Basketball
From Season-Ending Knee Injury to Offensive Centerpiece: Donald Hand Jr. named 2024-2025 ACC Most Improved Player
Donald Hand Jr.’s time at Boston College had a rough beginning. Just 30 seconds into his second game as an Eagle, Hand suffered a torn ACL against Detroit Mercy. That injury can ruin careers and change players, but DHJ would not let that define him.
“It was truly a blessing for me to go through that experience,” Hand told Quinn Postman of the Daily Orange.”To be the player I wanted to be, I had to go through that (injury).”
Now, just two years later, the forward out of Virginia Beach has been named the 2024-2025 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year. He becomes the second Eagle in the last three years to win the award, with Quinten Post earning the honor for the 2023-2024 season.
“In my 27 years of being around basketball, I haven’t seen many guys like Donald Hand,” said head coach Earl Grant to the ACC Network. “He’s a gym rat… Sometimes, I have to tell him, ‘Hey, we got practice today. I don’t know if you need to be in there sweating like that.'”
Hand became the offensive centerpiece in his second full year under Grant, improving his scoring by more than 10 points a game from 5 to 15.7 to lead BC. Hand also improved his shooting percentages while taking almost 2.7 times as many shots as last year. He also developed his ability to create contact and get to the charity stripe, increasing from 1.9 to 5.1 free throw attempts per game
“He wants to be good,” said Grant. “He wants to make it to the highest level of basketball, and I think he’s on his way.”

His ability to put the ball in the bucket was not the only aspect of his game that DHJ was able to elevate. Hand became an immensely improved rebounder, going from 1.9 rebounds per game to 6.1, which was also a team-high. Hand said in a post-game press conference early this season that his improved numbers on the glass come from Earl Grant’s coaching.
“He gives us that ability and freedom to crash, so I say that’s the big difference,” Hand said. “He just tells us to crash the glass at all costs, and that’s kind of the result.”
Hand won the award with 25 votes out of a possible 81 and narrowly beat Stanford guard Jaylen Blakes. Hand was also named an ACC Honorable Mention. The only other Eagle to receive any type of vote was Chad Venning, who got two votes for Defensive Player of the Year.
BC fans are hoping Donald Hand continues to make a name for himself on Commonwealth Avenue, and if his past remarks indicate anything, he is as well.
“I want to help build BC back to where it was,” Hand said to Postman “That is very important to me, helping Coach Grant get BC back to where it was at.”

Opinion
In a highly disappointing year for Boston College basketball, Donald Hand Jr. was a huge bright spot and has emerged as a guy the Eagles can build around going forward. I am unsure if BC even thought about letting Hand walk, but they certainly can not now. Two of the last three ACC Most Improved Players have come out of Chestnut Hill, and the program has nothing to show. Retaining DHJ has to be priority number one this offseason, and his price is only growing thanks to this honor.
Basketball
Boston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan
Boston College received two more transfer commitments this weekend in Brandon Benjamin and Colby Duggan. Benjamin and Duggan join Money Williams, Ernest Shelton and JB Frankel as the fourth and fifth transfers to commit to Luke Murray and BC this offseason. The Eagles now have seven players on their roster, including international signing Zak Smrekar and Jack Bailey, the only BC player from last year not to enter the portal.
Benjamin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Newark, N.J., played his only collegiate season last year at Fairfield University. The rising sophomore was named to the 2025-26 MAAC All-Rookie Team and All-MAAC Second Team after averaging 14.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 56.5% from the field. Benjamin ranked first in the MAAC and eighth in the country in rebounds per game and second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (4.25).
“What made me pick BC first was the coaching staff,” Benjamin told ZAGSBLOG on Sunday. “It really felt like family. I will bring my high motor, plus rebounding, finishing around the rim and taking guys off the dribble. [I also bring] my catch-and-shooting, pick-and-pop, my winning impact and my versatility with guarding 1-5 with the ability to block shots.”
Duggan, a 6-foot-7 forward from Monson, Mass., averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19 games for Charleston last season after missing the first part of the year with an injury. He spent the previous two seasons at Campbell University and averaged 15.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on 34% shooting from 3-point range during the 2024-25 season.
“He competes on both ends of the court at all times,” former Charleston head coach and current USF head coach Chris Mack said. “He’s a warrior. He’s a winner. Defensively, Colby doesn’t back down. He guards well in the post and on the perimeter. Offensively, he led the conference in scoring and is just scratching the surface of what he can be as a mismatch.”
Benjamin should slot into the starting lineup as the power forward or a small-ball big thanks to his impressive rebounding ability, while Duggan comes to BC as a depth piece off the bench.
Basketball
Former Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College
Guard Ernest Shelton announced his commitment to Boston College early Thursday night. The former Merrimack Warrior became the fourth transfer to commit to head coach Luke Murray and the Eagles, joining Zak Smrekar, Money Williams and JB Frankel. Shelton was named to the 2025-26 All-MAAC first team while helping lead the Warriors to a MAAC regular-season championship.
Shelton played two seasons at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, on the opposite side of the state from his hometown of Philadelphia, before transferring to Merrimack last offseason. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 34.6% from behind the 3-point line.
“[Shelton]’s a shooter,” Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo said. “Every time it comes out of his hand, you think it’s going in.”
Shelton knocked down 99 3-pointers for Merrimack last season and was among the top 40 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (2.9). He set a career high last season with nine 3-pointers in a game against Boston University and made five or more 3-pointers in six games.
The sharpshooter is a breath of fresh air for a Boston College program that finished last in the ACC in 3-point percentage last season.
Basketball
Boston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era
Boston College received its first three transfer commitments of the 2026 transfer portal cycle on Thursday in Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel. Smrekar, Williams, and Frankel are the first three players to commit to BC since Luke Murray was named head coach on March 26 and join Jack Bailey as the only three players currently on the Eagles’ roster.
Smrekar is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-7 guard from Slovenia and was the first to commit to Murray. He played for the club Krka Novo Mesto in the Slovenian ABA for three seasons and averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15 games in the 2025-26 season. Smrekar also played for Slovenia in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup and averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in seven games.
Williams is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard who played the last three seasons for Montana. The Oakland, California, native was named to the 2025-26 All-Big Sky First Team after averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game on 49.8% shooting from the field. Williams scored a career-high 40 points against Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Tournament, along with tallying six other 30-point games last season.
“I can’t come up with enough words to praise Money Williams properly,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said in October 2025. “When you talk about the young man that he is off the court, the young man he is when you bring him in the office, and you have real conversations with him and look him in the eye and talk about things that are hard to talk about.”
Frankel is a 21-year-old, 6-foot-3 guard who is not moving far, as he played the last three years at Northeastern. He started 13 of 30 games for the Huskies last season and averaged 5.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. The New York City native scored a season-high 13 points in a road win against Harvard.
Coach Murray will have to continue to build up the Eagles roster, but with three guards being picked up, look for the Eagles to hone in on finding their starting forwards and big men.
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