From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Dobson was Clemson's first basketball coach.
Rick Barnes led Clemson to three consecutive NCAA tournament berths.
Oliver Purnell led the Tigers to postseason play in six of his seven seasons.
The Clemson Tigers men's basketball program is a college basketball team that represents Clemson University . Both teams play at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).[ 1]
The team has had 22 head coaches. Clemson started organized basketball with the nickname Tigers in 1912. The men's program has played in more than 2,500 games in 105 seasons. In those seasons, seven coaches have led the Tigers to at least one postseason tournament: Tates Locke , Bill Foster , Cliff Ellis , Rick Barnes , Larry Shyatt , Oliver Purnell , and Brad Brownell . Only one coach won a conference championship with the Tigers, Joe Davis in 1939. Frank Dobson , who coached the team in its first two seasons, is the all-time leader in winning percentage . Statistically, Bud Saunders has been the least successful coach of the Tiger men, with a winning percentage of .162. The current men's coach is Brad Brownell, who was hired in 2010.[ 2]
General
#
Number of coaches[ A 1]
CCs
Conference championships
*
Conference tournament champion
Conference
CW
Wins
CL
Losses
C%
Winning percentage
Post-season
PW
Wins
PL
Losses
Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season .
#
Name
Term
GC
OW
OL
OT
O%
CW
CL
C%
PW
PL
CCs
Awards
1
Frank Dobson
1911–1913
18
13
5
0
.722
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2
John W. Erwin
1913–1915
12
4
8
0
.333
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
3
Audley H. Ward
1915–1916
9
2
6
1
.278
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
4
Country Morris
1916–1917, 1919–1920
24
16
8
0
.667
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
5
Edward "Jiggs" Donahue
1917–1919
9
6
3
0
.667
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
6
Larry Conover
1920–1921
15
10
5
0
.667
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
7
E. J. Stewart
1921–1923
38
19
19
0
.500
3
6
.333
—
—
—
—
8
Bud Saunders
1923–1925
37
6
31
0
.162
3
10
.231
—
—
—
—
9
Tink Gillam
1925–1927
36
6
30
0
.167
2
14
.125
—
—
—
—
10
Josh Cody
1927–1931
88
46
42
0
.523
22
23
.489
—
—
—
—
11
Joe Davis
1931–1940
187
101
86
0
.540
37
47
.440
—
—
1 – 1939*
—
12
Rock Norman
1940–1946
102
32
70
0
.314
18
43
.295
—
—
—
—
13
Banks McFadden
1946–1956
216
85
131
0
.394
46
95
.326[ A 2]
—
—
—
—
14
Press Maravich
1956–1962
151
55
96
0
.364
25
59
.298
—
—
—
—
15
Bobby Roberts
1962–1970
198
82
116
0
.414
41
71
.366
—
—
—
—
16
Tates Locke
1970–1975
132
62
70
0
.455
20
42
.323
0
1
—
—
17
Bill Foster
1975–1984
262
156
106
0
.595
44
74
.373
3
4
—
—
18
Cliff Ellis
1984–1994
305
177
128
0
.580
56
90
.384
6
7
—
ACC Coach of the Year (1986–87, 1989–90)
19
Rick Barnes
1994–1998
122
74
48
0
.607
28
36
.438
2
4
—
—
20
Larry Shyatt
1998–2003
154
70
84
0
.455
20
60
.250
4
1
—
—
21
Oliver Purnell
2003–2010
226
138
88
0
.611
52
60
.464
5
6
—
—
22
Brad Brownell
2010–present
454
265
189
0
.584
128
126
.504
10
8
—
—
^ A running total of the number of coaches of the Tigers. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is counted only once.
^ 45-59 (.433) against SoCon opponents and 1-36 (.027) against ACC opponents.
General
Specific
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons