Tennessee basketball is nearing an agreement to recruit former Boston College head coach Earl Grant as an assistant coach, according to Volquest’s Mike Wilson, and a source verified to RTI on Sunday night.
Grant joins Tennessee’s coaching team, filling the hole created by Justin Gainey’s move to be the new NC State head coach earlier this offseason. It is uncertain whether Grant will hold the “associate head coach” position, which Gainey held before leaving.
The 49-year-old had served as the head coach of Boston College for the previous five seasons, however the Eagles sacked him after an 11-20 record this season. In his five years at Boston College, Grant was unable to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 72-92 record.
Because of a lack of finances and the school’s focus on hockey, Boston College is largely regarded as one of the worst jobs in power five basketball.
Before joining Boston College, Grant worked as the head coach at the College of Charleston for seven years. Grant guided the Cougars to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where they were seeded 13th and came close to upsetting four-seed Auburn in the first round.
During Grant’s seven years as head coach of the College of Charleston program, the Cougars had a 127-89 record. Despite inheriting a team that had only 14 games the year before he took over, the College of Charleston won 24 or more games in three of his seven seasons as head coach.
Grant, a Charleston, South Carolina native, has worked as an assistant coach at The Citadel, Winthrop, Wichita State, and Clemson.
While Gainey has deep connections to North Carolina, Grant has strong ties to South Carolina.
Rick Barnes’ staff now consists of assistant coaches Steve McClain, Amorrow Morgan, Gregg Polinsky, Bryan Lentz, and Grant.
Support personnel includes Mary Carter-Eggert, Director of Basketball Operations; Garrett Medenwald, Director of Men’s Basketball Sports Performance; Lucas Campbell, Director of Player Personnel/Recruiting Coordinator; Luke Schapker, Director of Video and Analytics; Scott Daughtry, Director of Strategy; Justin Caldwell, Player Development Coordinator; and Colin Coyne, graduate assistant.
