Brownell provides update on needed team rest, Wiggins' emergence and more

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Clemson is getting a week off at the right time.

Brad Brownell spoke to the media Monday as the team takes much-needed time off. The Tigers don’t play until Saturday, February 1st, hitting the road to face North Carolina State.

Brownell spoke about that time off, his assessment of Virginia Tech, and much more.

Here’s what we learned.

On Clemson’s week off:

This team has battled a variety of circumstances as this time approaches. Several players have been dealing with the flu, including Chase Hunter, who wasn’t inserted into the game at Virginia Tech until the final 12 minutes of regulation.

Add Ian Schieffelin, who is dealing with back spasms, and Brownell’s group could certainly use a few days of rest.

“We've had some sickness go through our team here all last week, and then we've got some guys that are just beat up physically,” Brownell said. “Schieffelin’s been a warrior, but he's battled some back spasms and stuff and just the wear and tear of a long season. It's probably good for us mentally as well. So yeah, we're taking a couple of days off for sure. We took off Sunday and Monday. We'll get back in the gym a little bit tomorrow. But yes, it's a good time for us.”

On Chauncey Wiggins’ development:

Clemson’s X-factor continues to develop in a big way.

Wiggins dropped 16 points in a win against Virginia Tech and was the Tigers’ leading scorer on the weekend road stop. It also moved Clemson to 10-0 when he logs double figures this season.

Clearly, when the junior wing plays to his potential, great things happen for Brownell’s group.

“He's playing both the wing and the four spot for us this year, so he's actually around the rim a little more this year than he has been in the past,” Brownell said. “So early in his career, he was primarily a three-point jump shooter and perimeter player, and one of the things that I've always said about Chauncey that I like about him is he is got a good basketball mind, and he wants to learn the game, and he can learn multiple positions. He's learned multiple positions for a couple of years now. This year, he has to guard threes, fours, and fives. He's played to three, four and a little bit of the five on offense occasionally. And so, just continuing to build his game closer to the basket on both ends, rebounding, shot-blocking, finishing at the rim, scoring in the low post.”

Brownell continued with praising Wiggins' consistency, especially when taking on various roles for this group.

“That's just something that he didn't do before he came to Clemson, and he had so much to learn at a young age, and he really didn't do as much of that as a young player here,” Brownell said. “Now this year he's been thrust into that role, and he's ready for it, and he's starting to produce very, I would say pretty consistently. He's starting to do more things around the basket area for us on both ends, and it's helped our team.”

On offensive operation against Virginia Tech:

The Tigers entered Saturday’s road trip in Blacksburg mostly without their top-scoring option. Hunter has been putting together an All-ACC campaign this season but was the latest player to catch the flu that has been circulating the team for quite some time.

What was Brownell’s assessment of that operation without the positives that Hunter provides?

“Yeah, we did some good things, a good mix to our game, which is what we're looking for,” Brownell said. “Chase is one of those guys that can sometimes bail you out of a bad possession by jumping up and making a shot or making a play for you. And without having that, we had to do some other things. I thought Del Jones was really good down the stretch. He made some good plays off the bounce, but we did a nice job of moving the ball, staying patient, reading some things within the game off pick-and-roll and dribble handoff stuff. We got the ball inside enough. We played a pretty sharp game and had a good mix in terms of different guys scoring.”

On Viktor Lakhin’s personality, meshing with the roster:

Lakhin’s addition has been a positive for Clemson’s frontcourt, and it didn’t take long into the season for him to display his expressive personality to the media.

After a win over Eastern Kentucky, Lakhin proclaimed he didn’t know how to explain Clemson’s basketball success in the second half to “nine-to-five jobs.”

Brownell expressed that Lakhin’s personality has been a nice fit, and his competitive nature has been a fun addition.

“Yeah, he's great,” Brownell said. “He's got a big personality. I mean, sometimes he's like a big kid. He likes to have fun. And I told the story to our media that at Halloween, he came up in a Spider-Man suit or mask, I shouldn't say suit, but a mask, and came in and started messing with me and a couple of the other coaches. And he's just a lot of fun. He wants to have a good time with it. He certainly wants to win. He's competitive. He is a little hardheaded at times. He and I certainly meet a lot and talk about a lot of different things, but he's been a joy to coach. He's been a very good player for us on both ends of the floor. I thought he would be a good player for us. I thought his skillset fit our style of play as long as he bought into the coaching and what we needed him to do that he would have a good year. And he's having a good year. He's done a lot of really good things for us on both ends. I'm proud of him and he really wants to win, which is important.”

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