to be healthy?’ But, other than that, anything in terms of the future about being at BC or not being at BC is not on my mind at all. My plan is to continue to be at BC and help the program get back to the winning we got it to. See if we can do what we need to do to get back to the NCAA tournament.”

On what he’s most proud of during his time at BC

“Well, I’m most proud of the players. I’m most proud of the facility we have. We didn’t have this. I’m proud of making the postseason. I’m proud of three years in a row being one basket away from the semifinals in the ACC tournament. I’m proud of a lot. I’m proud of the relationships. I’m proud of the young players and their growth and development. I’m proud of my sons and what they’ve developed here. I’m excited about what we’re going to continue to do. That’s where I’m at. I feel great and I’m excited.”

On the growth of the team through this season

“I think the growth of this season – and I hope we’re playing in Charlotte because we’ve had success there if we can just get there, who knows – I just think the growth has been…we have so many young players. If you listen to our starting lineup, this sophomore, that sophomore, we actually have a deep NCAA tournament team inside this building. The DNA of maybe six or seven guys that can return and keep building. We’ve got to add some stuff, but like, I’m proud of the growth. I told you, you can’t grow without adversity. So, for me, I’m proud of the growth. But, you also got to understand I’ve been a part of an 11-win team at Wichita where the same guys got to the Final Four. You got to understand I’ve been a nine-win team at College of Charleston when we got to the NCAA tournament. So, I’ve seen this before. We’ve actually got guys in that locker room – based on their character, how hard they work and showing up – they about to blossom, jyst like these trees in New England. They’ve been through a lot too. But, they about to blossom. I’m just telling you. So, that’s what I’m proud of. How they show up every day and the character that’s been developed in them and they’ve been persevering and just, believing. That’s what you saw today. Why would that team come out and believe and play the way they did without a lot of the seniors who averaged 15 a game? Because of the adversity they’ve been through.”

On if this team could make a run in the ACC tournament

“Well, again, i don’t control all that. My thing is, if our name is called then we going to start preparing. As a matter of fact, we’re going to start preparing before our name is called. So, that’s the only thing I can control is preparation. Everything else don’t matter to me.”