Brownell has firm stance on postgame tradition in aftermath of Juwan Howard incident

In the aftermath of the dustup between Michigan and Wisconsin over the weekend – one that’s resulted in a head coach’s suspension for the rest of the regular season – some have wondered publicly whether or not one of college basketball’s postgame traditions should continue.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell wasn’t shy about sharing his opinion on the matter this week.

Following Michigan’s loss to the Badgers on Sunday, players and coaches took part in the usual handshake line. Michigan coach Juwan Howard, upset about a timeout Wisconsin coach Greg Gard took in the waning seconds of a 14-point win for the Badgers, confronted Gard when Gard stopped him as the two approached each other.

Things escalated from there as officials, players and assistant coaches stepped in to break up what began as a verbal altercation. As players and assistants began pushing and shoving, Howard took a swipe at Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft with an open hand, making contact with Krabbenhoft’s face.

Among the punishments handed down by the Big Ten Conference were a $10,000 fine for Gard and a five-game suspension for Howard, which will keep Howard off the Wolverines’ bench for the rest of the regular season.

Some coaches, including Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, have opined that teams should not partake in postgame handshake lines in order to prevent the possibility of a scuffle breaking out at a time when emotions are running high. Others, such as Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, believe they should be preserved as an act of sportsmanship.

Count Brownell among the latter.

“Obviously it’s an unfortunate incident. You don’t want to ever get to those situations,” Brownell said. “Can’t do that. I’m certainly not for not shaking hands. I don’t think that’s sending a good message. I understand we’ve got to try to temper our enthusiasm and energy and make sure our players understand the importance of being respectful when you lose.”

Clemson hasn’t been involved in any postgame scuffles this season, but the Tigers found themselves in one particular emotionally charged setting earlier this month.

Senior guard David Collins received a one-game suspension from the ACC after committing a flagrant foul on Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr. in which Collins undercut the Blue Devils’ sophomore guard as he went up for a dunk, sending Moore crashing to the Littlejohn Coliseum floor on his back. Collins was ejected late in the first half of Duke’s win, but Brownell first sent Collins over to the Blue Devils’ bench to apologize to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who briefly shared a hug with Collins before Collins headed to the locker room.

Brownell said part of the reason he did that was to diffuse a situation that could have lingered during the game or even after.

“That was a heated situation where benches were upset, and I was trying to diffuse because I didn’t want something to escalate and then all of a sudden you have things like that happen,” Brownell said. “Coach K and those guys showed great class and helped diffuse. Obviously we don’t want that in our game, but these are very competitive people and very competitive environments.”

Brownell acknowledged there are times like Sunday when emotions can get the best of those involved in those environments, which can lead to “mistakes.”

“Hate when it happens,” he said.

But Brownell said he believes showing class in defeat is a teaching tool for everyone involved that needs to stay put.

“In terms of the bigger picture and handshake lines, no, we need to shake hands I think,” Brownell said. “I know in the NBA they don’t really do it, but I think our guys are young enough that it’s an important part of what we do as men and molding players to be men.”

Brownell’s team, fresh off a midweek win over Wake Forest, will return to action Saturday at Boston College.