The decibels reached some impressive levels Saturday during Clemson's curb-stomping of Florida State.
You didn't need a meter to officially tell you Littlejohn Coliseum was loud -- and really loud, at times. In my opinion, it was the most electricity in the joint since Oliver Purnell was still on the Tigers' bench.
I walked away from the game wondering if Jan. 29, 2011 would go down as the date Clemson's fan base became sold on Brad Brownell.
Not that there wasn't already plenty of people who were impressed with what Brownell was doing in his first year here. But basketball support is such a tricky and fickle thing here at Clemson; fans have been hurt so much in the past, been given so many reasons to be casual in their support, that it's going to take a lot for them to fully devote themselves.
They gradually began to lap up what Purnell was selling as his teams developed a reputation for oppressive full-court pressure that seemed to suffocate opponents at Littlejohn.
But once Purnell abruptly left for DePaul, there was some depression and disillusionment among the fan base. Not that people weren't happy with the hire of Brownell and optimistic about the long-term future under him; it just seemed that, given the departure of Trevor Booker and the complete change in philosophy, the Tigers were going to experience a pronounced decline before returning to the levels Purnell took them.
The recent developments -- a 15-6 record (4-3 ACC), plus the fact Clemson has had legitimate claim to win in all three of its losses -- has folks back on the basketball bandwagon.
It's hard to ignore when this team loses a starter (Tanner Smith) in the first half at North Carolina, yet still pushes the Tar Heels to the ragged edge in Chapel Hill.
Hard to ignore when this team, still minus Smith, goes to Maryland and goes down double digits before battling back and having numerous shots to win at the end before losing by two.
Hard to ignore when three players who were virtual afterthoughts entering the season -- Bryan Narcisse, Cory Stanton and walk-on Zavier Anderson -- are playing with confidence and aggression, as if they belonged here all along.
One other dynamic that's been crucial to winning over the fans: This team can completely jump on the opponent to a degree that wasn't anticipated by many observers (if any).
The major appeal of Purnell's running, pressing system was that it served as an equalizer against teams with greater talent. Add that to an electric Littlejohn atmosphere, and you get some of the epic poundings that took place during Purnell's final three seasons (the 74-47 beatdown of Duke comes to mind).
It was completely reasonable to think those kinds of outcomes weren't going to occur under Brownell, and particularly not in his first season. He was going with more of a halfcourt game, so the talent discrepancy was going to be magnified more than it was under Purnell ... or so we thought.
Who out there foresaw this year's team overcoming a 19-point deficit and winning by 10, as it did against N.C. State? Who out there anticipated them blowing Florida State out of the gym? The dramatic shift in philosophy, coupled with the lack of talent on hand, produced the conclusion that this team simply wouldn't be able to compose stretches of spectacular, overwhelming basketball.
The Tigers have successfully debunked that conclusion, and for many Clemson fans this has been an unexpected stumble upon good fortune.
A few other scattered Monday morning thoughts:
-- Man, it's good to feel mostly human again after spending most of last week on the DL with ... who knows what the heck it was.
Through all the nausea, aches and coughs, managed to read the classic novel "Deliverance."
(Insert dueling banjos here).
It was good perspective reading, because flu symptoms are much more preferable than some of the, uh, impediments experienced in the book.
-- Took my 3-year-old daughter to the women's basketball game against Virginia yesterday, and you have to like the way Itoro Coleman is handling this team.
There's plenty of reason for Coleman to be frustrated, because she hasn't exactly been blessed with a bunch of talent. You have to think she wants to pull her hair out at times, but her sideline demeanor is almost always calm and encouraging.
Coleman's bunch beat the Cavaliers by 10 and is now 10-13 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.
-- Gotta say I was at least a little surprised to see Jadeveon Clowney sporting the orange fleece in the first half Saturday at Littlejohn.
No, it's not exactly stop-the-presses news when visitors wear the colors of the school they're visiting. But the simple act of Clowney sporting some orange might be considered a small victory for Clemson in what is viewed by almost everyone as a losing battle with South Carolina.
-- The jury is still very much out on Dabo Swinney as a coach, no doubt about that. But good gosh, it's just amazing that the man and his staff have put together this kind of class on the heels of a debacle of a season.
This has to be some sort of record for optimism only a month after the conclusion of a 6-7 season. And it's hard to argue that the optimism isn't largely justified, given the impressive infusion of talent (players and coaches).
-- Speaking of 'crootin, here's a summation of Palmetto State recruiting from our friends at The ACC Sports Journal.
-- Back to basketball: If Brownell were given the opportunity to take back Noel Johnson and Donte Hill, would he do it?
Just a guess, but I'd say no. Brownell was no doubt greatly disappointed when they left, but maybe this team is better off without them because they weren't really totally in with the team dynamic Brownell was trying to build.
Then again, maybe he'd have gradually molded them the way he's gradually molded Jerai Grant, Devin Booker and maybe one or two others.
As he said the other day, sometimes kids need to experience individual success before they buy in to the collective good of the team.
-- Wednesday's opponent, Virginia, has lost 14 of its last 16 regular-season ACC games. The Cavaliers were up 10 in the second half Saturday at Wake Forest but allowed the Deacons to score on 17 of their final 20 possessions and lost.
-- In seven ACC games, Clemson has shot 77.3 percent from the free-throw line. That ranks second in the conference behind Duke.
I repeat: In seven ACC games, Clemson has shot 77.3 percent from the free-throw line. That ranks second in the conference behind Duke.
LW
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