NCAA Basketball: Way-too-early hot seat power rankings for 2021-22

4. Brad Brownell

Few teams suffered as disappointing of a season last year as Clemson – and few coaches have stared down the constant calls for his firing than Brad Brownell, who enjoyed just his third trip to the NCAA Tournament in his 11 seasons at the helm of the Tigers.  While the 2020-21 campaign showcased a stretch where the Tigers were dominant, it also came with a frustrating caveat – and now Clemson will move forward with question marks.

The Tigers were one of the biggest shockers in the early goings of 2020-21, rolling out to a 9-1 start – which included a loaded resume of wins over teams such as Alabama, Purdue, Maryland, Florida State, and Mississippi State – and propelling the team from unranked to 12th in the AP Poll.  A COVID-19 pause halfway through January, however, ceased any momentum that Clemson had, causing a stretch where the Tigers lost four of their ensuing five games by an average of 21.5 points.

It appeared as if the Tigers had figured out some of their woes after a five-game losing streak, before dropping three of their final four games – including a loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament and to Rutgers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, both of whom were lower seeds.  The Tigers finished 16-8 overall, the first time in Brownell’s tenure where the team finished with single-digit losses.

Continuing last season’s successes will not be easy, however, with Aamir Simms – the team’s leading scorer and rebounder – gone to the NBA Draft.  At the very least, however, Brownell will have an opportunity to revitalize an ailing offense, between a pair of key returners in Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes, as well as two incoming transfers who averaged double-digits at their previous schools in South Florida’s David Collins and Youngstown State’s Naz Bohannon.

Few coaches have been put through the constant wringer of being on the hot seat like Brownell has – and last season’s disappointments, paired with an uncertainty of where the offense will come from on the 2021-22 roster, as well as the lack of NCAA Tournament appearances – will loom over the program’s heads entering next season.