Clemson basketball: Can the Tigers take advantage of Roy Williams retirement

Clemson basketball finds itself at a real crossroads as North Carolina head basketball coach Roy Williams announced his retirement early on Thursday. The issue facing Dan Radakovich is Clemson basketball in the best position to take advantage of the coming transitions at the upper echelon schools?

Clemson basketball is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance just a few weeks ago. This past season’s fifth-place regular season finish was ahead of what the pundits had predicted. Yet there is a split amongst the fanbase about where Clemson stands its ACC competition.

Now that Roy Williams has stepped aside, Jim Boeheim 76, Mike Krzyzewski 74, Leonard Hamilton 72,  and Jim Larranaga 71, are the elder statesmen of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Is Clemson basketball well-positioned to take advantage of the coming transition to the ACC?

There is seemingly not someone waiting in the wings of the caliber of Roy Williams that is a known entity to step in at UNC. None of Coach K’s assistants have proven themselves ready to step in.

The same can be said at FSU and Miami.

Roy Williams’ retirement represents the first domino to fall in a coming wave of retirement among the top brands of ACC basketball. When combined with the lack of known targets to step in for seamless transition, there is a golden opportunity for Clemson basketball to take advantage of what is coming.

This article is not advocating for the firing of the current head coach. The goal is to bring to light that Clemson has an opportunity in the next five years to position itself on strong footing as other programs go through transition.

That could mean increasing the salary pool to get higher-level assistants. Ensuring the resources are being maximized for support positions or access to tools that help staff be successful.

The decisions that are made publicly and privately in the upcoming year will determine if Clemson can take a step forward while the higher-profile programs experience transition.