Ian Schieffelin played a huge role in Clemson basketball’s win over Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. However, his head coach did not allow him to be compared to Kobe Bryant.
Brad Brownell was not going to let that go unchecked!
It was a hilarious exchange after the Tigers reached the Elite Eight for the second time in program history. They both wound up laughing together by the end.
Schieffelin is a 6-foot-8, 238-pound forward. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block against the Wildcats. His presence in the paint continues to be a crucial component to success and the world is starting to take notice.
Clemson played at Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as STAPLES Center, in Los Angeles on Thursday and will do so again on Sturday. Bryant won five NBA Championships and became a Hall of Famer in that building and Schieffelin paid homage by rocking a pair of his signature sneakers during the game.
Thus, a reporter asked Schieffelin if his game shoes made him feel like Kobe Bryant while on the court.
He initially started to say yes, but Brownell quickly cut him off. The 14th-year head coach was not going to allow one of his bigs to compare himself to one of the greatest shooters of all-time!
Brownell suggested that Schieffelin is more like Bill Laimbeer than the Black Mamba. Schieffelin admitted that he is not familiar with Laimbeer while his teammates cracked up next to him.
“Please don’t compare yourself to Kobe Bryant” 🤣
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2024
Coach Brownell was not hearing the comparisons for Ian Schieffelin 😭#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/lCYaGPXCRb
The Tigers will take Friday to rest and game plan for Alabama. Brownell is definitely going to work some Laimbeer highlights into their preparation— just to make sure that his team, especially Ian Schieffelin, is properly cultured when it comes to the two-time NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star’s greatness!