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 Grant arrives at Dayton in 2017 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Dayton |
| Conference | A10 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1966-04-15)April 15, 1966 (age 59) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1983–1987 | Dayton |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1987–1992 | Miami HS (assistant) |
| 1992–1993 | Miami Central HS |
| 1993–1994 | Stetson (assistant) |
| 1994–1996 | Marshall (assistant) |
| 1996–2006 | Florida (assistant) |
| 2006–2009 | VCU |
| 2009–2015 | Alabama |
| 2015–2017 | Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant) |
| 2017–present | Dayton |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| |
Anthony Duvale Grant (born April 15, 1966) is an Americanbasketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at theUniversity of Dayton. Prior to that, he was the head coach atVirginia Commonwealth University from 2006 to 2009, and at theUniversity of Alabama from 2009 to 2015.[1] Prior to becoming the VCU head coach, he was an assistant coach at theUniversity of Florida from 1996 to 2006.[2]
After graduating fromMiami Senior High School, Grant became an All-City first-team selection and Player-of-the-Year.
He played at theUniversity of Dayton from 1983 to 1987 while residing at 3 Evanston (The Gateway) and guiding them to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to eventual national championGeorgetown.
As a sophomore, Grant averaged 10.7 points a game and 6.5 rebounds a game and the Flyers again made it to the NCAA Tournament.
As a junior, the 6'5" Grant moved from power forward tosmall forward and averaged 7.1 points a game and 4.8 rebounds a contest while the team advanced to theNational Invitation Tournament.
As a senior, Grant was named a team captain, was awarded team MVP, and won the Sharpenter Memorial Rebounding Award after leading the squad in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.0 and 6.0 respectively. In his 105 appearances, Grant averaged 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. In 1987, Grant spent a year playing for theMiami Tropics of theUnited States Basketball League.
In 1987, Grant became an assistant coach and math teacher at Miami Senior High School under Marcos "Shaky" Rodriguez.
Grant served for ten years as an assistant toBilly Donovan at theUniversity of Florida (UF). The 1999 and 2000 teams made the first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in school history and the 2000 squad made UF's first appearance in theNational Championship game, where they lost toMichigan State. In the spring of 2002, Grant was elevated to the title of Associate Head Coach after serving as an assistant for his first six seasons.
Grant played a key role in helping theGators to the2006 NCAA title, the2005 and2006Southeastern Conference tournament titles, three SEC Eastern Division titles and back-to-back SEC Championships in2000 and2001. The Gators reached eight straight NCAA Tournaments, capped by the national title in2006 in which Florida became the first team since the1968 UCLA Bruins to win both the national semifinal and the final by at least 15 points. The Gators were 226–98 (.698) during Grant's 10-year stint in Gainesville. Prior to the University of Florida, Grant served as an assistant to Donovan for two years atMarshall University helping them to a 35–20 record. Grant also served as an assistant coach during the 1993–94 season atStetson.
Grant ledVCU to a 79–77 upset of 6th seededDuke to reach the 2nd round of the2007 NCAA tournament.[3] Two of Grant's VCU players were drafted as first round draft picks in the2009 (Eric Maynor) and2010 NBA drafts (Larry Sanders).
On March 27, 2009, Grant agreed in principle to become the twentieth headmen's basketball coach at theUniversity of Alabama.[2]
InGrant's first season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went 17–15 (6–10), winning their last two regular season games to clinch a winning record and the 4th seed in the west in the2010 SEC men's basketball tournament. They would go on to lose in the quarterfinals to #2 Kentucky.
In hissecond season at the Capstone, Grant's young team struggled early in the season, going 8–6 during non-conference play, but bounced back, going 12–4 in SEC play, to win the SEC Western Division title. Grant also got his first "signature" win, when Alabama defeated #12 Kentucky inColeman Coliseum, 68–66.Dick Vitale has noted Grant as one of his "Coaches on the Rise". He guided Alabama to the NIT Final in Madison Square Garden in only his second year.
Grant reached the2012 NCAA tournament in his third season. That marked Alabama's first appearance since 2006. However, it was short-lived; the Tide lost toCreighton in the opening round of the tournament.
In Grant's fourth season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide started strong but struggled in December due to injuries. The Tide finished a surprising 12–6 in SEC play, tied for 2nd place in the league. After winning one game in the SEC Basketball Tournament, the Tide lost to Florida the next day, 61–51. Grant's team lost to Miami in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals by a score of 58–57.
On March 15, 2015, Grant was fired from Alabama.[4]
On June 29, 2015, Grant was hired by theOklahoma City Thunder to be an assistant coach under coach Billy Donovan.[5]
On March 30, 2017,the University of Dayton announced that Grant would be the program's new head coach after the departure ofArchie Miller toIndiana University.[6]
For the 2019–20 season, Grant was named theSporting News National Coach of the Year andNaismith College Coach of the Year, following the team's 29–2 record and third-place finish in theAP Poll ranking.[7][8] The team was unable to compete in theMarch Madness tournament due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCU Rams(Colonial Athletic Association)(2006–2009) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | VCU | 28–7 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2007–08 | VCU | 24–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2008–09 | VCU | 24–10 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| VCU: | 76–25 (.752) | 45–9 (.833) | |||||||
| Alabama Crimson Tide(Southeastern Conference)(2009–2015) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Alabama | 17–15 | 6–10 | T–4th(West) | |||||
| 2010–11 | Alabama | 25–12 | 12–4 | 1st(West) | NIT Runner–up | ||||
| 2011–12 | Alabama | 21–12 | 9–7 | 5th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Alabama | 23–13 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NIT Quarterfinal | ||||
| 2013–14 | Alabama | 13–19 | 7–11 | T–10th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Alabama | 18–14 | 8–10 | T–8th | NIT Second Round* | ||||
| Alabama: | 117–85 (.579) | 54–48 (.529) | |||||||
| Dayton Flyers(Atlantic 10 Conference)(2017–present) | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | Dayton | 14–17 | 8–10 | 9th | |||||
| 2018–19 | Dayton | 21–12 | 13–5 | 3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2019–20 | Dayton | 29–2 | 18–0 | 1st | No postseason held | ||||
| 2020–21 | Dayton | 14–10 | 9–7 | 7th | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2021–22 | Dayton | 24–11 | 14–4 | T–2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Dayton | 22–12 | 12–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2023–24 | Dayton | 25–8 | 14–4 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Dayton | 23–11 | 12–6 | T–3rd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2025–26 | Dayton | 1–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Dayton: | 173–82 (.678) | 100–42 (.704) | |||||||
| Total: | 366–193 (.655) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
*Grant was fired prior to the 2015 NIT and did not coach in the Tide's two NIT games.