Re: JK, here is your chance! $10mil given to budget if guaranteed Tment seed

Judge Keller®

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I always start with the premise that you spend money on whats important to you.

Feb 4, 2024, 10:46 PM

Historically, we spend less on men’s basketball than most other ACC schools. That holds true when comparing to non-ACC schools in the Southeast (e.g., SEC).

I think it’s safe to say that we spend less on it primarily because we don’t care enough to spend more. I know we could spend more if we wanted to, because men’s basketball makes a profit. Our athletic department has a surplus of funds every year. Yes, basketball helps support sports that don’t make a profit, but there is still money leftover to spend on basketball if we choose to. Many years, we don’t.

So we know that other schools spend more than we do, even “football schools” like us. Many spend millions more per year on men’s basketball than we do. Ask yourself, what are they spending that extra money on? They probably aren’t wasting it.

Assistant coaches and support staff, for one. This is a super important area because these are the guys doing a ton of prep for games. They obtain and review film. They do individual player workouts. They organize recruiting efforts. They are the lifeblood of a program. We historically go cheap here. In fact, we typically pay our basketball assistants around the division I average. NOT the high major average. Not the ACC average. The division I average, as in the average that the roughly 350 schools pay their assistants.

This alone should be infuriating to anyone who cares about men’s basketball. If it isn’t, then you don’t really care about being a consistent top 25 program.

Another big area is facilities. Yes, we have new facilities, which were much needed. But they were long overdue. They are nice, but they aren’t wow factor, “I’ve never seen anything like this” nice. They are not close to the best in the ACC, but they aren’t near the bottom like we used to have. That’s progress, but regular updates are needed. New technology needs to be implemented quickly.

Another huge push needs to be on the marketing side. We suffer mightily from the perception that we are a football school that doesn’t care about basketball. While our social media presence has improved a lot over the last couple of years, I would like to see significant funds devoted to marketing our basketball program. Recruits and high school coaches need to know that we aren’t just a football school, but also a basketball school. Yes, winning helps this perception, but so does the way Clemson talks about basketball and promotes it. We have a long way to go here.

I don’t think Brad should be paid more, he’s paid fairly this point. He’s not in the top 25 though. He is #43 based on this data from March 2023:

https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/mens-basketball/coach

I’m not sure where your confusion lies with my prior posts about needing to spend more on basketball. I’ve consistently outlined areas for improvement. I hope this post helps.

What I need explained to me is how anyone thinks we spend enough when it’s clear that we spend less than most programs in the ACC, millions a year in some cases. Why should that be acceptable if we truly want to be a consistent winner in basketball? Expecting Brad or anyone else to overcome these current challenges without significant changes in how we view and support basketball, is insane. That approach hasn’t worked in 100+ years. Why should it work now?!?

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"All those 'Fire Brownell' guys can kiss it." -Joseph Girard III

"Everybody needs to know that Coach Brownell is arguably the best coach to come through Clemson." -PJ Hall

Clemson does not spend less on basketball than most other schools or most other non-ACC schools in the Southeast. This is purely made up nonsense.

Our operating budget is inline with the median and average of the teams that made the NCAA tournament last year. JK only uses Brad's salary to try and make this point while also arguing that Brad is paid fairly - which is it?

Our basketball operating budget is almost identical to Purdue's. Matt Painter is paid $750,000 more than Brad. That means Brad has $750,000 more to spend on assistants and whatever recurring needs he has. Painter is in his 19th season at Purdue. He has made the NCAA tourney 14 times. He has won 4 regular season titles. He has 2 conference tournament titles. He has made the Sweet Sixteen 6 times. HE HAS MADE THE SWEET SIXTEEN AS MANY TIMES AS BRAD HAS MADE THE TOURNEY HIS ENTIRE CAREER. He has an Elite Eight appearance. For all that he makes $750,000 more. Brad has been rewarded faster and in larger increments than the coach of the number one team in the country whose accomplishments are exponentially greater than Brownell. And yet Judge Keller persists with this lie.

Once adjusted for the salary difference between Bill Self and Brad Brownell, the Kansas basketball operating budget almost identical to Clemson's.

Clemson has an operating budget similar to a historical powerhouse and one of the most succesful programs during Brad's tenure. Judge ignores me because I bring these facts that blow up his narrative. Ignoring me gives him plausible deniability on the rare occasion others put these facts in front of him.

JK, here is your chance! $10mil given to budget if guaranteed Tment seed