Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell embraces transfer portal, wins with Joseph Girard III

Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell has a history of success in the transfer portal, and the 2023 offseason appears to be a continuance of that trend.

Brownell reeled in three players from the transfer pool in the last month and on Sunday hooked a fourth − Syracuse guard Joseph Girard III, who ranks as the biggest catch of the bunch.

The 6-foot-1 Girard is a prolific scorer who not only averaged 48.6 points as a senior at Glens Falls (New York) but also is the all-time leading scorer in New York high school history. He led the Orange in scoring last season at 16.4 points per game.

There were recent indications that Girard was high on Clemson. He visited campus in late April, then stated in an April 26 post on social media a “Top Two” of Clemson and LSU, teasing with the statement “I’d like to announce I’ll be a Tiger at …”

On Sunday, he completed that declaration.

Somewhat reluctant to add transfers earlier in his career, Brownell has come to the realization that his program would be best served by embracing the approach.

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“When I was younger, yeah, didn’t think a lot about it – didn’t do as much and it wasn’t as prevalent,” Brownell said. “The longer you’re kind of in it, I saw that it was going to this type of situation. I thought we’d eventually get to where we are now with kids being able to transfer and not sit out.”

Simply put, the portal is nuts. Not nearly as nuts as college football’s transfer portal but chaos nonetheless. Players declaring, players exiting, players committing, all convinced there are greener pastures elsewhere.

Brownell has lost players to the portal, but the bottom line is that he’s gained considerably more talent than he’s lost, helping him to become the winningest coach in Clemson basketball history.

Brownell has proven adept at monitoring the portal and identifying and targeting veteran players who fit the teams needs and are capable of contributing immediately. He has signed 13 transfers over the past five years and a total of 20 since 2012, including the big-impact trio of Marcquise Reed, Eli Thomas and Shelton Mitchell, who led the Tigers to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018.

More recently the Tigers have benefitted from transfer additions such as David Collins and Brevin Galloway, so yes, the portal has been kind to Clemson.

This year Brownell recently secured commitments from Jake Heidreder, a guard who led Air Force in scoring last season, versatile 6-8 guard Jack Clark of N.C. State, and Bas Leyte, a 6-10 forward out of UNC Greensboro.

Now the portal has proven kinder still with the commitment of Girard, who was one of the ACC’s top 3-point shooters last season.

That addition, combined with the return of key players PJ Hall and Chase Hunter, could be enough to return the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament and also bring Brownell back for a 14th season.