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CLEMSON -- New Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell says he felt instantly drawn to the position as soon as he heard Oliver Purnell was leaving for DePaul.

Brownell said on Tuesday he hopes to build on Purnell's success, which includes trips to the NCAA tournament over the past three seasons.

Brownell says his expectations are high, although he needs to learn more about his players and what they can do.

“Brad Brownell is an unbelievable coach,” said Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens, who coached against Brownell in the Horizon Conference.  “He has been a winner every where he has been.  I am happy to see Brad  go to a great school and a great program like Clemson.    He is a quality coach and a quality person.  Clemson has hired a big time basketball coach.”

Brownell went 84-45 in four years at Wright State, leading the Raiders to a 20-12 record and a 12-6 mark in the Horizon League. Wright State was beaten by eventual NCAA tournament runner-up Butler in the league championship game.

“This is a good hire for Clemson,” said former Clemson Head Coach Rick Barnes, now the head coach at Texas.  “He really wanted the job and that is important.  His teams play a similar style to what we did at Clemson and I feel that style can be successful at Clemson.  One of my current assistants (Rodney Terry) was an assistant with Brad at UNC Wilmington.  He said Brad was will have his teams prepared (for the opposition) very well.”

Before arriving at Wright State, Brownell coached at UNC-Wilmington and went 83-40 in four seasons.

Purnell was 138-88 at Clemson.