Poppie treasures first-year moments, has vision of big goals ahead

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Shawn Poppie walks into his office with daily reminders.

He sees his NCAA Tournament news conference name plates from Virginia Tech and Chattanooga. His cut nets from SoCon Championships hang prominently.

It is a constant message for himself to take in as he begins a new day.

Heading into his second year, Poppie knows what the goal of his Clemson women's basketball program is. The Big Dance has escaped Clemson’s grasp for years, having made the tournament once in 20 years.

Despite that overwhelming number, Clemson’s leading man believes it will change very soon. The Tigers went on a shopping spree in the transfer portal, adding size and playmaking to correct the flaws from 2024.

In an exclusive interview with TigerNet, Poppie discussed his confidence in this new-look roster, which he is excited to lead as the summer begins.

"My hopes are with this group, and with who we've signed, we could play a little bit quicker, have a little bit more freedom to score a little bit in transition, all while I get to figure out exactly how we want to play," Poppie told TigerNet. "We will be in that same boat we were a year ago, where there are a lot of new faces coming in here. We have an idea, there's a little bit of an identity, but I think that will continue to evolve throughout the summer."

Compared to last April, Poppie remembers that his first day was paired with hosting a prospect from the portal hours after his introductory press conference.

As he walked across Littlejohn's red carpet, that grand entrance was what would be the first of many "pinch yourself" moments that would carry into the season.

Moments like victories over Louisville, California, and Georgia Tech, who ranked in the top 25, stand out in his mind.

However, it is the small things that happen on a daily basis with his players and the community that will be forever etched into his mind.

"Those are definitely some moments, those big wins. Absolutely. I'm sure I'll have a few more pinch yourself moments as we got a lot of these young people graduating here in a couple weeks, so that's what for me all while again I'm a husband and father of three and so getting to take them to big time football games and you're walking around down in the Valley and you have people stopping and wanting to talk women's basketball in the middle of a football game. Those are pinch yourself moments, all while you get to experience a really cool setting here at Clemson to raise a family."

As year two comes into focus, Poppie feels like the time has come to give back to a community that has embraced him since his introduction.

He understands that it comes on the court, where he hopes the foundation of his program can now translate into more wins on the floor of Littlejohn.

Poppie believes the time is now for his program and that his process to getting back to the NCAA Tournament is the right way that the fanbase deserves.

"There's no doubt that this upcoming year, I believe we have a great opportunity to do that, but will it come right?" Poppie said. "And we can't cheat steps to get that. I think that for us, it's what Clemson deserves. It's what this athletic department deserves. It's been a long time coming one in the last 21 years, 22 years. And we've got the support, we've got the administration. I think we've put the right staff in place now. I think we continue to build the right people inside our program, and it's now a matter of time to do the work and continue to get the support. There'll be no better feeling than getting our name called and showing up and representing this university in the Big Dance here soon."

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