Brad Brownell had an eventful 2024-25 season with Clemson basketball.
The veteran head coach followed up an Elite Eight run the previous season with a 27-7 campaign and second-place finish in the ACC just behind Duke despite beating the Blue Devils in the regular season. The Tigers had one of the best regular seasons in program history and it felt like the program took another massive step forward.
However, everything was almost derailed by Indiana as the Hoosiers announced they were moving on from Mike Woodson, and the name that immediately jumped to the front of the line was Brownell.
The Clemson head coach was rumored to be one of the top candidates to replace Woodson in Bloomington, Ind., but the Hoosiers went with West Virginia's Darian DeVries.
Was the Indiana interest in Brownell just a rumor?
Brownell spoke to the media on Tuesday and revealed that it, in fact, wasn't just a rumor, but he was actually on the Hoosiers' list. He wasn't the top guy for Indiana, which he was OK with, and said that it didn't feel right at the time and he's "at home" with Clemson.
Lots of candid thoughts from Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell today re: being pursued for the Indiana job this year. Brownell says he was never IU’s top guy, “which is fine,” but the job “just didn’t feel right for me at the time.” His family feels “at home” at Clemson pic.twitter.com/rIPux9S1IS
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) July 22, 2025
These are the types of candid interviews regarding coaching searches that I wish more head coaches would deliver. We always hear about rumors of interest in certain candidates, but nothing ever comes of it unless they're shot down in the moment. It's cool that Brownell took the time to talk about the rumors.
Clemson fans should be thrilled that Brownell wasn't Indiana's "top guy" because that's a job that would be incredibly difficult to turn down because he could've been granted the keys to a basketball school.
Enjoy Brownell while he's here because blue blood programs are going to start showing more interest.