Brad Brownell provides update heading into the halfway point of the season

Clemson is 12-3 through 15 games this season.

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Jan 6, 2025, 2:15 PM

Hitting the road.

As Clemson hoops hits its halfway point with a road clash against Louisville on Tuesday night (7 P.M. ESPNU), Brad Brownell joined the first of many ACC coaches calls.

Brownell assessed where the offense stands, Chase Hunter’s growth, bench play, and more. Louisville's Pat Kelsey also provided his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with the Tigers.

Here’s what we learned.

On Clemson’s offensive growth:

Brad Brownell stated that heading into the 2024-25 season, the offensive product would be a work in progress, a unit that may not be refined into January.

The Tigers now sit at 12-3, and have remained perfect in conference play. How much has the offense played a role in that?

Brownell took the time to praise the group’s consistency, adding that side of the ball is still working on ironing out roles for the entire group.

“We've been playing with pretty good consistency most days on both ends of the court,” Brownell said. “We got an older group that has come together nicely. I think roles are getting defined as you play and as you learn more about new players in your program and what they're capable of. So no, I'm pleased. I think offensively; we've been pretty consistent. We have a good mix to our game, which is important to us, and defensively, I like our effort and the way we've been able to turn some folks over.”

On bench play/rotation:

Brownell feels pretty good about where his starting five is at but stated after an 80-68 win over California that he’d like more from his bench.

Players like Dillon Hunter have begun to carve a role as a reliable sixth man, but there are still pieces to be worked out within the rotation.

“Yeah, it's just consistency in the minutes you get,” Brownell said. “We've got a good starting five with older, experienced players. You could have picked who our starting five was going to be when we were assembling our team, but just other guys growing. Dillon Hunter has been a very consistent player for us all year and has really improved. I'm proud of him. Jake (Heidbreder), I think, has gotten more comfortable. And then it's the Christian Reeves, the Del Jones, the Myles Fosters. Asa really hasn't had many reps, but it is those guys just being consistent in whatever minutes you get each game.”

On Chase Hunter:

Brad Brownell’s top offensive star has had quite the start to his sixth season at Clemson.

Hunter is averaging 17.3 points per game, shooting at a 49 percent clip through 15 games.

Brownell praised Hunter’s leadership with this new team, also adding that his decision making within this offense has continued to grow, as he knows his top guy can only further grow.

“He's shooting the ball very well, and he's making pretty good decisions,” Brownell said. “My thing with him occasionally is he can get his mind in one place. Sometimes, he goes into games, and he's really distributing, and then in other games he's trying to score. And I've just talked to him about how you're so good, you're so talented. Make sure you're being a complete player every game. I even put a note card in his locker. I just wrote 'complete' on it and taped it in there just around Christmas time here just to kind of remind him, Hey, we need him to play to his level on in all possessions, on the defensive end, on the offensive end, just continuing to make the right play.”

Hunter’s ability to work hard within routine situations has also garnered praise from his head coach.

“But man, he's a terrific young man,” Brownell said. “I'm really proud of him, a hardworking kid and a humble guy. One of the best things I can say about him is in his sixth year of being with me and all the meetings, the film sessions, and practices, things can get a little routine, and sometimes consistency and routine get a little boring. And he's had an unbelievable attitude in terms of coming to work every day and working really hard and still continuing to push us to get better. And I don't think many guys who've been doing this five and six years are wired like that.”

On Pat Kelsey/Louisville:

Brownell will face another new coach in the ACC, squaring off against Kelsey for the first time as conference foes.

The Clemson head coach said he’s not surprised that Kelsey has Louisville off to a good start, adding that the first-year head coach has found success at every stop in his career.

“Yeah, obviously he's done a terrific job at Winthrop, Charleston, and now Louisville's doing a great job there,” Brownell said. “So yeah, obviously, as close as they are, we've watched his teams a little bit, certainly familiar with the CAA and that league and the success that he had there. I was at UNC Wilmington all those years. Yeah, he's done a terrific job. He brings great energy to anywhere he goes, gets his kids to play really hard, they play very unselfishly, and they rebound the fire out of the ball. And it's no surprise to me that he's doing as well as he is in his start at Louisville. I think he will have them where they should be very shortly.”

Kelsey’s assessment of Clemson:

Respect goes both ways for the soon-to-be foes on Tuesday night.

Kelsey had the chance to break down his perspective of what this Clemson team has done so far on Monday morning, and he believes the Tigers are a dangerous group within the ACC.

“Yeah, they're very good,” Kelsey said. “One of the best teams in the entire conference. There's no question. I've known Brad for a long, long time, and their teams are always so well coached, so disciplined. They're tough, they're physical, they're big, and they got great skill as well. We have our work cut out for us. I just have the ultimate respect for him and their program over the years, and this year's edition is no different. It's a very, very dangerous team.”