Brownell sees football-like commitment from Neff making difference for program |
Clemson men’s basketball coach
Brad Brownell is already using some increased resources from Tigers athletic director Graham Neff to boost a program that’s had its ups and downs lately.
Since a Sweet 16 run in the 2017-18 campaign, Clemson has gone 69-53 with one NCAA Tournament appearance, one NIT bid and another season that ended after a first-round ACC Tournament win (the pandemic-shortened 2020 slate). Neff sent a letter out to Clemson fans recently saying that the 17-16 record this past season “did not meet our expectations nor those of head coach Brad Brownell and student athletes,” adding that he has “an ambitious vision for Clemson Basketball” and that “aggressive investment must be present to achieve such intentions.” Brownell told TigerNet recently that that commitment hadn’t always been there at Clemson, but he’s already seeing the benefit of working closer with Neff to improve the program. "Graham and I have worked together for a long time. He's been the guy that I've dealt with -- sports supervisor for nine years or whatnot,” Brownell said. “We have a very good relationship. I think he has a good understanding of basketball. “I think he knows that not all the needs have always been met. And we've had some challenges and hurdles that we haven't always been able to get over. I think part of what he was saying in the letter is that he understands as the administrator in charge now that he wants basketball to be as good as it can be and he's willing to spend more money on things if we need to spend more money.” From the 2020-21 season, data per Sportico shows Clemson ranked seventh out of eight ACC public schools in coach salaries for men’s basketball. Per numbers pulled from the Department of Education, the program ranked 13th out of 15 ACC schools in basketball expenses for the 2020 cycle. Brownell compared the investment Clemson has in football to what he wants for his program and any at the school to succeed. “He's (Neff) willing to hire more staff if we need to hire more staff. He's seen what things have been done for football and how that's affected winning and there comes a point where you have to do the same for other sports if you want to have the same kind of success,” said Brownell “I think he stated that's a part of what he wants to do. Obviously I'm excited about that. We all want to have more opportunities and have what we need to be successful. Graham is certainly providing that.” Brownell’s example of that commitment at work came in being able to bring his former assistant and recent UMKC head coach Billy Donlon to be an associate head coach with the Tigers. “There's been some times where we haven't been able to hire a guy or two because we haven't always had the salary that you need to get a quality person,” said Brownell. “Billy Donlon is an example that you had to pay a little more to get a guy of his stature. To get a guy who's been a head coach. So, there have been other instances -- we've lost strength coaches, we've lost a few people who are good when money's been involved. I just think those kind of things are important. And staff changes can be hard, especially when you lose somebody that's good because you're not always sure the next hire is going to be as good. It's a risk. “You got to spend money for quality people to retain. Retention of quality staff is incredibly important and so i think that's as important as anything."
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
