CLEMSON -- Thirteen years ago, Dabo Swinney did something at Clemson that hadn't been done in decades and said this after the Tigers' ACC championship trouncing of Virginia Tech:
"This isn't for everybody. This is only for the people who were all in all the frickin' time."
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Brad Brownell didn't go all the way there two days ago when he met with the media for the first time since his team's sensational Elite Eight run.
But he was in the ballpark, pushing back on a number of notions and perceptions that he deems unfair and lacking in perspective.
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Entering the NCAA Tournament, Brownell's back was against the wall.
Then he went and put three skins on that same wall with victories over New Mexico State, Baylor and Arizona.
And in what had to be the longest press conference he's conducted over the 14 seasons he's been the coach here -- 45-plus minutes -- Brownell made it clear he's kept some receipts.
There weren't many believers when Clemson came home from a short trip to the ACC Tournament after absorbing an abominable 76-55 defeat to Boston College in Washington, D.C.
Hindsight now tells us that this team, not just that night against B.C. but during some rough patches in the regular season against ACC competition that was more rigorous than most believed at the time, was simply eager to hit the fast-forward button and get to March Madness.
Brownell advanced that theory during the press conference. And taking it back to football, it's probably not unlike the 2016 team that spent the whole year thinking about getting another shot at Alabama and lost some focus during the regular season.
Certainly a lot makes more sense now, as a talented and battle-hardened team was able to rediscover the edge and the joy that fueled a hot start to the season in November and December.
But it seemed plenty reasonable to be skeptical of this team in the aftermath of the ACC Tournament debacle. Brownell himself was more critical than anyone behind the scenes, putting his team through some blistering practices after it returned home.
During the nine-day layoff before Clemson tipped off in Memphis, it was fashionable on message boards, radio airwaves and social media to say the Brownell era was done.
But even beyond that emotional, vocal minority, it seemed even more middle-of-the-road observers were wondering: If this team flames out in the NCAAs, is it time for Graham Neff to make a change?
That backdrop was on Brownell's mind Wednesday as he discussed the state of the program, and a contract extension that's surely coming.
The program's second-ever Elite Eight appearance, and second trip to the Round of 16 in the last seven years, sent a resounding message that the state of the program is quite good.
And "quite good" isn't a descriptor Brownell heard much before the NCAA run commenced March 22nd.
One of the overshadowed and underreported strengths of Brownell and his staff is their successful cultivation of major donors in making Clemson marketable in NIL as the Tigers navigate the transfer portal and retain high-level players.
We've written about this topic, most recently during the NCAA Tournament run, but we'd yet to hear Brownell reflect on that vital aspect of talent procurement.
"I'm doing a ton of fundraising, folks, and I have been for 14 years," he said. "One of the reasons we were in the Elite Eight is because of all the fundraising, friend-raising, whatever you want to call it, for 14 years. It's one of the reasons we have a facility that's much nicer than it was. It's filling those premium seats. It doesn't just happen with NIL. It happens with improving your facilities. It happens with donor retention. It happens with getting folks to buy into your program enough that when (NIL) was new that our people were involved and engaged to be able to support the guys on our team to be ready for this opportunity when it did show up. We were there to meet it.
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"I do deserve a lot of credit for that. A lot. Because it's been a 14-year journey. And had we had a different coach, or a newer young coach at the time, it wouldn't have happened. There would have been no chance.
"So that's obviously been a little bit of a sore spot of mine at times. Because I think that's gone not as noticed as I would like. And obviously it's vital. In college basketball right now, NIL is a major factor."
NIL was a factor in landing Joe Girard a year ago, as it was in the landing of the three recent portal acquisitions. Chase Hunter is considered likely to return to Clemson, and NIL will be a factor there too.
Though the loss of PJ Hall and Girard might make it difficult for Clemson to breathe the air it did this past season, Brownell has generated confidence that he can successfully navigate this new and crazy world of talent acquisition.
He pointed out that Clemson is one of just 24 teams nationally to advance to both the Elite Eight and Round of 16 in separate seasons since 2018. The Tigers have also been solid in the ACC since Littlejohn Coliseum was renovated, compiling a 72-60 record as a number of other schools have suffered through wild fluctuations from great to terrible.
Brownell is also responsible for two wins in Chapel Hill after zero Clemson coaches won there before. There's a laundry list of other positive trends that he says aren't appropriately amplified in these parts, and he pointed the finger at the local media as well.
"We were number one on ESPN's list for an upset in the NCAA Tournament. And there were some articles written from some folks in this room that weren't very flattering. A lot of people in this room were questioning us."
For the record, here was our bottom-line take as the page turned from ACC to NCAA:
It could well be that what happened Wednesday was a defining indictment of a team that lost its spark, its cohesion and its unifying rallying cry of making good on the devastating way last year ended.
But we don't yet know that.
It could also well be that the worst performance of the season is what it takes to truly galvanize the spirit of a group that includes some highly prideful, mentally tough veterans.
Maybe it was just one bad night, and this team ends up being better for it. Yes, it's natural to scoff at that idea in the wake of such an unsightly showing. And yes, it's OK to wonder why in the heck a team with so much to play for looked almost disinterested compared to the loose-and-free Eagles.
If Brownell's team wins a game or two in the NCAAs, we're probably not talking much about what happened in the ACC Tournament.
But if they follow that abomination by going one-and-done next week, things aren't going to be comfortable.
Nor should they be.
There weren't many true believers anywhere after the Boston College debacle, except for maybe inside the Tigers' locker room. It was OK to question them.
But Brownell's back is no longer against the wall.
And if he wants to call out everyone who hasn't been all in all the frickin' time, his three freshest skins on the wall probably justify it.
TIGERILLUSTRATED.com's POSTSEASON CLEMSON HOOPS CONTENT
-- Brownell, Clemson make their case
-- Clemson's special season and busy off-season ahead
-- Clemson's tournament runs ends in L.A.
-- Inside Clemson's surge to the Elite Eight
-- Clemson's talent acquisition and retention under Brownell
-- A closer look at Graham Neff's vote of confidence
-- The changing of narratives and perspectives
-- Clemson marches to Sweet 16
-- A potential defining moment
-- The biggest key for Clemson
-- The story can change in just one game
-- One and fun
-- Clemson grit put to the test
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