Confirmed: Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell is Tommy Bowden

Clemson basketball got a much-needed win over North Carolina Tuesday night.

To say Clemson basketball has been bad over the last two weeks would be an understatement and there are some who hate the fact that we pointed out just how bad they have become under Brad Brownell and if you are expecting this to be a piece where we apologize, you could not be more mistaken.

Yes, Clemson basketball earned a win over UNC-Chapel Hill last night for the second straight year. Make no mistake about it, this was not national power UNC, this was the equivalent to beating 2020 FSU football in a bad pillow fight.

If you watched the game Tuesday night, you know that three things are true.

• Clemson was out-rebounded by the Tar Heels
• UNC had a lot of unforced turnovers
• UNC was atrocious from the free-throw line

When you have lost four of the last six games, you take any win that you can get and you should never ever apologize for winning, nor should anyone expect you to. However, that doesn’t all of the sudden make you a basketball powerhouse.

Local Clemson media took exception to an article published by us over the weekend because we failed to mention Clemson basketball wins over Alabama and Purdue on a neutral floor and their win over Maryland at home.

Those wins were 60 days ago and anyone that wants to argue that this basketball program is the same now as it was in November and December is lying to themselves and to you.

Brad Brownell is the basketball version of Tommy Bowden.

If you have followed Clemson athletics long enough, you understand this reference.

Former head football coach Tommy Bowden would win just enough to keep his job and earn an extension. He would lose to Wake Forest but beat a ranked Miami team on the road and this happened year in and year out with Tommy.

The big wins always came just as the noise to fire him would begin to be more than just a whisper.

Tommy Bowden football teams are why “Clemsoning” was a thing – beat the ranked teams but lose to the programs you should have beaten by three touchdowns.

This is exactly where we are with basketball.

When former Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips finally had enough of the nonsensical winning and losing and had the courage to make a change, we ended up with Dabo Swinney.

Instead of carrying the water for Brad Brownell and using their air time to berate Rubbing the Rock, maybe the Clemson flagship station and their personalities should find that same courage and demand a better coach and more stable product from Men’s Basketball.