No Rest for the Weary
No. 19 Clemson is currently enjoying the luxury of a double-bye in the ACC tournament, something that is a rarity for its program.
The tournament began this afternoon, but Brad Brownell and his crew are on their way to New York as we speak. Even though the Tigers get a couple of days of preparation for their Thursday game and opponent, that hasn’t stopped them from getting after it during practice the past few days.
“We practiced pretty hard yesterday, and we’re going to go reasonably hard today,” Brownell said. “There are things we need to get better at if we want to win at a high level. Obviously, the quality of competition that we’re getting ready to play in these next two tournaments is going to be high.”
Brownell wants his team to be clicking on all cylinders when they take the floor on Thursday at 2:00 PM against the winner of Boston College/N.C. State. Even though rest was the most important thing on his mind just over a week ago after Clemson's loss to Virginia Tech, he’s prioritized preparing his players for the competition they are about to face in the next two weeks.
Clemson (22-8, 11-7) has been working on fundamentals and tightening up a few loose ends. Rebounds, taking care of the ball, and executing on offense are at the top of Brownell’s list during his practice sessions this week. There won't be any drastic changes, but there are parts of Clemson's game he believes Clemson can get better at.
One significant note from Brownell we found interesting this afternoon was the level of respect he has for the three (now two) teams he has to prepare for before Thursday. Having a double-bye is a new kind of territory. It’s hard to sit back, wait, and not play any games until the lights are on your team.
On the other side of things, there’s a significant amount of momentum for the team that has already played, and won, in the tournament. Brownell knows this is something that will be hard to combat when his team takes the floor because his team felt the same way a season ago.
“It’s a little unique, and it’s a little challenging,” Brownell said of his team’s few days off. “When you win a game in the tournament, it just, it gives you confidence. You’ve been in that building, you’ve got some good feeling, your players have got some good feeling and maybe making shots in a building…
“And that’s the hardest part about having the double bye is the other team, somebody is going to have won a game, or two and kind of have some positive juice. Obviously, you don’t want to not have the double bye, I’m not saying that obviously, but there is some positive things that players can take from playing well in a tournament setting and kind of in that, going to the next game.”
Brownell had high praises for Marcquise Reed, the reserved "assassin" who is quiet but can take over a game whenever he wants, Gabe DeVoe, and Elijah Thomas for their All-ACC recognition. This is a league with extremely talented players, and for Reed to be among one of the best says a lot about his play this season.
Brownell said the play of DeVoe since Donte Grantham's injury has been a big part of Clemson's success. Thomas' all-defensive team selection speaks to how well he has improved Clemson's defense this season. Having him on the block altering and blocking shots helped Clemson become one of the best defensive teams in the league."
It’s been a long time since Clemson hasn’t had to worry about where they stand in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Tigers haven’t been to the Big Dance since 2011, but that drought is about to come to a close, regardless of what happens this week.
“We’ve kind of known for a while that we’re an NCAA Tournament team,” Brownell added.
“And we’ve earned that.”