Brad Brownell believes PJ Hall gaining confidence after injury

Clemson is enjoying life in the ACC, currently sitting at the top of the standings. While they are fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, head coach Brad Brownell is seeing his team play great basketball. The emergence of PJ Hall has been a big reason why, especially over the last few weeks.

Brownell believes the confidence of Hall is just growing, saying the “will to win” is sky-high for the star forward. Hall was dealing with an injury at the beginning of the year, slowly working his way back into the rotation. Alongside Hunter Tyson, the duo has Clemson rolling through conference play.

“I think it speaks to his will to win,” Brownwell said. “He and Hunter Tyson’s will to win is just really high. That’s part of what I said after Saturday’s game. PJ’s much different now than he was earlier in the year… In the last two to three weeks, I feel like he’s playing better, he’s more comfortable, he’s more confident, he’s trying more things, he’s not afraid to try something in fear of getting hurt.

“And that’s been a big part of our success. We’re not where we are in PJ is not playing as well as he is. The competitive spirit of he and Hunter Tyson is high level.”

Hall is averaging over 14.2 points per game, adding five rebounds a night as well. However, the past seven games have seen Hall finish in double figures, including 26 points against Duke. He has been playing out of his mind.

Only one loss has come during the stretch as well, with Clemson relying on the forward.

Brad Brownell not changing approach amid Clemson success

Despite the success this season for Clemson, head coach Brad Brownell said he’s not changing his approach. He’s still taking things a few steps at a time even as the calendar prepares to flip to February.

“I’ve said this before, I just look at every week,” Brownell said. “I look at every week. What do we have this week? What do we have to do to try to play well this week? How do I need to prepare my guys? What messaging do I need to do as a head coach? Obviously, how much do we need to practice? Just get with my staff and try to manage every week the best we can and then figure it out as we go.

“Obviously, I’m thrilled. Happy for our team, the players and fans. But there’s still 10 games to go. We’ve done a nice job of staying together, being focused and we’ve played well enough to win some good games.”