Brownell says Tigers have to recruit better, thankful fans are sticking with program

Brownell and Clemson play at Florida State Tuesday night.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Feb 14 13:16:34 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell understands the optics of a season full of struggles, and he’s asking for the fans see the fight his team while continuing to stick with the program.

The Tigers have lost four consecutive games since a win over Florida State to start the month of February, and three of those losses came at home during a five-day stretch last week. The Tigers lost a heartbreaker to North Carolina in the final seconds, then lost in blowout fashion to Duke and Notre Dame to end the week.

The Tigers are dealing with the loss of starter Hunter Tyson (broken clavicle) and were without the services of senior starter David Collins against Notre Dame, after he was suspended by the ACC for one game following a hard foul against Duke’s Wendell Moore, Jr.

“It’s been a hard week or ten days in the ACC,” Brownell said Monday on the ACC coaches teleconference. “It’s life in the ACC. Our guys have competed really hard and we’ve dealt with some adversity with injuries and with David being out a game or a game and a half. It’s hard to make adjustments and deal with all of that.”

Brownell said he is appreciative of the fans sticking with the program, and he knows that recruiting is the key to taking his program out of its current funk.

"I hope people see that we're fighting and our kids are giving it what we got right now. We're not playing great all the time, but we are a little over-manned at times,” Brownell said. “We have to do some things in recruiting to make sure that doesn't happen.

"Last year's team was deep. We were bigger and more experienced. This team is not quite there. It's new for them. We are getting our lip bloodied some, but that that makes you better. For our fan base to stick with us, it's appreciated by our fans and our coaches and I can't thank them enough. I hope they see kids that are really competing and trying because I do think our kids are doing that."

The postseason – beyond the ACC Tournament – is a long shot at best. The NCAA Tournament is out barring a miracle run to win the ACC, and the Tigers might need to win out in the regular season to have a shot at the NIT.

Next up for the Tigers is Tuesday’s game at Florida State, a team the Tigers defeated 75-69 in Littlejohn two weeks ago. That loss was the third of what is now a six-game losing streak for the Seminoles, marking the program's longest losing streak since FSU lost nine straight games late in the 2004-05 season. Their last win was January 22nd against Miami. The Seminoles are also dealing with a rash of injuries and might be without several key starters Tuesday.

“We obviously have had to deal with some injuries here, and with David being out, and you hate that for any of the teams,” Brownell said. “Here lately (FSU head coach) Leonard (Hamilton) has been hit really hard. But they aren’t drastically changing how they are playing. I hate it that they have a couple of guys out and it’s hard to keep morale when guys are out.”