2025 North Carolina Sports Network
Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Spotlight:
Boston College

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

School: Boston College

Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Previous Conference Affiliations: Independent (1945-79), Big East (1979-2005)

ACC Member Since: 2005-06

ACC Ranking Among 31 Leagues (KenPom): 5th (2025), 5th (2024), 7th (2023), 5th (2022), 5th (2021), 4th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 18 (1958, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)

NCAA Championships: 0

Final Fours: 0

Conference Titles: 2 (1997, 2001 in Big East)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 5 (1981, 1983, 1997, 2001, 2005 in Big East)

Head Coach: Earl Grant (48 years old, 4th season at BC)

As A Player: Georgia College (1998-2000)

Record As Head Coach (through Jan. 24): 185-152 (.549) in 10+ seasons overall; 58-63 (.479) in 3+ seasons at BC

Previous HC Experience: College of Charleston (2014-21)

AC Experience: The Citadel (2002-04), Winthrop (2004-07), Wichita State (2007-10), Clemson (2010-14)

Assistant Under: Pat Dennis, Gregg Marshall, Brad Brownell

2023-24 Record: 20-16, 8-12 (11th in 15-team ACC)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Media): 18th in 18-team ACC

2024-25 Record (through Jan. 24): 9-10, 1-7 ACC

2024-25 Midseason Ranking (KenPom): #219 nationally (18th in ACC)

Upcoming Schedule: at UNC (1/25), Florida State (2/1), Louisville (2/5), at Syracuse (2/8), Notre Dame (2/12), at NC State (2/15), Virginia Tech (2/18)

Boston College has been among the worst power-conference men’s basketball programs in the nation for the past 15 years, and there are plenty of reasons to believe the Eagles’ lengthy drought on the hardcourt will continue.

Among the 79 schools that compete in the top five men’s basketball conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, SEC), the only two with NCAA Tournament droughts longer than 10 years are DePaul (20) and BC (15).

One extremely alarming aspect of the Eagles’ predicament is that, just as they were slowly trending upward under fourth-year head coach Earl Grant, they lost four starters to other major programs via the transfer portal.

BC finished 20-16 in 2023-24 — that represented just its second winning season since 2011 — and played in the NIT, and 10 of its top 11 players (everyone except All-ACC big man Quinten Post) were eligible to return in 2024-25.

Instead, four starters and a key reserve who would have comprised the foundation of this year’s BC team are now playing — and typically starting — for other schools.

Point guard Jaeden Zackery (Clemson), wing guard Claudell Harris Jr. (Mississippi State) and forward Devin McGlockton (Vanderbilt) were all regular starters and double-digit scorers for the Eagles last season. Forward Prince Aligbe (Seton Hall) and wing guard Mason Madsen (Utah) started 21 and 15 times, respectively, too.

Aside from Louisville, which went through a coaching change and complete roster turnover, the only other ACC schools to lose three or more starters to the portal during this past offseason were Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. The Eagles, Hurricanes and Hokies are among the worst teams in the ACC this season, and the Seminoles may finish in the bottom half of the standings, too.

Grant and his staff did OK in the transfer portal after last season, signing three players who earned all-conference recognition in mid-major (Atlantic-10) and low-major (America East, Southland) leagues, but the Eagles still rank among the expanded ACC’s bottom three teams both offensively and defensively.

By late January, BC’s 9-10 record and ugly start on conference play (1-7) led to questions for Grant about his job security in Chestnut Hill.

“Obviously, (BC athletic director) Blake James is sitting right here in the room now,” Grant said. “I think for me, that’s really not in my control. My job is to build a program, and that’s what we’ve been doing. I think the program is in a lot better place than when we found it. We’ve won, we’ve got better every year, and so that’s out of my control.

“But if you guys want to ask Blake about that, you can ask him.”

2024-25 Boston College Eagles
(9-10, 1-7 ACC; through Jan. 24)

STARTERS (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

PG Joshua Beadle, Gr. (6-3/180) — 2024 Clemson transfer (backup)
17 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 50% FG, 65% FT, 52% threes, 35/25 ATO, 1 block, 10 steals

G Dion Brown, Jr. (6-3/180) — 2024 UMBC transfer (1st-team All-America East)
24 mpg, 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 41% FG, 68% FT, 33% threes, 26/18 ATO, 0 blocks, 10 steals

G Donald Hand Jr., r-So. (6-5/210) — 4-star signee in 2022 (Landstown HS in Virginia)
31 mpg, 14 ppg, 7 rpg, 38% FG, 90% FT, 37% threes, 24/26 ATO, 4 blocks, 14 steals

F Elijah Strong, So. (6-8/235) — 3-star signee in 2023 (Myers Park HS in Charlotte)
26 mpg, 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 44% FG, 68% FT, 35% threes, 19/34 ATO, 6 blocks, 6 steals

C Chad Venning, Gr. (6-9/270) — 2024 St. Bonaventure transfer (2nd-team All-A10)
26 mpg, 13 ppg, 4 rpg, 56% FG, 63% FT, 0% threes, 11/35 ATO, 27 blocks, 10 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

G Roger McFarlane, Gr. (6-4/215) — 2024 SE Louisiana transfer (2nd-team All-Southland)
23 mpg, 5 ppg, 5 rpg, 38% FG, 61% FT, 26% threes, 15/15 ATO, 3 blocks, 14 steals

G Chas Kelley III, Jr. (6-3/185) — 3-star signee in 2022 (Phelps School near Philadelphia)
19 mpg, 4 ppg, 1 rpg, 35% FG, 62% FT, 30% threes, 42/25 ATO, 5 blocks, 9 steals

G Fred Payne, r-Fr. (6-1/185) — 3-star signee in 2023 (Legacy School in Houston)
15 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 46% FG, 88% FT, 42% threes, 14/14 ATO, 1 block, 11 steals

F Jayden Hastings, r-Fr. (6-9/240) — 3-star signee in 2023 (IMG Academy in Florida)
14 mpg, 3 ppg, 3 rpg, 50% FG, 55% FT, 0% threes, 4/15 ATO, 21 blocks, 3 steals

PG Luka Toews, Fr. (6-1/190) — 3-star signee in 2024 (Newman School in Boston)
8 mpg, 1 ppg, 1 rpg, 12% FG, 73% FT, 22% threes, 18/8 ATO, 0 blocks, 4 steals

Departures from 2023-24: BF Prince Aligbe* (So./transfer/Seton Hall), WG Claudell Harris Jr.* (Jr./transfer/Mississippi State), WG Mason Madsen (Sr./transfer/Utah), BF Devin McGlockton* (So./transfer/Vanderbilt), C Armani Mighty (So./transfer/Buffalo), C Quinten Post* (Ss./NBA draft/Golden State Warriors), PG Jaeden Zackery* (Jr./transfer/Clemson)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of the Eagles’ games last season)