Indiana basketball coaching search profile: Brad Brownell – Inside the Hall

Mike Woodson will step down as IU basketball coach after the 2024-25 season. Athletic director Scott Dolson is currently searching for the program’s 31st head coach.

Inside the Hall will examine many of the candidates being discussed for the job over the coming days and weeks. Our ninth profile takes a look at Clemson coach Brad Brownell.

Previously: Dusty May, Scott Drew, Mick Cronin, Greg McDermott, Buzz Williams, T.J. Otzelberger, Ben McCollum, Tommy Lloyd

Evansville native and DePauw graduate Brad Brownell is in his 23rd season as a Division I head coach.

The 56-year-old played at DePauw from 1988 through 1991 before starting his coaching career as an assistant at Evansville in the 1991-92 season, where he worked under former Hoosier Jim Crews.

After one season at Evansville, Brownell spent two seasons at the University of Indianapolis under the late Royce Waltman while earning his master’s degree. From there, Brownell became an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington for eight seasons under Jerry Wainwright.

When Wainwright left for Richmond in 2002, Brownell was promoted to head coach of the Seahawks. Over four seasons at Wilmington, Brownell compiled an overall record of 83- 40 and a 52-20 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. He reached the NCAA tournament twice and won a school-record 25 games in 2005-06, his last season there.

With his success for the Seahawks, Brownell became a target on the coaching carousel. In 2006, he left for Wright State. Over four seasons with the Raiders, Brownell went 84-45, including a 49-21 mark in the Horizon League. He made the NCAA tournament at Wright State in 2007 and won 20 games every season.

Brownell was rewarded for his success at Wright State by landing the Clemson job in the spring of 2010. His tenure at Clemson got off to a solid start as the Tigers won 22 games in the 2010-11 season and made the 2011 NCAA tournament.

However, the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament in the next seven seasons and had two NIT appearances in that time frame. That long March Madness drought put Brownell on hot seat lists for several seasons, but he eventually broke through with a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018. That season, the Tigers finished 25-10 and 11-7 in the ACC, good for third place in the conference.

Last season, the 2023-24 campaign, was Brownell’s most successful at Clemson. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight and finished the season 19th in KenPom. The March Madness run marked just the second Elite Eight appearance in Clemson program history and the Tigers’ first trip that deep in the tournament in 44 years.

That success has continued this season, Brownell’s 13th at Clemson. At 23-5 overall and 16-2 in the league, Clemson is 17th in KenPom as of Monday morning. Captaining a program with little history and far bigger commitment to football than hoops, Brownell has the highest winning percentage in ACC play of any Clemson coach.

Clemson’s offensive profile this season shows that the Tigers are the 12th-best 3-point shooting team in the country, with a 38.2 percent 3-point shooting percentage. The Tigers score 34.6 percent of their points from the perimeter, ranking in the top 100 nationally in point distribution on 3s. However, according to KenPom.com, Clemson ranks 337th in adjusted tempo and plays at one of the 30th-slowest paces in the country.

Defensively, the Tigers are one of the stingiest teams in the country, ranking 24th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency as of Monday.

He’s earning $3.5 million at Clemson after agreeing to a five-year contract last July worth $20 million. He will receive a raise of $250,000 each season and is scheduled to earn $4.5 million by the final year of his deal in 2028-29. If Brownell leaves Clemson this spring, he would owe 20 percent of the remaining compensation left on his deal or approximately $3.3 million.

The question with Brownell is whether he could win consistently enough to satisfy Indiana’s expectations. He’s survived the hot seat multiple times in his tenure, but the leash for down seasons is much longer at Clemson than it would be at Indiana. He would, however, have far more resources in Bloomington than he’s ever had at Clemson.

Category: Coaching search

Filed to: Brad Brownell