Brad Brownell explains how Hunter Tyson moved up NBA draft boards, went No. 37 to Nuggets

Former Clemson star Hunter Tyson impressed during the pre-draft process, so much so that the Denver Nuggets selected him No. 37 overall in last week’s NBA draft.

Tyson went much higher than many expected him to, but Tigers coach Brad Brownell wasn’t surprised. Brownell had heard rumblings leading up to the draft that teams were high on Tyson.

“We did think he was going to get picked. We had good intel that there were a couple of teams that liked him and his agent had told us that more than likely it was going to happen,” Brownell told On3. “It seemed like he was starting to move up. The closer it got to the draft, it was like, ‘Man, at first we were thinking it might be around 50 or whatnot.’ Then you started hearing it might be in the 40s or possibly even in the 30s.”

Tyson did end up going in the 30s, landing with the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets like his ability to shoot and rebound, as well as the fact that he’s an older player. He has a chance to come in and be a guy who can knock down shots and provide minutes off the bench.

“We knew Denver liked him, so that was cool. Man, I was just so happy for him and excited. I feel like college basketball needs some of that right now. We need to see guys who show grit, who stick with things, who persevere, just keep getting better and develop. And Hunter Tyson is the epitome of that. I’m just really happy to see him get rewarded,” Brownell said.

“The fact that a guy’s in college 3-4-5 years, that doesn’t have to be a knock on him, it can be a strength. And I think that’s what happened with Hunter. I think people were very impressed with his competitiveness, his maturity. And then obviously I’m sure he was a home run in terms of his interviews.”

Brownell added that joining the Nuggets is a perfect fit for Tyson. It’s clearly a very well-ran organization, and there won’t be pressure on him to come in and be a star. Tyson can play to his strengths and try to help however he can.

“Certainly they’re already a ready-made team. That’s part of what Hunter’s appeal to them was – a guy who’s mature and understands his role and will understand what they need him to do and will be good with that,” Brownell said. “They’re going to get a guy that works extremely hard – really competitive and a team guy, and I think that makes it really good, the fact that he’s on a world champion. It’s going to be really fun for him, because there’s going to be certainly a little more heightened awareness of him and his experience this year.”