ACC Basketball Tipoff: Poppie, Miller, and McQueen Aim to Rebuild Clemson Basketball

Clemson women’s basketball head coach Shawn Poppie, joined by transfers Loyal McQueen (Alabama) and Tessa Miller (Belmont), made their ACC debuts at the 2024 ACC Women’s Basketball Tipoff in Charlotte on October 8. The event marked the trio’s first official outing as Tigers and the new era for the program.

Poppie is no stranger to ACC competition after six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Virginia Tech or the Upstate, where he played collegiately at Limestone College and was an assistant at USC Upstate and Furman University. 

The 2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga returned to South Carolina with the goal of building Clemson into a contender. 

“You look at my history and where I’m from,” Poppie said. “I spent a lot of time in the Upstate of South Carolina. Then, it didn’t take long that they [Clemson] matched everything I was looking for—an opportunity to come and play in the best women’s basketball conference in the country and compete at the highest level. The one thing at Clemson that had been missing, if you look at athletics as a whole, is women’s basketball really reaching its expectations. It’s a challenge, but I think we have everything in place—people, staff, and players.”

Poppie believes Clemson has the "it" factor, an intangible quality that he attributes to the staff, support systems, and a roster full of players hungry to succeed. That includes Miller, who averaged 14.4 points per game last season, maintaining that output against Georgia, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Stanford. 

“I think, like [Poppie] said, just our energy and the winning culture that we’re trying to restore back to Clemson,” Miller said, giving her explanation of the “it” factor. “Coach Poppie and the rest of the coaching staff brought together a bunch of winners. Although we’re all different, we’re like-minded in that we all have a chip on our shoulders and want to prove something this year. We want to make Clemson basketball exciting again. That ‘it’ factor is something you feel when you watch us, more than something I can talk about.”

For McQueen, a former standout at Wilson High (Florence, SC) and Georgia Tech (2020-21) signee, coming back to South Carolina was a homecoming and an opportunity to leave a legacy at Clemson.

“It means everything,” said the former South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. “Timing is everything. Just coming back to my home state, one thing Coach Poppie and I talk about all the time is legacy—leaving Clemson better than how I found it.”

The Tigers are undergoing a roster overhaul after losing their top three scorers from last year’s squad. With only two returning players—Maddi Cluse and Mackenzie Kramer—who started more than 10 games last season, Poppie brought in 10 transfers.

McQueen pointed to UAB transfer Mia Moore as a player to watch, citing her scoring ability (15.3 points per game), rebounding (8.8), and three-point shooting (37%). Miller highlighted Chattanooga transfer guard Hannah Kohn, who set school records for three-point shooting percentage (.463) and threes made as a freshman (68).

Kohn is one of three former Mocs to follow Poppie to Clemson, along with Raven Thompson, the second leading scorer (14.2) and rebounder (7.0), and two-year starting point guard Addie Porter. 

Chattanooga finished 28-5 and 13-1 in the Southern Conference last season, making a consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Poppie. That success was built on the style he plans to bring to Clemson—sharp three-point shooting and stingy defense. 

“Discipline on both ends,” Poppie said about his team’s playing style. “Three-and-D is the thing people talk about. Last year, we were top 15 in three-point percentage and field goal percentage defense. You put those two things together -- I'm not good at math --but you're going to win a lot of games.”

In season one, Poppie anticipates having a versatile, balanced offensive attack led by Miller and McQueen. 

“I think we have a really interesting group of people that can play different styles,” noted Poppie. “I think we have the ability to play fast in transition all while having an opportunity to slow the thing down and play in some half court basketball, but it's not going to be one where one person is dribbling over and over and over again and one is getting all the touches.

“I think we're going to beat you by committee and have an opportunity for balanced scoring, but led by these two next to me having an opportunity for Loyal to push in transition, and like Tess said, she's playing inside and out. We move our kids around and play multiple positions.”

Clemson tips off the season against Jackson State on Nov. 4 in Littlejohn Coliseum