Clemson basketball fans received some good news on Tuesday: Indiana hired head coach Darian DeVries to replace Mike Woodson.
How does this impact Clemson at all, you may ask?
Well, head coach Brad Brownell, an Indiana native, was the subject of some Indiana coaching vacancy rumors over the past couple of weeks and while he didn't quite shut them down, he did say he was happy at Clemson and his focus is on this team. That is always the quote you hear from a head coach before they take a job elsewhere.
Fortunately, it looks like he was telling the truth (or Indiana just wanted DeVries more) and he will be at Clemson, barring an unforeseen coaching change at a another premier job that wants him, for at least another year. But the more he wins at Clemson, the louder the rumors are going to be in the future with him taking a job at a more traditional basketball power.
Or Brownell could keep doing what he has been doing and make Clemson relevant on the hardwood, shedding that "football school" designation (potentially impossible). I mean, heck, we've seen Alabama go from a "football school" to a "football and basketball" school under Nate Oats. So why not Clemson?
The Tigers are busy prepping for their first-round matchup with No. 12 seed McNeese and former LSU head coach Will Wade. This isn't going to be a walk in the park, but at least there won't be any coaching change distractions for this team.
Clemson dodged a huge bullet with this Indiana hire.