Everything Earl Grant said during Friday press conference

Around 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Earl Grant held a Zoom conference with some local media ahead of a lengthy break for the men’s basketball team.

Sitting at 5-6 coming off a loss against UMass, the Eagles don’t play again until December 21 when FDU visits Conte. BC doesn’t start ACC action until visiting Georgia Tech on January 3.

Here’s everything Grant had to say:

On if there’s an extra emphasis on analytics in any particular area with the team

“Yeah, it’s a combination. Yeah, maybe a little bit. I would say that, probably, I think you talking specifically about three-point shooting. I think early on in the year we got off to a really poor start shooting the ball. I think in the last four games we’ve shot 38% from three. Which, is a really good number. We’ve made 10 twice. So, I think it’s just taking the right threes. Working hard offensively to find the right shots. It’s probably something that we gotta continue to do.

“Having a balance between an inside presence with our big guys. Throwing them the ball, just making sure we’ve got a better balance. But, I still feel the same way. It’s just…I think we can do a better job of finding the right threes.”

On working the ball inside more

“Yeah. One thing that’s been different recently – we weren’t able to get to it (post game) as much as we’ve wanted to early – was playing Jayden and Boden together. I think that’s something we’ve been able to do recently in several of our games. It’s kind of given us a good look of how the two bigs can operate together. That’s something that’s been revealed recently and I think it’s something we’ve got to build on.”

On struggling with late-game execution (5 of 6 losses have come tied or with a lead in the 4th quarter)

“I think it’s a couple things. Finding out the right combination to have in the game I think is one thing. I think being a little more intentional about subbing within a run. I thought the last game we played, we found a group that really found rhythm, but they stayed in the game for a really long patch. So, they were really good from maybe, the 14-minute mark all the way down to the under-eight media (timeout). So, maybe 14-6, I think strategically, what we maybe could have done is sub a few guys before that eight minute media (timeout), even though we were having such a miraculous run so we’re well-rested coming down the final stretch. And, we may have discovered a couple more guys that can help us late down the stretch if we need them to.

“So, I think that’s some of the late game, is fatigue. A lot of these games we’ve came back to take the lead, put a lot of energy into that and probably got to use more people to be a part of that. And then the late game is just, you know, gotta continue to execute better. Gotta continue to limit mistakes. I think we’ve had a couple turnovers late that have really hurt us. And then, just making sure our defense remains its intensity that its had for the whole game because we have defended.

“But, I think it’s always one more of anything. One more defensive rebound, one less turnover. So, that’s what we’ve been running into. It’s also what makes me know that we’re a good team, because regardless of who we’ve played, we’ve always had a chance to win. So, if we can just continue to get better and take this time to grow in these next nine days, take the next step, then we can do what we need to do when we get in those situations again.”

On slow starts to each half and adjusting the pace of play

“Actually, the start of the second half we’ve been plus-30. We’ve been really good starting the second half. In the start of the first half, we gotta figure out how we can be better, because a lot of times we come out of the locker room swinging in the second half. We’ve gotta be able to do that…you want to have a strong start, or a really fast start. If you get a fast start – which we’ve experienced several of our games – it’s nice playing ahead. Our starts have been a lot stronger in the second half than they’ve been at the start of the game.

“So, yeah, we’ve got to continue to work to be a 40-minute team. That’s what we tryna do…I think the part that jumps out to me, the part that’s painful for the players, probably more painful for the players and the staff than anybody else, is you talk about three possessions and we’re talking about how great the team is. Pretty good team. Three more possessions and we win. So, again, i think we gotta stay focus on controlling what we can. Continue to get better and try to put ourselves in position – because of improvements – where we can finish the non-conference really strong. I think if we do that, we’ll be off a little bit from maybe where we thought our goals could have been, but we won’t be too far off and can have a strong finish.”

On Donald Hand Jr. struggling with consistency and what the staff can do to help him return to last year’s form

“Yeah, I think it’s a different year. It’s different personnel. So, I think he’s in a different place than he was last year. This time last year, he was coming off a 20-win team that had been to the postseason for the first time in 17 years, that had an NBA player that got drafted. This year, he’s not in that situation. He’s coming off a team with a lot of new guys last year that there’s more expectations, there’s more target, there’s more recognition to his name. He’s at the top of the scouting report. So, I think some of it is just understanding it’s a new year, it’s a new season, it’s new personnel.

“Like, last year doesn’t matter as much. He doesn’t have to be who he was last year. He’s just gotta be…he’s got to impact winning. Whether that’s defense, rebounding, getting assists. Figuring out, maybe he don’t average 19 points a game. Maybe he averages 14. I think he’s really got to understand it’s a new team. It’s a new year, different expectations. It’s just completely different.

“I think if he can embrace that, then what’ll happen is he’ll just continue to try to do all he can to help his team win. I don’t think he’s got to get 20 every night for us to win. But, I do think he’s got to impact the players around him. Continue to be efficient like he’s been in the last two of our three games. We’ve two out of the three and the one we lost we lost by a possession. So, I think for him, he’s played good basketball. He’s just got to continue to do that and not get caught up in what…maybe people comparing him to last year or the expectations everybody expect him to be.”

On if guys are settling into roles or certain sets against certain opponents

“I don’t know if it’s certain matchups. I think some of it is intentionality. I think there’s times…Fred Payne is a warrior. But, I think there’s times he plays too many minutes. But, he is experienced. He’s been through battles. But, I think being able to allow Caleb Steger to play more minutes takes some of that pressure off of (Payne). It could be a good thing.

“It’s the same thing with Donald Hand. He’s a guy that we expect a lot out of him. He’s proven that he can do a lot. But, I think with Marco coming off the bench, same thing. But, you are talking about two freshmen. So, yeah, I think when they do go in, they bring a different element. Same with Aidan Shaw and Jason Asemota. Aidan’s really good defensively with rim protection, good athlete. Can do a lot of good things. Jason brings a different element to the team.

“So, all those guys are young that I mentioned. So, i see them every day in practice. I do believe in them, but as we go I think they’ll continue to get better. If we can be a little more intentional about getting them in the game and letting them establish themselves, it will allow some of the heavy-minute guys to be more fresh later in the game.

“That’s something analytics is showing me. The biggest thing analytics is showing me is how good we are in the second half. It’s showing me how good we shoot the three when the ball is inside out from the paint touches. We’re finding good-rhythm shots. So, again, we’ve got to try to continue to get the right shots and we’ve got to continue to build our bench and let those guys help us a little bit more.”

On the focus during the break and message to the team

“Yeah, I think the biggest thing is making sure we continue to understand that we’re a really good team. We’ve had an opportunity to win every game. So, we’re a really good team. There’s something we’re doing right. Let’s get 2% better this week. Let’s really learn from the first part of the year of how do we improve and how do we get better? I think that comes in a lot of different forms. I think that comes from practice. I think that comes from skill-development. I think it comes from simulating game situations. But, I also think it comes from rest.

“We’ve got 11 games. I look at a lot of people and their schedules…we’ve got 11 games we’ve played and a lot of people have played eight or nine. And, we’ve played five away from home. So, that’s a challenge, right? I think for us, we need to rest some. That’ll be a part of our growth this period. But, we do have to practice and practice hard and we have to skill develop. That would kind of be the formula.”