Brad Brownell typically meets with Clemson’s team for a few minutes just outside of the buses when the Tigers return to Littlejohn Coliseum after road trips.
Following Clemson’s 79-53 loss at Duke on Saturday, the meeting was a little different.
Instead of talking outside of the buses, Clemson went inside to the Coliseum Club at Littlejohn Coliseum. It’s a good thing they did because it was chilly outside, and what Brownell had to say was going to take much longer than a couple of minutes.
“We spoke for probably an hour and a half and just talked about what we wanted to accomplish and our fight and our grit,” Clemson senior Aamir Simms said following Clemson’s game against UNC Tuesday night. “And that’s something that should never be challenged as a person, as a man. I think a lot of guys took that personal.”
Brownell’s message certainly got across as the Tigers responded with a 63-50 win over North Carolina — their third victory over the Tar Heels in four tries.
Clemson looked like a completely different team than the one that was blown out by Duke just three days earlier as the Tigers held UNC to only 50 points and forced 17 turnovers. The 50 points were the fewest by North Carolina against Clemson since 1985.
“Coach told us how disappointed he was in us and our effort in the last five or six games we’ve played. He just challenged us mentally and physically,” Simms said. “He really wanted to see if we can go out there and play like the team he knew about at the beginning of the season.”
Clemson started off the year 9-1 (3-1) before falling into a skid.
It wasn’t just the poor game against Duke — Clemson had dropped four of its past five games heading into Tuesday’s matchup with UNC, with the four losses coming by 18 points or more.
The most disappointing part for Brownell was the lack of effort and intensity. If shots weren’t falling, the Tigers weren’t defending on the other end of the court.
“I was really disappointed in our performance at Duke. Teams are going to have stretches where you play bad. We’ve had hard games, games back-to-back, all those kind of things. But we’ve buckled,” Brownell said. “We’ve let poor offense affect our defense.”
Clemson’s defense was outstanding Tuesday night. The Tigers had allowed 79 or more points in four of five games before holding the Tar Heels to 50. UNC has several strong post players, including Garrison Brooks and Day’Ron Sharpe. But Simms, Hunter Tyson, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, P.J. Hall and Jonathan Baehre more than held their own.
“We really fought and battled,” Brownell said. “It takes everything we have to win these kinds of games. We played with tremendous physicality early in the game, and our guys set the tone by making some early shots.”
Part of Brownell’s message to his team following the loss to Duke was that guys were going to have to earn minutes with their play in practice and in games.
Clemson had 11 guys averaging double digit minutes heading into Tuesday’s game and none averaging more than 27.4. Brownell had eight players play double digit minutes against North Carolina, and five played 24 minutes or more. Simms and Clyde Trapp each played 35 minutes.
“I’m at the point now where everybody’s had opportunities. Now if you play well and practice well you’re going to get more. When you don’t you’re not,” Brownell said. “You may get thrown out there to get a chance, but my leash is going to be a little shorter. Some of that happened today.”
Brownell pointed out after the win over UNC that even though Clemson is 2-4 in its last six games, the Tigers have won two of three, with a blowout loss to Duke sandwiched in between. He is hopeful Clemson has turned a corner after a rough stretch and is ready to finish the season strong.
Simms believes that’s the case after some players had to dig deep.
“I think he knew that’s what he needed to say to us, because that’s what we needed to hear,” Simms said. “He just challenged our integrity and our fight and our grit and just our spirit. I think a lot of guys responded. Our whole team responded tonight.”
Originally published
