CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – The excitement, achievements and accolades figured to be missing this season for Clemson basketball. Instead, first-year coach Brad Brownell has the Tigers back near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference and continuing the program’s climb of the last few seasons.
The Tigers (15-6, 4-3 ACC) have recovered from a bumpy start to win 10 of their past 12 games and keep alive streaks forged the under former coach Oliver Purnell, who left last spring to take over DePaul.
Littlejohn Coliseum, often sold out and rocking under Purnell, was expected to be little more than a practice gym as the remaining Tigers struggled to learn Brownell’s motion offense. No way, many thought, would Clemson gain a fifth straight 20-win season or a fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
Now, it’s Brownell and the Tigers on track to reach those goals.
“I did feel like our team had a chance to be decent, better than some people thought,” the coach said Monday.
That was certainly on display last week with impressive home victories over North Carolina State and previously ranked Florida State.
The Tigers trailed the Wolfpack 31-12 with six minutes left in the opening period last Tuesday before turning up the defense and rallying for a 60-50 victory. Clemson kept up the pressure Saturday, using a 22-6 opening run and relentless defense to rush past the then-22nd-ranked Seminoles, 62-44.
The 94 points allowed last week was Clemson’s fewest in consecutive ACC games since the 1958-59 season.
Florida State, who came in tied for the ACC lead with Duke, had 22 turnovers and just seven assists in the loss. “For a ranked team that supposed to be one of the best in our conference, that’s a great effort by us on the defensive end,” Tigers point guard Demontez Stitt said. “Guys helping each other, that’s what it’s all about.”
Yet, no one was sure what the Tigers would be after Purnell’s surprise departure. Brownell led UNC Wilmington and Wright State to NCAA appearances, yet had no major college experience. He ran an offense new to the Tigers and didn’t have a finisher like the 6-foot-7 Trevor Booker, now with the Washington Wizards, to carry the club through difficult times.
Clemson suffered through a disastrous stretch early on with consecutive losses at home to Michigan, to rival South Carolina and to start ACC season at Florida State. In the midst of the losing streak, highly regarded sophomore shooter Noel Johnson left the team.
But Brownell stuck to the plan to transform the Tigers he brought last April. Not that it was easy as the new coach grew frustrated on his team’s slow progress. “I wasn’t convinced we were getting any better,” Brownell said.
Gradually, Stitt says, the Tigers learned to rely on each other and find a winning flow. They won eight in row after the three-game losing streak, powered by senior starters in Stitt and forward Jerai Grant.
Stitt could be dynamic at times driving to the hoop and lost at others taking wild shots during his first three seasons. However, he has played with control and leadership. Stitt had scored 109 points his last seven games, 82 of those in the second half.
Grant has also blossomed in his final season. The son of former Oklahoma standout Harvey and nephew of Clemson star Horace, Grant was considered one-dimensional, a player who capitalized with easy baskets after defenses collapsed on Booker in the lane the past two seasons.
But Grant has averaged nearly 13 point and displayed an effective mid-range jump shot. He’s also third in ACC with 52 blocked shots.
“Coach Brownell came in and told us he was big on senior leadership. He was going to put his trust in us,” Stitt said. “We’ve done the same with him.”
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