Clemson basketball was on the wrong side of history

Clemson basketball made history for all the wrong reasons Wednesday afternoon.

Brad Brownell and his Clemson basketball team were able to lock up the fifth seed in the 2021 ACC tournament. However, all that did was allow history to be made as the Miami Hurricanes became the first-ever 13th seed in the ACC tournament to make the quarterfinals.

This loss was very much indicative of the Tigers under Brownell’s leadership.

To say this season was inconsistent would be an understatement. While those carrying the water for Brownell want you to believe he is an amazing coach, they conveniently leave out important stuff while reminding you that they beat Alabama and Purdue almost six months ago.

After playing 16 games in the ACC this season, the Tigers had just six wins against teams that finished with a winning record in conference play. They also had three road games canceled this season, and as we all know this team does not play well away from home.

The Tigers did finish with a 2-1 record in games decided by one possession – which is great, though two of those three games were against a Miami team that ended up with just four ACC wins.

For his career as the Clemson basketball coach, Brownell is a horrid 27-40 in games decided by three points or less.

Quit conflating Brownell’s ability as a head coach and being a nice guy.

Wednesday Clemson’s Communications Director, Division of Student Affairs. Philip Sikes took to Twitter in an attempt to try and make people feel bad about shaming the terrible performance by Clemson basketball.

Though, he did agree that well-coached teams thrive in one-possession games. He was then asked about the 27-40 record the Tigers have in one-possession games under Brownell and Sikes response was about how Brownell is a great guy and well-liked.

No one is arguing that the Tigers head basketball coach isn’t a great guy. You can be an amazing guy and a terrible coach. You can also be an amazing coach and be a terrible guy. The two are not synonymous in any way.

The fact is this team continues to underachieve under the current leadership. The Tigers will be lucky to win an NCAA tournament game in 2021 as they are going to be an eight or nine seed when the brackets are revealed in a few days.

Even if they do win their first-round game, they will more than likely have Gonzaga, Baylor, or Michigan waiting on them – that will be ugly.

Until the Clemson administration gets tired of best only being the standard for football, Clemson basketball fans and alumni need to accept that basketball will never be anything more than mediocre.