For Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, defying the odds and proving people wrong has been a consistent goal since he took the job in 2010. Last season’s success proves it.
The team has finished above its projected position in 11 of Brownell’s 14 seasons and recently managed its best finish since 1980: an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Brownell wants more recognition for his players within the dominant conference following this performance, which he prefaced at the ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I guess folks don’t think much of us,” Brownell said on Thursday afternoon. “You know, I think sometimes the real answer is because our media situation is probably a little smaller than some in the league, and people don’t know our team as well.
I think we have better players more times than people think, and our players bear that out with the way they play during the regular season.”
Two of those players are guard Chase Hunter and forward Ian Schieffelin, who joined Brownell to represent the Tigers at the ACC Tipoff. With the loss of veterans PJ Hall and Joseph Girard III, Brownell is looking for leaders to return what he saw in the Tigers’ locker room a season ago: camaraderie.
“We’re going to experience adversity on this year’s team just like we did last year,” he said. “You know, we were 4-6 in the ACC at one point and in danger of blowing our season. PJ and some of these guys right here understood we’ve got to make some changes, and we have to get playing better basketball, so we did. That’s player-driven.”
“Do I think these guys have the qualities necessary? I do,” he added. “These are two great young men who are extremely positive examples of our program. I’m proud of them, but there’s going to be a lot of challenging days ahead for all of us. I think they’ll handle it.”
The team is still riding the effects of its almost-a-Cinderella-story March Madness run, when they defeated No. 6-seeded Baylor in the second round, held on against No. 2 Arizona and put up a good fight before falling out of the tournament in a loss to No. 4 Alabama.
While a consecutive Elite Eight appearance may not be in Brownell’s plans, the energy from a strong finish has created a buzz in the locker room.
“I think there’s tremendous energy,” Brownell said. “Obviously, season ticket sales are high, interest in recruiting has been good, excitement with basketball is great. Those are all real positives, obviously. We got to keep doing our part and continue to win at a high level to continue building off of it, but there certainly is an excitement level here that’s really started (in) about 2017-2018 that we’ve slowly built, culminating in last year.”
It’s a new team, including four transfers and four freshmen. With his new-look squad and player-led mentality, Brownell hopes to replicate last season’s successes.
“I think the challenge, as you mentioned, is there’s an ownership on the guys that have been in your program to help establish your culture, make sure your locker room is good, make sure the new guys understand how we go about our business, what our habits are, what our beliefs, how we work, how we value each other and respect one another,” Brownell said.
The Clemson men’s basketball team will open up its season against Charleston Southern next month, with tipoff set for Nov. 4 in Littlejohn Coliseum.
