Earl Grant was back on WBZ Sports Final on Sunday night, chatting with host Steve Burton.
Grant touched on his contract extension and then got into some Sweet 16, Elite 8 and Final 4 chatter.
ON HIS CONTRACT EXTENSION
"I appreciate it, thank you. Obviously, I wasn't looking for a new contract. Just busy trying to build a program and we started out with six years on the contract, but was very thankful that they thought enough of the progress we were making and the efforts of our players particularly, to step up and make that commitment for two more years."
ON FINAL 4
"I didn't pick it. Now, UConn, is playing great basketball, not a shock, not a surprise. Miami, playing against them in the ACC and just knowing what they're capable of. They had the ACC Player of the Year in Wong. But, FAU and and San Diego State, I'm not sure I was expecting that."
ON CLOSING OUT GAMES (PARTICULARLY WITH MIAMI AND TEXAS ENDING)
"I'll say this...I took a shower at the eight-minute media (timeout) and Texas was up 12. I got out of the shower, I knew I was heading this way (to the WBZ studios) and it was a tie game, 77-77 at the under four media (timeout). Miami has that spurt-ability. They've got really good guards, an unbelievable forward in Miller who has really improved and he had a big game with 25 points. They have that ability to turn you over and get steals and they convert when they turn you over. So, I'm not shocked that they came back, but I was a little surprised Texas couldn't do a better job of closing it out."
ON UCONN BLOWING OUT GONZAGA
"Gonzaga's a great team, they've got Timme. He got in foul trouble in the first half and in the second half he got his third foul in the first minute of the half. He sat down for about five or six minutes, UConn went on a 10-2 run. They opened that game up, got it to 18 and they never looked back. They looked great with their perimeter players as well as those big guys."
ON MIAMI MATCHING UP WITH UCONN
"Two different teams. UConn is huge...those guys are big, they can play, but they've also got Hawkins and a couple supporting cast guards. Hawkins shot the ball really well. You don't want to count Miami out. They'll play four guards and one big, whereas UConn is going to be really physical and big. It's two different teams and I guess one of them has to impose their will on the other."
ON FAU'S INCREDIBLE RUN
"I'll say this, I've counted them out over and over again and they keep showing up, playing good basketball. They play with great spirit, they play very unselfish. They play as a collective unit on offense. They try and guard hard on defense, play four guards. Unbelievable story for them. Dusty May's been there for five years and he's done it a little bit unconventional. He doesn't have a lot of transfers. He has players who came there, that he's developed and they may only have one transfer on that team."
ON SAN DIEGO STATE
"San Diego State's been a powerhouse mid-major program for years. Legendary coach Steve Fischer was there, you remember he had the Fab Five at Michigan with the big baggy shorts. He left his spirit on that program. His longtime assistant is the head coach there now and has done just a great job of establishing that program. So, I'm not shocked with them. They're typically really good in the tournaments, but for them to make the Final Four that's huge for their program."
ON WHO HE THINKS WILL WIN
"I'm at this point now where I just need to stop predicting who I think is going to win. I've been predicting the last two weeks and I've been wrong a lot. I'm going to go down to Houston, leave on Thursday and I'm just going to enjoy good games. I'll go to the games on Saturday and then fly back to watch the (national championship) game on Monday...I don't know that there's a favorite. The way these teams have played. Now, UConn has won all of their games by a margin of 20-plus, which is pretty impressive. But, I think the way Florida Atlantic has played, they've only lost three games the whole year. Obviously, we saw what Miami's capable of, so I think...I don't know if anybody will be a favorite going into it, but I'm expecting really good games."
