North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: No Tears for Grant
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Raleigh, N.C. As he prepares for his final home game at the RBC Center on Saturday, NC State’s Gavin Grant can reflect on a four-year career that has presented some unique challenges and produced many changes not only on the court, but in his personal life.
Such memories can often unleash a flood of emotion, both during pre-game senior ceremonies and throughout the game. But of course, this is Gavin Grant, an unusually laid back and unflappable New Yorker, who rarely shows his emotional hand in public. It’s doubtful anything will change when Grant and fellow senior Chad Williams are honored prior to Saturday’s noon contest against 7th ranked Duke.
“I’m not the type to shed any tears,” Grant said on Friday. “This is not something I’ve been looking forward to; I don’t like emotional scenes. I’d rather just go out there and play the game to be honest with you. I’ve really appreciated my time here and appreciated the fans. I’m just looking to go out the right way.”
And how does he think he’ll be remembered by NC State fans?
“A guy who talked too much and said whatever he wanted,” Grant said with a giggle.
At the beginning of his senior year, Grant had plenty to say, confidently predicting that NC State wouldn’t lose more than four games this season. Of course, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Struggling to really put together any real stretches of consistently good basketball, the Wolfpack is winding down the most disjointed season of Grant’s career. And for a player who visited the NCAA Tournament his first two years, the current six-game losing streak is almost impossible to fathom.
“I thought we’d be way better off than we are now,” Grant said. “Things happen. You can’t cry over spilled milk; you’ve got to keep rolling with the punches.”
When viewing life through Gavin Grant’s eyes, it’s easy to see why losing basketball games can be minimized to a milk puddle in the middle of a kitchen. For the better part of the last two years, he waited while immigration courts considered his status as a
On the court, Grant has faced multiple challenges. Following his sophomore campaign, the coach who recruited him to NC State, Herb Sendek, left for
“I played for two really good coaches,” Grant said. “Coach Lowe coached in the NBA for a lot of years and coach Sendek has a very good record. I learned a lot from both coaches and I appreciate my experience and value what I learned from both of them.”
After taking the job in the summer of 2006, Lowe’s first order or business was to learn about the Wolfpack’s personnel and get to know each and every player individually. Very early on, Lowe detected a combination of savvy and elusiveness in Grant’s personality. As time has gone by, both coach and player have come to understand each other better and better.
“It’s a special day for him and I just hope he can go out on a good note,” said Lowe. “I’m sure the fans will be saluting him in his last game here. It’s been interesting and it’s been fun coaching him. He’s a little more relaxed than most people might think and he likes to smile. He’s fun to be around and keeps you laughing.”
Grant took the same path that brought Julius Hodge to NC State from St. Raymond’s High in the Bronx,
To his credit, Grant never tried to be just like Julius Hodge.
“Julius is another person,” said Grant. “I’m myself and never tried to be like Julius Hodge. Being from the same high school, I guess some people expected that. As the years went on, I think they saw I was myself and wasn’t trying to be like Julius.”
Grant expects to receive his degree and then take a shot at the NBA. If that doesn’t work out, he hopes to be playing professionally somewhere, possibly overseas in
“I’ll play basketball for as long as I can before I have to get a real job,” said Grant. “I’m doing an internship [at the Wolfpack Club] now. I don’t know if I want to get a real job...it’s tough.”
In the Wolfpack’s 92-72 loss at Duke on January 31, Grant posted his career-high with 26 points. In the rematch with the Blue Devils, he’d gladly trade gaudy individual numbers for what would be a satisfying win in his final regular season home game.
“That would be real nice,” Grant said. “I think the guys will come to battle. We just can’t put two halves together, but hopefully we can get it done [Saturday]. I’m definitely going to come out there and give it my all. I might not score a lot and it might be the worst game of my life, but I’m going to play hard.”
