Over the last 16 seasons, Brad Brownell has proven to be a strong basketball coach for the Clemson Tigers. The former head coach at UNC-Wilmington and Wright State has led Clemson to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the last three seasons. While Clemson is widely seen as a probable tournament team again this year, this could be his toughest coaching challenge to date.
Clemson may have been picked to finish sixth in the ACC preseason poll, but it did not receive a single first-place vote in the AP Top 25. It may have something to do with Zac Foster, who is expected to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL again. With Dillon Hunter's status for 2026-27 in limbo, Clemson could be down two reliable ball-handlers. It does not factor in Carter Welling's knee injury.
Welling is the only projected returning starter, but he may not be ready to go until the start of ACC play. He only tore his ACL back in March. With three of the team's most important players either not returning until later, or at all, this puts all the pressure on Brownell to coach his tail off right from opening tipoff. He has the second-most wins of any ACC team since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Clemson's roster turnover has given Brad Brownell his next big challenge
Clearly, the state of the roster was not something the Associated Press was willing to gloss over. This may give opportunities to guys like Ace Buckner, Cole Certa, and Harris Reynolds to step up in the Clemson backcourt. As the backcourt tries to sort itself out, it does have three seniors in the starting frontcourt -- Liutauras Lelevicius, Dylan Faulkner, and David Fuchs -- that Brownell can lean on early.
What needs to happen is for Clemson to play at a slower pace to make sure it can take advantage of every offensive possession it has. The trio of Lelevicius, Faulkner, and Fuchs could play a huge part in Brownell overcoming the challenges of a depleted backcourt and Welling still working his way back from injury. It may not be pretty, but this is a plan that can be implemented to save Clemson's season.
In the end, it may all have to come back to coaching. Clemson is in about as good a spot from an overall program perspective as it ever has been. Brownell has had tremendous staying power in a league that largely devours coaches. Clemson may enter the season looking up at Duke, Virginia, Miami, Louisville, and North Carolina in the ACC, but now is not the time to be sleeping on Brownell.
Clemson may have a challenging non-conference slate, but that may create a greater sense of urgency for this team to overcome its depleted roster. RJ Godfrey is not coming back. Foster is out for the season. Hunter may not be ruled eligible. Welling might not return until 2027. Thus, this is the season when Brownell will have to earn his Tiger stripes. He has enough runway to make this work.
If there was ever a time for Brownell to show that coaching matters, this would be it for Clemson.
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