A new face at VCU

A new era has been ushered in for the men’s basketball team.

Just one day after VCU announced the future director of athletics, University President Eugene P. Trani announced the school had found a replacement for former men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel.

Anthony Grant, associate head coach of the national champion Florida Gators men’s basketball team, was hired Tuesday to coach the VCU men’s basketball team.

Norwood Teague, Sander and Trani all worked together to select Grant just one week after it was announced Capel would head the University of Oklahoma’s men’s basketball program.

Teague, selected to become the director of athletics when Sander retires July 1, said he was excited about hiring a coach he would be working side by side with in the future.

“Is VCU in good hands? Absolutely. Have we hit a home run? In more ways than one,” he said Tuesday at the press conference announcing Grant.

Grant flew up Saturday to meet with the three to interview for the position as well as tour the VCU campus and facilities. Grant said he was excited about what he saw, and it was a pivotal part in his decision to coach at VCU.

“I think everything as a coach that you would look for in terms of being able to be successful and win championships and compete for championships is here,” he said. “I’m tickled to death. I’m really excited for this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to doing some really big things.”

Sander said the three were forced to move quickly in finding a new head coach due to the timing of Capel’s signing with Oklahoma. Nevertheless, he said Grant was the only candidate they had for the job because he fit the profile they were looking for.

“Anthony Grant was our man from the get-go,” Sander said. “We knew he was our guy. We knew he had every personality characteristic that we wanted. We knew that he had the ability to relate to players. We knew that he could be the biggest success. He is the best possible candidate that VCU could have as the men’s basketball coach.”

Sander said last week the profile for Capel’s replacement would be a big-time assistant coach with significant coaching experience.

Grant certainly fits the mold.

He coached at Florida as an assistant from 1996 to 2001 and was promoted to associate head coach in 2002 to be Florida coach Billy Donovan’s right-hand man. All in all, he spent 10 years with the Florida program and 12 years under Donovan.

While he coached at Florida, the Gators won a national championship in 2006, two South Eastern Conference Tournament Championships in 2005 and 2006, three SEC Eastern division titles and back-to-back SEC Championships in 2000 and 2001.

Grant was a pivotal part of the coaching during that run. He also was a key contributor in recruiting winning players at Florida, bringing in nine McDonald’s All-Americans to his credit.

With such a stable and successful program in place at Florida, Grant said it was tough to leave. However, he said, it allowed him to move on to what he considered a place that “feels right.”

“We had a lot of success at the University of Florida, it was a very special place… I guess that would be an understatement,” he said chuckling. “Very special place, very special friendships and for me to leave that place, it had to be something special.”

He must have seen something really special at VCU, because Grant had already interviewed for head coaching positions at other schools. Before agreeing to become VCU’s ninth head coach in program history, he was interviewed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Murray State and Colonial Athletic Association-rival University of Delaware.

Grant has experience in coaching that dates back to 1987. After playing four seasons for the University of Dayton and being named Team Most Valuable Player his senior season, Grant went on to become the assistant coach at Miami Senior High School for five years.

After becoming the head coach at Miami Central High School for two years, he became the assistant coach for Stetson University in 1992 before meeting up with Donovan in 1994 at Marshall University.

As Donovan’s right-hand man at Florida, Grant focused on all aspects of coaching. Who better to speak about his coaching ability than the man who stood beside him on the sidelines during every game?

During the press conference coach Donovan called and spoke over the phone to praise his former colleague.

“I think VCU is getting without question a great basketball coach, a great person, an unbelievable family man and one of the brightest people I’ve ever had a chance to be around in coaching at any level,” he said. “To be honest I’m very surprised that this hasn’t happened for Anthony a lot sooner.”

The men’s basketball players were also very excited about the hiring of their new coach. Many players were upset when Capel left for Oklahoma, and some said they considered transferring.

That all changed when Grant spoke to his new players for the first time at an 8 a.m. meeting Tuesday morning. The players liked what he had to say.

“I like his enthusiasm and energy, I’m very excited,” said sophomore forward Michael Anderson (Virginia Beach/ Landstown High School). “I’m way better than I was last week.

“We were kind of out of sync because with (Capel) leaving, guys had mixed feelings on whether they wanted to stay or whether they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. But I think when he came in and spoke to us everybody definitely was willing to stay and give him a try and see what he’s willing to do.”

For other players such as sophomore guard Jamal Shuler (Jacksonville, N.C.), it was Grant’s intensity that won him over.

“For me personally, I just see it in his eyes that he’s focused,” he said. “I’m the type of guy that looks a coach straight into his eyes, and when I did that this morning I just knew that he was ready to go to work and that he’s all business.”

Grant seemed just as excited as his players to get started and continue the success the program had under its former coach.

“Knowing that I’m taking over the winningest program in Virginia in the last four or five years, knowing that – to me – made a difference,” he said. “It felt right in my spirit that this is where I was supposed to be.”