Earl Grant, The Clement and Elizabeth Izzi Family Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Boston College, has announced several new staff additions and a promotion ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Adam Walsh joins the staff as the director of basketball operations. Walsh comes to Boston College from Shenendowa University, where he served as head coach of the Hornets for the past five seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Centenary College in Louisiana for seven years. Walsh earned the 2014 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award and led the Gents to the 2015 SCAC regular season title. During his tenure at Centenary, Walsh guided four Conference Players of the Year, three Newcomers of the Year, five All-Americans, six All-District selections, and 19 All-Conference honorees. He began his basketball career as a manager at High Point and served as a graduate manager at Campbell. He also served as an assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and in the junior college ranks at Barton College, Odessa College, and Paris Junior College.
Grant on Adam Walsh: “We are really excited to have Adam on staff. To have someone with 12 years of head coaching experience, who has been in the profession for 25 years, is a huge benefit to our program. He is the consummate professional and is loyal, hard-working, and very detail-oriented. I am looking forward to him to coming into this role and making an impact with his diverse skill sets.”
Cameron Johnson was hired as the team’s new director of player personnel. Johnson was a four-year starter for Grant at the College of Charleston. A three-time CAA All-Defensive team selection, Johnson was a three-year team captain who finished his playing career with 1,134 points. He comes to Boston College from the San Antonio Spurs, where he spent the past three years working as a video and player development assistant. In that role, he worked closely with the on-court development of Spurs’ rookies, while also creating team and individual player scouting reports and breakdowns. He also managed and trained rising video operations assistants and guest coaches throughout the offseason.
Grant on Cameron Johnson: “Cam is a special person. He played for me for four years and was a big part of us rebuilding the program at the College of Charleston. He comes to us from the San Antonio Spurs, where he learned the importance of a strong culture and day-to-day habits in that organization. I think our players will really benefit from having him here. His age, energy, experience, and understanding of how we are looking to build our program makes him a tremendous addition.”
Jermaine Blackmon Jr. was promoted to the role of video coordinator. Blackmon, who spent last season as a graduate manager at Boston College, arrived at the Heights from the College of Charleston. He spent two seasons as the video coordinator at Charleston after earning a spot on the team as a walk-on during his junior and senior seasons. He served as a bench captain as a senior during the 2018-19 season. A 2019 graduate of the College of Charleston, Blackmon Jr. earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Boston College this past summer.
Grant on Jermaine Blackmon Jr.: “Jermaine has been with me for a long time – as a manager, a walk-on player, and then on my staff as a GA and an assistant video coordinator – so I’m excited to be able to move him to a full-time video coordinator role. It’s time for him to step up and use all he has learned about program building and how we’ve done it over the years. His connection to our players and ability to help them grow is a huge benefit for our staff.”
Rushi Pancholi and Boaz Mensah enter their first seasons on the staff, serving as graduate managers. Pancholi spent last season as an assistant coach at Keiser University in Florida while also serving a stint as the director of scouting and technology with the Egyptian Senior Men’s National team. Prior to that, Pancholi was the video coordinator and assistant coach at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario from 2017-21. He also worked as a video coordinator for the Canadian Senior Men’s National team from 2018-21. Pancholi earned a degree in engineering from McMaster in 2021 and is pursing a masters degree in finance from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
Mensah comes to BC after serving as the head video coordinator and assistant player development coach with Basketball Netherlands. In that role, he coordinated film sessions for the 3v3 team that qualified for the 2020 Olympics and captured the bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship. Mensah worked with the senior men’s national team as it prepared for the 2022 EuroCup and the FIBA 2024 World Cup qualifiers. He also served as the head coach of the Triple Threat Haarlem Boys U16 club and as a player development coach with All Day Athletes in Amsterdam. A 2022 graduate of Vrije Universiteit with a degree in psychology, he is pursuing a master’s degree in sports administration in the Woods College at Boston College.
Grant on Rushi Pancholi and Boaz Mensah: “Both of our new graduate managers bring us an international flavor – Rushi is from Canada and Boaz is from the Netherlands. Rushi will work more on the administrative side and his experience as a college coach will allow him to step right in and impact our program. Boaz has more experience on the player development and video side, bringing great experience from FIBA and European basketball. Their knowledge, personalities, and experiences are valuable and our players will be able to lean on them.”
https://bceagles.com/news/2022/10/7/mens-basketball-grant-announces-staff-additions-promotions.aspx
