Before Clemson left on its trip to Italy to play in the World University Games, Brad Brownell was just glad to have the opportunity for his young team to play.
After losing four starters to graduation and then two of his best players returning to injury, the Tigers needed the experience of playing in the international games. They are a new team, and a relatively young one at that, with an average age of 19 years old.
Of course, the head coach wanted to win, too. But the main thing was the experience of playing together. They needed every game after having less than a month to practice as a complete team before leaving for the World University Games in Italy on June 28.