CLEMSON -- Dabo Swinney and his wife Kathleen remained in their seats after Tuesday's victory over Syracuse was complete.
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This was Senior Night, and the happy couple wanted to take it all in.
At one point during his speech at midcourt, PJ Hall mentioned Brad Brownell telling him during his recruitment that this was "not a four-year decision but a 40-year decision."
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Swinney nodded and applauded as Hall became the latest high-profile testament to the idea that Clemson is just different.
Swinney of course is responsible for infusing his program with a holistic, big-picture approach that trains the focus on preparation for life after football. In recent years the culture has remained attractive to recruits and their families even in an age of NIL, the transfer portal and a more transactional world.
The recent evolution of Clemson basketball under Brownell has shown that some of these same cultural tenets can foster success across Perimeter Road.
It's March, and this year more than ever in 14 seasons under Brownell there is pressure for the Tigers to flourish instead of fizzle in the postseason.
The final chapter of 2023-24 is still being written, and it's hard to predict whether the next few weeks will delight Clemson fans or deject them.
That's the main topic right now -- Saturday's regular-season finale at Wake Forest, the opportunity to earn a prized double-bye in the ACC Tournament, and how far the Tigers will go in the NCAA Tournament.
Yet in the wake of this collection of players being celebrated after playing together in Littlejohn Coliseum for the last time, it's worth highlighting the "Clemson Grit" ethos that Brownell and his staff have successfully ingrained.
You can certainly start with Hall, who could've gone anywhere out of high school.
On top of that, the loosening of the transfer rules means he could've also gone just about anywhere after he established himself as a valuable commodity at the college level.
And yes, he could've also bet on himself last summer and gone ahead and put his name into the NBA Draft.
But for Hall there's just been something about this place. And this coach.
Hall has been here for years, and Joe Girard for less than a year.
But Girard also had a long list of suitors when he decided to leave Syracuse and put his name into the transfer portal.
From afar, Clemson was attractive to Girard because he knew the style of play and the on-court identity under Brownell after having played against him for so long.
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But it was more than that. As Girard communicated with his lead recruiter, assistant Billy Donlon, he started to feel that Clemson was different from everywhere else.
"These guys are complete people," Girard said. "Obviously they're complete players, a complete team. ... But I wanted to go somewhere where I'd fit in. He and Coach Donlon had bragged about the locker room and how great these guys were.
"You kind of hear that everywhere; obviously the coach wants to get you to his program. But even on my visit, I just saw how well they bonded together and how welcoming they were. I feel like I've been here for four or five years. These guys have taken me in, and all the credit goes to them."
Of course, it has to be acknowledged that several pillars for the current success will have to be replaced next year. It's simply not easy to replace a franchise-type presence in Hall, nor a dead-eye shooter in Girard, nor Chase Hunter, nor Jack Clark.
But it's also true that Brownell has successfully addressed some major departures before, including a foundational presence in Hunter Tyson just last year.
And heck, maybe the example of Girard and others under Brownell have made Swinney think a bit more deeply about the positive cultural impact transfers can bring to a program.
This season will be defined by whether the Tigers can make a postseason run that Hall and Hunter promised after beating Syracuse.
But Brownell's program seems defined by some of the cultural ingredients that had to look familiar to Swinney as he watched Tuesday night.
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