By Hale McGranahan.

Late last week, Clemson head basketball coach Brad Brownell sat down with TheClemsonInsider for a one-on-one interview.

Entering his fifth-year as the Tigers’ head coach, Brownell has accumulated a 74-58 record.

This winter, he’ll count on senior point guard Rod Hall to lead Clemson into the 2014-15 season.

“I just want Rod to continue to be the consistent player that he’s been on the court,” Brownell said. “Hopefully, get him to continue to grow as a leader and get him to be a bit more vocal and a bit more demonstrative.”

Hall, who participated in Chris Paul’s CP3 Elite Skills Camp this summer, had a career year as a junior. A starter in all 36 games, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds.

“He’s not going to be like Jaron (Blossomgame). He’s not built that way, in terms of smiling all the time, but I want him to feel like it’s his team,” Brownell said. “I think he does. He’s been such a good soldier for our program that I really want him to play well and embrace that part of this team, and I think he will.”

The offseason departures by K.J. McDaniels and Ibrahim Djambo leave Hall and Damarcus Harrison as Clemson’s lone seniors.

“Consistency has been the question with Damarcus, a little bit,” Brownell said. “He was a highly-rated recruit. I think he showed some signs last year, towards the end of the year, where he played like a guy that’s a good player at this level.”

Harrison was third on the team with 7.8 points per game last season. He was first in 3-point shooting percentage (35) and also made 83 percent of his shots from the free-throw line.

“I think he needs to have a really good year for us to do well. He needs to be a consistent scorer on the wing for us. He needs to shoot the ball well. He needs to create for others,” Brownell said. “He needs to play like a senior who’s got experience and made some big shots in his career, and he has. He needs to really embrace that this year. I think he’ll do that. I’m optimistic he’ll play well.”

Jordan Roper is one of three juniors who will be available to play this season. After dealing with a couple of health issues before and during the 2013-14 campaign, Roper is ready to roll.

“He’s had a really good fall. He’s in terrific shape. I think he’s anxious to get back out there and play well,” Brownell said.

As a sophomore, Roper was fourth on the team with 7.4 points per game. he also shot 41 percent from the field.

“He’ll backup Rod at the 1, but he’ll also play at the 2. You can play those guys together some, maybe,” Brownell said. “He’s a guy that finds ways to score. He’s wired to score, so we’ll certainly use him in different roles.”

Josh Smith is the epitome of a role player.

“He’s a guy that’s a role player that you can fit into a couple of different positions, depending on what your team needs,” Brownell said.

However, the junior forward/center has been dealing with a bad back.

“Josh had an outstanding spring and summer, lost weight. We really encouraged him to lose some weight. We thought it would help with his athleticism and it has. He really was moving very well, had a great summer,” Brownell said. “But, unfortunately, this fall, he had another stress reaction.

“He had a stress reaction in his back last year that was problematic. He missed some practices. He complained of back pain and I don’t think was fully healthy at all last year. Late into the spring and into the summer, he’s been doing well. Then, this fall, it’s come back and he hasn’t done anything. It’s been frustrating for us and for Josh, because he was doing so well this summer.”

Fellow big man Landry Nnoko continues to make big strides.

“I certainly think Landry, because of what he did last year — you can’t help but be excited for his growth,” Brownell said. “I do think we all have to be a little careful. The guy is not going to turn into Jabar right now. He’s still in his third-year of his time here and he’s made great progress in the two years that he’s been here.

“We certainly think he’s going to take another big step and have a big junior year, because he’s a hard worker. He’s coachable. He’s gotten better. He’s a kid who wants to be a good player. You find a kid with talent, who’s coachable and will work. Those kids have a really good chance.”

Brownell sees Nnoko developing into a leader, both on and off the floor.

“He’s been more talkative. He’s been more confident,” Brownell said. “He’s been more willing to say how he feels and how his teammates how he feels about winning and how winning is, doing the right things that leads to winning this spring and summer…I like what I see in him from that. He wants to be a leader in this program.”

A fourth junior, San Francisco transfer Avry Holmes, will sit out because of NCAA transfer rules. After this season, he’ll have two more years of eligibility remaining.

“He’s a good player. Obviously, I studied the film on him when we heard about him transferring. Was very impressed with his shooting ability, but I think he’s also got a pretty good feel for the game,” Brownell said. “He’s built well, a strong, physical guard. He’s also got pretty good quickness. You can tell from workouts right now that he plays the game with a lot of confidence, shoots the ball well.

“I’d love to play him and Rod together some right now. Those two guys are a couple of little bulldogs out there that would bother people.”

Check back with TheClemsonInsider later this week for Brownell’s breakdown of the sophomores and freshmen.