Brownell speaks to head of ACC officials about Duke game, doesn't regret comments on officiating |
Clemson basketball coach
Brad Brownell has spoken to the ACC about the officiating in Saturdays heartbreaking loss at Duke and says, while he doesn't expect any punishment from the league, he also stands by his postgame statements.
A series of questionable calls marred the ending of the 72-71 Blue Devil victory. The Blue Devils, down by one, had the ball with 7.4 seconds to play when Tyrese Proctor drove down the court and drew a foul call. He hit both free throws to give Duke a one-point lead with one second to play. Clemson’s Joe Girard threw a full-court pass to Clemson star PJ Hall, who appeared to collide with Duke's Mark Mitchell before he fumbled the ball, which sealed the win for the Blue Devils. Girard had to be restrained from going after the officials, and Brownell said in his postgame comments that the game “was taken from us.” Brownell told TigerNet Monday that he has spoken with the league and that he doesn’t expect punishment for his comments. “I don't think so. I've had conversations with the supervisor of officials and sent in calls, and we discussed them. It's part of the process,” Brownell said. “It's not easy to officiate these games. And it's not easy to coach them. We all have a hard job, and we are all competitive people. Emotion gets the best of us sometimes.” He said he still stands by his postgame comments. “I don't regret saying something of the things I said. I do think there were mistakes made and that's OK. That's going to happen,” Brownell said. “We made plenty of mistakes ourselves. I don't really want to get into it any deeper than that. I need to get onto Louisville, and my team needs to get onto Louisville.” Clemson hosts Louisville on Tuesday night at 9 pm.
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now