CLEMSON — Last week the Big 12 held its annual football media week. The ACC begins its media functions on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., and the SEC and the Big Ten follow in the weeks to come.
It is talking season in college football, which officially begins in Clemson on Tuesday as Dabo Swinney holds his annual media outing at the Allen Reeves Football Complex.
But, while all of this football talk is going on, the men’s basketball team at Clemson is getting set to go overseas for 10 days (July 27-Aug. 6) where it will play a series of games, while touring Italy.
This will mark the second time the Clemson program has toured Italy and it’s the third trip to Italy overall. The Tigers also went there prior to the 2013-’14 season, while the 2019-’20 team represented the United States in the World University Games in Naples, Italy, a gold medal finish for the Tigers.
“I’m really excited to see how this team interacts with one another,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said.
It’s understandable why Brownell is anxious to see how his team works and travels together on a 10-day trip overseas. Because of the athletic world we all live in these days, Clemson will field an almost entirely different team than it had last year.
It does not help that guys like Zak Foster (knee), Ace Buckner (shoulder) and Carter Welling (knee) will not play in the exhibition games due to injuries.
The Tigers will not have a single starter on the floor from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. Chase Thompson and Dallas Thomas will be the only players on the floor that played significant minutes for the Tigers last season.
“So far, they’ve been great. A lot of fun and guys are excited to be here which is kind of step one,” Brownell said. “Then it’s earning trust together on the basketball court and then liking guys enough to want to sacrifice for somebody else and, maybe, sacrifice your role at times or your shots or whatever, your minutes.”
That’s what overseas trips, like this one, are for and Brownell wants to use every opportunity he can to get his players ready to play in game-like settings.
“You don’t get there without trust and we’ve just got to earn the trust through time together. That’s what’s so good about the summer,” he said.
Generally, these overseas trips have paid off well for Clemson.
When Clemson went on its first foreign tour in 2013 (its first trip to Italy), that team went 23-13 the following season and advanced to the NIT Semifinals. In 2017, the Tigers went to Spain before coming back to the states and posting a 25-10 record, which included a Sweet 16 run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
In 2022, the Tigers toured France, and followed that up with a 23-11 record, which included a third-place regular season finish in the ACC.
“I just think (spending time) is more important. We want to spend time together, get to know each other, have fun together, laugh and learn a few things. It will be great,” Brownell said.
