New coach Brownell, Stitt to lead Clemson

There’s a new sheriff in town in Clemson, S.C., and he’s not just taking over another program. He’s taking over the O.P.P. — Oliver Purnell’s Posse.

Much like the Clemson students will have to reorganize under a new nickname at Littlejohn Coliseum, new head coach Brad Brownell will be forced to merge his teaching format with the honed styles of Purnell’s players.

“The first thing from the last five or six years with Oliver is just we won’t be pressing on every dead ball and every basket made defensively,” Brownell said at ACC Media Day. “The speed of the game probably won’t be as fast.”

The Tigers finished the 2009-2010 campaign with a 21-11 overall record, going 9-7 in the ACC. The team’s lackluster season ended with a first-round knockout in the NCAA Tournament.

“We would like to have a little more shooting,” Brownell said. “We would like to be able to stretch the defense a little more. That’s something we’ve got to get better at. Guys have got to begin to shoot the ball better for us to be better.”
Averaging 11.4 points per game, second-leading scorer Demontez Stitt returns for his final season in the Tigers’ uniform.

The 6-foot-2 guard will be the nucleus of Clemson’s offense.

But with last year’s 6-foot-7 forward leading scorer Trevor Booker gone to the pros, senior Stitt will have to take more difficult offensive shots, especially from outside the paint.

“Demontez is a good player,” Brownell said. “He’s a tough competitor. I think he has good skills. His outside shot needs to continue to get better. He shot a better percentage last year, but I think he got to shoot a lot of easier shots based on having Trevor for kick-out open threes.”

“I’m hoping he’ll be able to make more difficult shots,” Brownell said. “He needs to be able to do that to help us win.”

The Tigers may struggle offensively with shots taken beyond the arc. However, clutch players like senior Jerai Grant have the ability to step up when the team needs redeeming.

With 119 career blocks — eighth in the program’s history — Grant has the capacity to grab key offensive rebounds and finish strong.

“The other team will have to move the ball more and take more time to get a shot,” Brownell said.

After seven years of the O.P.P., Littlejohn Coliseum is ushering in a new regime. Though Brownell’s following has yet to be dubbed, the new head man remains confident that the students have a plan of action.

“I’m sure the students will do something,” Brownell said. “The students are pretty creative. I haven’t been let in on any secrets of what the names (of the new student section) may be and I couldn’t begin to give you a guess, but I do think we’ll have something going on down there.”