Shawn Poppie Believes New-Look Clemson Has No Limit Entering Year 3
Head coach Shawn Poppie could only smile Monday as the accomplishments from his second season at Clemson were read back to him on stage at the Women's ACC Basketball Tipoff.
The program's first 21-plus-win season in more than 25 years. Eleven ACC victories for the first time in 27 years. An NCAA Tournament appearance. Another program record with 266 made 3-pointers.
"Well, first off, you sit back, like, keep talking. What else did we do?" Poppie said, laughing inside the Hilton Charlotte Uptown.
The list provided a snapshot of how far the program has come through two seasons under Poppie. The question now is what comes next.
"It was a really fun year a year ago. To be in year two and the talent that we got, but man, they really bought into our culture at Clemson and developed that togetherness and made strides to reach all the accolades you just mentioned."
Year 3 brings a different challenge, and perhaps an even higher ceiling.
Poppie added the nation's No. 14 transfer class, headlined by former Virginia Tech point guard Mackenzie Nelson along with 6-foot-1 Taliyah Henderson (North Carolina), 6-foot-4 Edie Clarke (Saint Mary's), 6-foot-5 Yakiya Milton (USC) and 6-foot-3 Jenna Lawrence (Arkansas).
That group is joined by a freshman class ranked No. 9 by 247Sports and No. 13 by ESPN, featuring 6-foot-1 Kimora Fields, 5-foot-8 Meeyah Green and 6-foot-3 Julia Scott.
"I think we're even more talented. We're bigger. We're longer. We're more athletic, but ultimately, we got the same kind of people. As you're going to hear with [Mackenzie] 'Mackie' [ Nelson] just being one of the few transfers, the freshmen, they're Clemson kids. They work hard. They have fun together. They've bought into what we're doing."
Few newcomers will have a larger immediate role than Nelson.
With last season's starting point guard Mia Moore and senior Taylor Johnson-Matthews still practicing with the team while awaiting decisions on whether they will receive another year of eligibility, Nelson is positioned to set the pace of the offense.
The 5-foot-8 senior arrives after leading the ACC with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranking second with 5.7 assists per game last season at Virginia Tech. Moore led Clemson in scoring (13.3 points per game), assists (4.7) and steals (41), leaving significant production to replace if she is not granted another season.
Nelson believes she can provide something different.
"I think, like Coach Poppie said, I bring a level of pace that Clemson was missing last year," said Nelson, who accompanied Poppie in Charlotte along with senior forward Rusne Augustinaite. "I think I'm still figuring out how to go fast without going too fast, but I think just being that leader on the court. I think being an extension of your head coach is super important. I'm a natural born leader, and I'm looking to bring that."
While Nelson represents one of the most important additions, Augustinaite provides continuity.
The Šiauliai, Lithuania native is among five returning players after making an immediate impact following her transfer from Georgia Tech. She finished second on the team at 10.6 points per game and connected on 41.5% of her 3-point attempts while tying the single-season program record with 80 made 3-pointers.
"I just think the trust that he has in me and just the work we've put in," Augustinaite said when asked why she flourished in Poppie's system. "To be honest, I never thought of how many threes I'm going make or what's my goal."
Her approach was considerably simpler.
"But for me just being in the moment and being present every day in practice and listening to him and the game plan, because I think we are really unique as a team," Augustinaite added. "He puts us in positions to be successful, so I think that's why I was able to kind of showcase my talent and, yeah, just shoot the ball and try to make it."
Augustinaite is currently sidelined with a left arm injury but is expected to be ready when the season opens on Nov. 2 against Radford at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The personnel around her could also make life easier for all perimeter shooters.
Poppie expects the added size and physicality to give Clemson something it has lacked during his first two seasons, multiple legitimate scoring threats around the basket. The combination of bigger post players and physical guards should allow the team to establish more offense inside, create additional space on the perimeter and get to the free-throw line more frequently instead of relying as heavily on the 3-pointer.
That versatility is part of why Poppie sees more possibilities with this roster than the one that returned Clemson to the NCAA Tournament last season.
"This group, there's not really a limit, right? The ceiling, I think last year we kind of hit it. We got as far as we could get with the group we had minus .3 seconds, maybe a second round. This group is as good as they want to be. We can get to it. Now we got to focus on the day in and day out of slowly getting better."
Poppie won't have to wait long to see how the new pieces fit.
After opening Nov. 2 against Radford, the Tigers welcome rival South Carolina to Littlejohn Coliseum on Nov. 12. Another major early-season test comes Dec. 3, when they travel to Lexington to face Kentucky at Rupp Arena in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
