Brad Brownell shares Clemson’s ‘superpower’ that helped defeat Duke

Clemson has been lurking around in the national college basketball discourse, but the Tigers have broken out onto the main stage.

Brad Brownell‘s squad picked up its seventh conference win Saturday with a great 72-64 home victory over Duke. The victory continues the Tigers’ undefeated run in ACC play and moves them to 15-3 with a likely spot in both major polls coming Monday.

“These guys work so hard and they’ve done it for so long,” Brownell said after the win. “We didn’t play great tonight and a lot of that’s because of Duke. I thought they were very competitive. Their size is a major factor in the game, and everything you do defensively, rebounding, trying to score against them. But our guys hung in there. Again, I just keep talking about how I think we’re a true team. I said it on radio, I said it out there on the court.”

Clemson was down four points at the half but stuck with the Blue Devils in the second half before doing what the Tigers had to down the stretch to pick up the victory.

Brownell said that every team needs to have some elite skill, or superpower. He thinks the Clemson superpower lies in its team chemistry.

“I talked to my guys all the time about, if you’re going to be good, you got to have a superpower,” the Clemson head coach said. “Maybe it’s defense, shooting, rebounding, you know, hopefully it’s multiple things if you’re if you’re really good. And I think our superpowers just our camaraderie and our togetherness. I told our guys that when we got back from France, that the unity, the camaraderie, the genuine care and love for each other, I think is clearly evident. I think that’s why we’re winning, and why we won. We had great bench play. Our guys are genuinely happy for the other guy on the team when he plays well and even if it’s eating into their minutes.”

PJ Hall led the way with 26 points for the Tigers while Brevin Galloway added 17 points. Each filled a massive role as Chase Hunter and Hunter Tyson both had quieter nights that usual.

But that also shows Clemson’s superpower in action. Players are stepping up for each other, and they are doing all they can do to get wins.

“There’s a lot of teams out there with guys wearing the same jersey but there’s not a lot of true teams all the time in this climate right now,” Brownell said. “With everything going on, it’s probably even more challenging for coaches to create that atmosphere. I’m just blessed this year to be coaching a group of kids that allow you to coach them and care about each other and have one goal in mind and that’s to do their best for Clemson. It’s been a great run. We got a long way to go. But I’m extremely proud of them and happy for our fans and our students and want to thank them for the great turnout. It was awesome. It was a big factor in the win, no doubt.”