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Rex Brown

Clemson head basketball coach Oliver Purnell answers a question while meeting with reporters following his media golf outing Tuesday at the Walker Course in Clemson.

CLEMSON — It wasn’t all that long ago that the Clemson basketball program wasn’t much more than an afterthought, and the arrival of its season was met with all the fanfare of a root canal.

But entering his seventh year on the job, Tigers head coach Oliver Purnell can’t help but notice the massive shift in the perception of his program since he arrived on the scene.

“We talk about basketball around here in July,” Purnell said.

That talk and excitement, unthinkable earlier in the decade, comes with good reason, as the Tigers have made NCAA Tournament appearances for two consecutive seasons, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished in more than a decade. They have also managed to move out of the ACC cellar they have so often called home by earning a place in the final Top 25 AP poll each of the last two years, a first in Clemson history.

But meeting with reporters Tuesday at the Walker Course following his media golf outing, Purnell emphasized there is plenty of work left to be done, as the expectations for his program have now extended beyond simply reaching the Big Dance.

“It’s certainly been tough in the ACC at Clemson getting our team to the Top 25 and all that, but it’s been a lot of fun, and certainly we want to continue that fun this year, and we want to continue to climb because we feel like we’ve got a lot of climbing left to do with our program,” Purnell said.

Despite the loss of three starters in guards K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby, along with forward Raymond Sykes, Purnell also added his current group of Tigers could be the most talented group he has had at his disposal.

And no doubt, it starts with Trevor Booker — the only Tiger guaranteed a starting spot heading into the start of practice next week.

“He’s perhaps the best player returning in the league,” Purnell said. “He’s certainly a tremendous emotional leader for our team and our program, and our fans for that matter, because he gets things going with the way he plays the game.”

A season ago, the dynamic Booker led the ACC in rebounding and field goal percentage, the first ACC player to do that since Tim Duncan of Wake Forest in 1996-97, and is widely considered an All-American candidate going into his senior season.

Beyond Booker, the other four positions remain up for grabs, as Purnell has left the door open for his four-member recruiting class, ranked the No. 11 class in the nation by Scout.com, to come in and immediately challenge for starting jobs — a call to action for all his returning players, including starting point guard Demontez Stitt.

Notably looking to replace Oglesby and Rivers out of the freshman class will be Noel Johnson and Donte Hill, who both bring good ball skills and a strong knack for defense.

Particularly with the latter in mind, Purnell thinks the Tigers will bring a different look to the court this season.

“The guys that should be playing for (Oglesby and Rivers), collectively, should be better defenders, and with the loss of the offensive firepower from those guys, the only way we have a chance to get better is we’ve got to be better on the defensive end of the floor,” Purnell said.

And with less looks expected from beyond the three-point arc, with freshmen Milton Jennings and Devin Booker likely teaming with the elder Booker and Jerai Grant inside, Purnell knows his team has to be better when it comes to running the court.

“I don’t believe we’re going to depend on the 3-point shot as much,” Purnell said. “I do think that speed, the ability to slash to the basket, the ability to run and the ability to defend will more than make up for that and make us a better basketball team.”

And if the Tigers can do those things, Purnell feels there could be plenty to celebrate this season in a far removal from the pre-Purnell era.

“I think if we do that this year, as we look around the ACC, then we’ve got a chance to win,” Purnell said. “I really believe that, our guys believe that, but we also know we’ve got a lot of hard work to do.”