Clemson basketball: “Next year” is not good enough
“Next year” seems to a popular new slogan for Clemson basketball followers and many of us would like to know when the Tigers adopted the South Carolina football motto?
Excusing the bipolar nature of Clemson basketball under Brad Brownell is simply inexcusable. Making statements like he didn’t have the support or the facilities to recruit is terrible and does not accurately portray the lack of leadership and development under Brownell.
Brownell being a good guy and well-liked is not enough to justify keeping a guy around at $2 million a season to miss the tournament and lose games they have no reason losing. In recent memory, name one college basketball team to beat three opponents in the Top 6 in the country and then finish at .500 during the regular season.
Clemson basketball just accomplished this under Brad Brownell.
If you look across the board in ACC play, opponents had their best games against Clemson this year. Why? Because the message is stale and while the guys like Brownell and chose to play for him at Clemson, they are choosing not to play hard for him most nights on the floor. Results show this regardless of what Brownell apologists will say publicly.
In 10 years under Brownell, Clemson basketball averages less than three conference wins on the road each year, 2.6 to be exact; his overall win percentage on the road in and out of the conference is just over 31 percent. That win percentage does not include neutral site games, which would make it even lower.
We have seen that excused by Clemson media as being just below the average for an ACC coach during his same time span. The problem is, why does what other schools are accomplishing matter? Why should I or anyone else care what other ACC coaches are accomplishing?
Virginia winning the national title in basketball last year benefitted Clemson in no way, shape or form so trying to justify Brownell’s coaching job by the lack of success others have experienced is just as ridiculous.
Next. 4-star DB Jordan Hancock trending towards Tigers. dark
Brownell is not going anywhere for 2020. The powers that be will allow him another year to show that his first decade was in some way an anomaly from who he is as a coach and that he can develop and coach the way he is paid to.
If not, Clemson basketball fans can at least say “next year”.