Rick Barnes and new Tennessee assistant coach Earl Grant first built a relationship when Grant was the head coach at College of Charleston and Barnes and his wife, Candy, would go vacation in Charleston. On one occasion, a meeting scheduled for one hour turned into a three-hour conversation about coaching and running a program.
One of Grant’s biggest takeaways from that conversation was Barnes’ telling him that he could not be great at anything. The young head coach decided to prioritize three things in his program after that meeting.
“Defend, rebound and take care of the ball,” Grant said Thursday.
Around a decade later, Barnes tabbed Grant as Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator. Grant, who spent the last six years as the head coach at Boston College, officially joined Tennessee’s staff last week with Barnes tabbing him to run one of the nation’s top defenses over the last half decade.
“I’m excited because he’s a terrific coach,” Barnes said of Grant. “Been a head coach for 12 years, but just an incredible, impeccable reputation in the business. I know that we’re very similar in our approach to the game. He loves defense. I love it. But he’s going to bring a wealth of experience, and believe me, we hit a grand slam there.”
In 12 years as a head coach, seven at Charleston and five at Boston College, Grant’s teams have ranked in the top 100 of adjusted defensive efficiency three times. The best showing came in 2016 when Charleston ranked 20th nationally in defensive efficiency.
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Grant’s teams ranked higher defensively than offensively in four of his five seasons at Boston College and seven of his 12 seasons as a head coach.
Outside of the 2016 season, Grant’s teams have not been strong at forcing turnovers. However, they have been a solid field goal defense team and have been particularly strong on the defensive glass where they ranked 100th nationally in defensive rebound rate in six of his 12 seasons as a head coach.
Grant is running Barnes’ defense in Knoxville, but the identities of Grant’s past units are still notable entering his first season in Knoxville.
Grant replaces Justin Gainey on Tennessee’s staff and as the Vols’ defensive coordinator after Gainey left to become the new head coach at NC State earlier this offseason. The Vols have ranked in the top five nationally in defensive efficiency for five straight years before taking a small step back to No. 14 last season.
Tennessee could take another step back defensively this season. Barnes and his staff have prioritized offense in the transfer portal this offseason, consistently bringing in high-level offensive players with questionable defensive abilities.
Loyola (Chicago) center Miles Rubin and Kennesaw State forward Braedan Lue are the only two defensive first players Tennessee has added this offseason.
Barnes will demand strong defensive effort and concentration to detail from his players. And with their new offensive talent, Tennessee will be a legit Final Four contender if they can remain a top 25 defense.
