List of Clemson Tigers men's basketball head coaches

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]

Key

Coaches

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 — —

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 45-59 (.433) against SoCon opponents and 1-36 (.027) against ACC opponents.

References

General
  • Bourett, Tim; Philip Sikes. "Clemson 2010-11 Tiger Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Clemson University. pp. 154, 165, 198–208. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
Specific
  1. ^ "Clemson University". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  2. ^ Katz, Andy (14 April 2010). "Brownell headed to coach at Clemson". ESPN. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2011.