Brad Brownell expresses what PJ Hall getting drafted would mean to him

Clemson’s PJ Hall decided to declare himself for the 2024 NBA Draft last week. It ended a four-year collegiate career with the Tigers and sets him up to be a selection come late June.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Brad Brownell discussed what Hall represented as a member of their program. He started with his respect for Hall’s commitment to their team as he stayed loyal to Clemson both when coming out of high school and when other schools may have come looking in the transfer portal.

“PJ – I’ve talked about it a million times. He’s one of my most special recruits as much anything because he was a top player in the state and stayed home. There’d been some other times I’ve tried to recruit those guys. Recruited them for two and three years and gotten turned down at the end,” Brownell recalled. “PJ decided that this is where he wanted to be.”

“Not just that decision but his decision to stay with us for four years. He was a very sought-after player. You know, the transfer window was open and he could’ve gone again if he wanted to,” said Brownell. “I’m just extremely thankful for that.”

From there, Brownell discussed Hall as a person rather than Hall as just a player. He praised him as someone who always took what they gave him and left it all out for their team.

“I’m thankful for the way he allowed me to coach him. He allowed me to coach him in a way that I thought made him better,” said Brownell. “His carefree, caring personality? I mean I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player as good as he is who cared so much about the team and other players. Remarkable young man that way. Parents deserve so much credit for the way they raised him and for the way that he genuinely cares about other folks, our program, and our fanbase.”

“I think he had a hard time at times this year because I think he really – he was playing under pressure because he wanted to do something special for Clemson during his time here,” Brownell noted. “What’s remarkable is his numbers are remarkable considering the injuries and the playing hurt, missing some games. Just, I mean, his stats are unbelievable.”

Hall appeared in 120 games at Clemson, including 92 starts over the last three years. In that time, he averaged 14.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 50.3% overall. That earned him honors as an All-ACC selection several times over during the past three seasons.

As a senior this year, Hall posted his best numbers with 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. Individually, that gave him a spot on the All-ACC First Team. As the leader of this year’s team, he helped the Tigers to one of their best records in some time. That included the postseason where Clemson made their second-ever Elite Eight after upsetting No. 3 Baylor and No. 2 Arizona. In that run that came within a game of the Final Four, Hall became a member of the NCAA All-Region Team for the West.

This all came after Hall, a Spartanburg, South Carolina native, stayed as an in-state talent. He was the No. 50 player, a four-star prospect, and the top recruit in the state coming out of Dorman High School in 2020. As one of the nation’s top power forwards in that cycle, he joined the Tigers that were an hour and a half west from home.

Hall has meant a ton to Clemson while playing for them over the past few years. Now, the moment to start his professional career, as well as the rest of his life, has come with no one more excited to see it all than Brownell.

“To watch his name get called will be – I’ll be so happy for him because I know how hard he has worked at it and it’s something that he has dreamed of for a long time,” said Brownell. “The great thing about PJ is that won’t define him. He’ll be much more about all the other things, remain humble either way, hard-working.”

“He’s going to have a great life. He’ll continue to pour into our program, our people and he’ll be an unbelievable ambassador for our university,” said Brownell. “It’s just a blessing to be able to get to coach a guy like that.”