Brad Brownell, Tigers enter new season with different identity, heightened expectations |
CLEMSON - The spring brought a fast-paced race throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Brad Brownell led Clemson to its first Elite Eight berth since 1980 and gave the Tiger faithful a rush of adrenaline for two weeks the program hadn’t felt in decades. Even after their run was over, the sprint truly didn’t stop. It was back to the portal, with Brownell holding a different kind of sales pitch to retool a roster that was losing PJ Hall and Joseph Girard. The Tigers added players from across the country, including Jaeden Zackery, Viktor Lakhin, and Christian Reeves. With a new-look roster, and veteran players like Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin to lead the charge, suddenly it was back to work. Brownell sat in Littlejohn’s media room with a week to go before the Tigers’ opener pleased with the team’s progress, but knowing there’s plenty of lessons along the way. For someone who’s become one of the longest-tenured coaches in the ACC, he learned there’s a different pace to bringing this new roster up to speed. “Just the thrill of a new group, putting the pieces together to try to make the puzzle fit,” Brownell said. “I mean, as a coach, that's some of the stuff you enjoy. Very challenging. As I've said before, when you have this many new pieces, there's more than we've had in a long time, so it goes a little slower. And I've been reminded of that, and that I go to one practice thinking that we've already got this part figured out and we don't quite have it figured out, or we got it figured out for a couple practices, then we go on to some other things, come back to it, and we're not quite where we need to be. But I have to remind myself that we have a lot of new players. And so even the terminology, and there's a lot of new terminology for everybody that it takes a lot of getting used to.” When the roster has as many new puzzle pieces as Clemson does, the reliance on the veteran leadership becomes essential. Once, it was Hunter Tyson’s team. One year later, it became Hall’s team to guide. Fast forward to the present, and Hunter and Schieffelin have become the face of leadership. At Charlotte’s ACC Tipoff media event, both admitted that leadership hasn’t come easy but that Hall and Tyson's examples have been good to draw from. Schieffelin has contacted Hall to help navigate this part of his career. Certainly, both feel ready for this chapter. Brownell has shared in that sentiment, especially when things slow down, guys like Hunter haven’t been “bored of the fundamentals.” “Our older guys have done a good job of that,” Brownell said. “They understand it. They've come to practice excited. Chase Hunter has been great for a guy who's been here as long as he has. I mean, he could very easily get tired of this and he really hasn't shown that at all. He's been practicing really hard, and I know he's excited for games to come, just like some of the new guys. But he and Ian especially have done well.” This new look roster comes with a different identity from Clemson hoops. Both Hunter and Schieffelin feel the excitement growing for the program and are ready to embrace it. Despite their lack of familiarity with it, Hunter feels this team is ready to show a community full of energy a new-look squad. “Yeah, I think we've created a new identity here,” Hunter said. “I think it's more on the defensive end, and we brought in some people who can help on that end. I think going to this year, I think the guys have really done a good job of buying into the culture and I think it'll show on the court.”
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