New coach Shawn Poppie reveals plan to get Clemson women’s basketball back to March Madness

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CLEMSON — Shawn Poppie was officially introduced as Clemson women’s basketball coach Tuesday at Littlejohn Coliseum after receiving a six-year contract last week.

The 39-year-old coach, who guided Chattanooga to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, is the eighth coach in Clemson women’s basketball history. He replaced Amanda Butler, who was fired after six seasons on March 12, after making one NCAA Tournament in 2019.

With Clemson athletic director Graham Neff, men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell, boosters and his family in attendance, Poppie outlined his vision for the program, including making it back to the NCAA Tournament.

“We want to still be playing right now,” Poppie said. “It’s hard to watch in this tournament right now, and you’re not playing.”

Here are three takeaways from Poppie’s opening press conference:

Clemson women’s basketball will have a new identity

Poppie’s offensive philosophy is to space the floor and shoot 3-pointers. Since basketball has evolved to where players rely heavily on shooting beyond the 3-point arc, he wants to develop talent that can play well together in this style.

With Chattanooga, Poppie’s team ranked first in the Southern Conference and 12th in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage (37%). In comparison, Clemson shot 31.8% from 3-point range.

“Three is worth more than two,” Poppie said. “We’ll try to shoot a number of threes and have a roster that has the ability to stretch the floor.”

Defensively, Poppie aims for Clemson to be a man-defense team that mixes in zone and press defense. The Mocs had the sixth-best scoring defense in the nation (54.5 points per game) and tied for first in the conference for lowest field-goal percentage allowed (37.6%). Clemson averaged 70.3 points allowed, and opponents shot 43% from the field.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/coach-shawn-poppie-reveals-plan-205914127.html

Author : Greenville News

Publish date : 2024-04-02 20:59:14

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