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Clemson Basketball

Brad Brownell says now is not the time to relax for Clemson Basketball

April 2, 2018
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Instead of attending this year’s Final Four and national championship game in San Antonio, Brad Brownell decided to stick around Clemson, clear his mind, and keep working while his team got the week off.

Even though Brownell said he’s taking a much-needed 4-day vacation this week, he’s not planning on basking in the success he’s had this season for too long.

“When the season ends, it’s final in a lot of ways, but the program never stops," Brownell said. "Everything from figuring out who’s still on your team, to what you need to do in recruiting, to scheduling games, to who’s still on your staff … The merry-go-round doesn’t ever really stop. Right now it’s still going at a really fast speed.”

The need for speed is vital for Clemson to make progress as a program after the sensational season it had. One of the best seasons in the history of the program.

The need for speed is vital for Clemson to make progress as a program after the sensational season it had. One of the best seasons in the history of the program.

The Tigers finished their season with 25 wins, the second most in the program’s history and fell short of an Elite Eight appearance after a loss to No. 1-seeded Kansas as a No. 5 seed. The Tigers went 11-7 in the ACC (have we told you they were picked to finished 13th in the ACC last preseason?) and Brownell reminded us again and again how hard of an accomplishment that actually is.

Especially for a program, like Clemson, who is usually among the middle of the pack in terms of the ACC’s powerhouses.

Brownell, as well as the many people invested in this program, saw how extraordinary of a season it was as this program continues its rise. This time last year, many fans expected Brownell to get shown the door when he was actually given an extension through 2021.

This time around, he may be getting even more of a rearranging of his current contract in a positive manner.

“We’ve had a couple of preliminary talks,” Brownell said of his contract talks with Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich. “I know that we’re going to continue to do that. And I’ll get with him soon, I would assume. But we’ve had conversations. We talk a lot throughout the season in every season. So I know that that’s all coming.”

What’s the next step for this team? Well, for starters, it would help to know what the team will look like.

The Tigers are losing key seniors Donte Grantham and Gabe DeVoe, two prolific contributors who laid a foundation for Brownell to build on after their time at Clemson came to an end.

That leaves the other three returning starters, Shelton Mitchell, Marcquise Reed, and Elijah Thomas, who all have the option to enter their names in the NBA Draft now that the season has concluded.

Clemson achieved what it was able to this year thanks to elite guard play from Mitchell and Reed. Losing the two players who do so much for Clemson’s backcourt would almost be a backbreaker for Brownell for next year’s team.

Although Thomas, who averaged 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 2017-18, said Friday he would be returning to Clemson for his senior season, there is a lot of speculation around Reed and Mitchell bolting for the Draft or overseas after graduating.

Clemson achieved what it was able to this year thanks to elite guard play from Mitchell and Reed. Losing the two players who do so much for Clemson’s backcourt would almost be a backbreaker for Brownell for next year’s team.

There’s supposed to be an announcement from the two guards later this week about what they play on doing.

Moving forward without a clear-cut blueprint to what his team looks like has presumably kept Brownell up at night. Teams like Duke and North Carolina reload almost effortlessly with talent because of their names alone. With Clemson, it’ll take a little bit of help and luck.

While Dabo Swinney and Clemson football are at the status where they can make moves on a recruit in the 11th hour when circumstances arise where they need a player (Example: Travis Etienne), Clemson basketball isn’t there yet.

But Krzyzewskiville wasn’t built in a day. They’re getting there.

“I think we are better, but I don’t know that we are there,” Brownell said. “It would take a special situation with a special kid. But there is no question that we are in a better place.”

As Clemson finds itself in that better place, there is still a chip on its shoulders just as there was during the season. As more wins kept piling on, the team’s confidence and hunger grew until they were clicking on all cylinders.

“We have a great opportunity to build on this.”
- Brad Brownell

There’s no question the program is still a work in progress, but the process of the progress has brought support from the fans, players, and the administration.

Once March came around, and football wasn’t there to take its spotlight, it seemed like people gave Clemson basketball the attention it deserved. People started caring.

“We have a great opportunity to build on this,” Brownell said. “The last piece was just showing that we could be a high-level team. I think we showed that this year with our performance all season long. Reaching the Sweet 16 is a tremendous accomplishment… I think we have kind of checked all the boxes of what you need to do to show that you can be successful both as a team and as an individual. There is a commitment by our University to be good at basketball.”

Clemson has to ride the momentum from its season and tournament run into this summer’s individual skill drills and weightlifting sessions which begin this week. There are plenty of tangible challenges that the program may encounter as it continues to move forward.

But the biggest challenge may be one that lies within.

“Human nature is to take a step back and relax, but we really don’t have time for that right now,” Brownell added. “We’ve got to stay on it for another six weeks.”

 
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