Brownell carries hot iron into pivotal recruiting stretch
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With apologies to its record-setting evisceration of Sunday night’s opponent, Clemson basketball’s best defensive performance transpired two months ago.
In the span of little more than an hour, the Tigers had been dealt a double dagger the evening of Jan. 20. Donte Grantham’s breakout senior season was over, as he had torn his ACL in the early afternoon win against Notre Dame. That news surfaced shortly after Zion Williamson -- arguably the most recognized basketball recruit in a decade – had announced a stunning commitment to Duke, spurning his longtime in-state suitor and the prohibitive public favorite for his signature.
Brad Brownell subsequently worked to diffuse the downtrodden vibe, pronouncing publicly that while Grantham’s injury was a particularly sad development, it’s not as if the player died.
The implication was that Clemson’s season didn’t have to die, either – with the same principle applying to Williamson’s snub and the Tigers’ recruiting future.
Well, the troops have rallied to send Clemson back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years, punctuated by what had to go down as one of if not the most fulfilling showings for Tigers fans on a national stage in many years.
It’s the kind of run that stands to pay substantial recruiting dividends in the relatively near future, too.
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