After Clemson's Elite Eight run, Brownell rebuilds, and demands respect (2024)

CLEMSON— As Brad Brownell offered an update on his efforts to rebuild Clemson's roster, his phone was within arm's reach.

That phone made many calls through April and early May as the Tigers' coach aimed to add— and not lose— various players via the transfer portal. But his reason for grabbing it mid-press conference on May 8 offered a hint of just how crazed these weeks can be for a coach.

"I don’t even know what day it is, May 9th, 8th?" Brownell said, eyeing his phone screen. "It’s just been kind of head down working 6½ days a week."

Where Clemson has historically been an active player in the transfer portal, strategically adding pieces to bite at the heels of the ACC's upper crust, the Tigers were in a very different position coming off of an Elite Eight run.

There was an opportunity to change the perception of a basketball program at a "football school." Brownell, who was seemingly on the hot seat just a year ago, now finds himself in talks with Clemson's administration about a contact extension, but those have been delayed by a time crunch.

The transfer portal opened on March 18, but the Tigers didn't bow out of the NCAA tournament until March 30.

"It hasn't let up," Brownell said. "It’s constant phone calls and Zooms and meetings with people."

Brownell believes an Elite Eight run has changed the "narrative" about his program, but it's not easy to maintain that in a sport where player movement is the rule and a need to offer competitive name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals adds an element to recruiting beyond scheme and facilities.

Not only did Brownell have to replace top-line scorers in PJ Hall and Joe Girard III this offseason, but an emerging young forward, RJ Godfrey, also exited.

Luckily for the Tigers, Godfrey was the only surprise, but Brownell says the sport's 45-day portal window— which closes on May 1— is entirely too long.

"I think kids know. So now you’re dragging it all out," Brownell said. "Knock on wood, we didn’t have any surprises the last two or three days of the portal. That’s happened to a lot of people.

"The portal just doesn’t need to be open that long."

In mid-May, it appears Clemson has found most of the pieces it needs to flankthe ACC's most improved player, Ian Schieffelin;a rising junior expected to make a similar jump next season, Chauncey Wiggins;and point guard Chase Hunter, a tourney star who is expected to return for a sixth season.

A transfer big man from Cincinnati, 6-foot-11 redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin, offers immediate post help, while a transfer from Duke, Christian Reeves, is a 7-1 sophom*ore with time to develop. A guard from Boston College, Jaeden Zackery, replaces some of Girard's 3-point shooting while probably offering more on the defensive end than the Syracuse transfer did.

Clemson has just one scholarship left, and a 6-7 senior from Illinois State, Myles Foster, is reportedly visiting this week and could offset the loss of Godfrey.

This should conclude as another successful portal season for Brownell, who not only thinks he deserves more credit for the Tigers' winning seasons but also their competitiveness in a recruiting landscape where NIL funds are required.

"One of the reasons we were in the Elite Eight was because of all the fundraising, friend-raising, whatever you want to call it, for 14 years," Brownell said. "It’s been a 14-year journey, and had we had a different coach— a new, young coach at the time— it wouldn’t have happened. There was no chance.

"That’s obviously been a (sore) spot of mine ... because I think that’s gone not as noticed as I would like. And, obviously, it’s vital."

His Clemson colleague, Dabo Swinney, might say NIL is for retention, not recruiting — and the football program hasn't brought in transfers beyond backup quarterbacks — but the basketball program is obviously different.

There are fewer players on each roster, and each addition can have an outsized impact. That value has reportedly necessitated six- and even seven-figure deals.

"It’s a tool that folks have to have to be successful," Brownell said.

Brownell has been able to maneuver in the portal in April, but consistency in March had been a point of consternation for the fan base. His teams missed the NCAA tournament in 10 of his first 13 seasons.

The coach, however, believes it's only fair to shrink the timeframe, because Littlejohn Coliseum wasn't fully renovated until 2016. Plus, the Tigers' 72 ACC wins over the last seven seasons rank fifth in the ACC, trailing only Virginia (101), Duke (96), North Carolina (86), and Florida State (76).

Brownell, thanks to just the second Elite Eight run in program history, is the only Clemson coachto make multiple Sweet 16s.

These stats have found their way into recruiting presentations. Recruits and their families often tell him Clemson's facilities are better than they expected, as well.

"Which is great to hear, but it’s also like 'What was your expectation?' Right? Why would you not expect it to be good?" Brownell said. "Again, it's that football mentality that everybody has and schools use against us."

Brownell didn't seem as frustrated by a busy month-plus as a lack of recognition of his labors over the last decade-plus.

He came to his May 8 press conference armed with his phone, obviously, but also another statistic about the number of schools (24) that have been to a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight in the last seven years.

"Somehow there’s a narrative that needs to change a little bit with our program," Brownell said. "We are winning consistently. We have now had some tournament success to go with it. I do think that needs to be talked about a little bit more."