Associated Press
April 13, 2010
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) --
Brad Brownell of Wright State was hired Tuesday as the basketball coach
at Clemson, which is turning to another coach from a mid-major school
in Ohio.
Brownell succeeds Oliver Purnell, who was hired in 2003
from Dayton and led Clemson to the past three NCAA tournaments. Purnell
surprised Clemson last week when he left to coach DePaul.
Clemson
said Brownell was to be introduced Tuesday at an afternoon news
conference, where terms of the agreement were to be discussed.
"Brad
Brownell is an unbelievable coach," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "He
has been a winner everywhere he has been. I am happy to see Brad go to
a great school and a great program like Clemson."
Brownell went
84-45 in four years at Wright State. He led the Raiders to a 20-12
record last year, including 12-6 in the Horizon League. Wright State
lost to NCAA tournament runner-up Butler in the conference championship
game.
Before arriving at Wright State, Brownell coached UNC-Wilmington and went 83-40 in four seasons.
At
Clemson, Purnell was 138-88, including three straight first-round
losses in the NCAA tournament. Purnell took a school that was near the
bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference and built it into a contender,
although his teams tended to fade down the stretch.
Clemson had
only once before made the NCAA tournament in three straight seasons.
The Tigers, however, lost each time as the higher-seeded team. Last
month, they were beaten by Missouri.
Clemson athletic director
Terry Don Phillips learned of Purnell's departure last Tuesday.
Phillips spent the week vetting candidates that included former Boston
College coach Al Skinner, Wofford coach Mike Young and Tigers interim
coach Ron Bradley.
The most serious appeared to be Rick
Stansbury of Mississippi State. He said Monday he and his wife met with
Phillips and considered jumping from the Southeastern Conference before
deciding to remain with the Bulldogs. That left Phillips targeting
Brownell, who has won 20 games in each of his past six seasons.
Brownell
inherits an inexperienced corps of players, and some challenges. Devin
Booker, the brother of star Trevor Booker, has talked about leaving.
The family of Tiger signee Marcus Thornton had asked the school for a
release from his letter of intent after Purnell's departure.
