Brad Brownell gives initial impressions of Memphis matchup

In order to reach a 10-0 start, Clemson has a significant test in front of them in Memphis. Brad Brownell knows it too based on his assessment of his Tigers’ matchup with the Tigers.

Brownell broke down Memphis to open his press conference on Wednesday. He started by noting their two leading scorers, David Jones at 20.1 ppg. and Jahvon Quinerly at 13.1 ppg., as legitimate talents that’ll be difficult to stop with their respective skillsets.

“Quinerly and David Jones are terrific players,” said Brownell. “I mean they can really score, one-on-one and, obviously, within their offense. They’re just gifted players.”

However, Memphis is more than just that duo. They also have key pieces such as Caleb Mills, Jaykwon Walton, and Jordan Brown.

That’s before you even get to their style of play that’s designed to make a mess out of the game. With all those factors in play, Brownell knows that Clemson is going to have their hands full.

“I think they run some unique stuff – good stuff with good spacing,” said Brownell. “Defensively? They muck the game up a little bit. They’ll press you some, they’ll trap every once in awhile on their own. Obviously, Penny (Hardaway) calls some of it. You can see him calling it. They’re just trying to be disruptive and not let you get into any rhythm. They’ve got good depth. I think they play really hard.”

Brownell also took a moment to credit Memphis for being aggressive about their scheduling. No matter what their status is in their conference, he has respect for a team that isn’t scared to play anywhere against any caliber of opponent.

“What they’ve done so far is really, really good considering they just played six straight road games against high-level competition,” said Brownell. “One of the reasons this game came about was because Memphis is willing to play anybody. I think they’ve got Virginia after us.”

“Their gauntlet of scheduling prepares their guys,” Brownell continued. “Obviously, them being in the American? I know they’re trying to get games against high majors but they’re a high-major program.”

This will be Clemson’s third road game of the season amidst their undefeated start to the year. Now, Brownell can’t wait to get down to FedExForum to play another quality opponent in what should be a sneaky good matchup between these two.

“It’ll be an electric atmosphere. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard it’ll be unbelievable,” said Brownell.

“They just have a really good program. They’re playing really well, they’ve had good teams back to back to back,” Brownell said. “It’ll be a real challenge for our team.”