Flynn Clayman and High Point stunned the college basketball world by knocking off No.5 Wisconsin as a No.12 seed in the NCAA Tournament last March. Inside the program, the biggest shocker wasn’t upsetting Wisconsin. It was doubters and critics saying the Panthers didn’t deserve to be there due to their strength of schedule.
However, many high major programs did not want to schedule the Panthers in the first place. Now, after defeating a popular choice to make the tournament’s Sweet 16, High Point elevated to a top mid-major program with big expectations ahead. I spoke with Clayman about season expectations, an upcoming Power-5 opponent and more.
“I would say the tremendous expectations we have, I tend to thrive on that,” Clayman said. “We were favored in every single game we played up until Wisconsin… I expect those expectations to be even more heightened this year.”
After taking down Wisconsin, Clayman’s postgame interview circulated online, gaining over 120,000 views on the official NCAA March Madness X account.
His high intensity caught the eyes of many around the college basketball world, including NBA legend Charles Barkley. Barkley stated on ESPN that players want to play for a coach like Clayman and even joked about having one more year of college eligibility.
“Just got a big win type of reaction,” Clayman said. “Unless somebody else can tell me that, you know, eight years ago, they were the graduate assistant at Southern Utah, and then eight years later, they’re beating Wisconsin in the tournament, can’t tell me how that feels. It was a little bit of body experience, but that intensity, that fearlessness, is what we want to instill in our guys.”
One of the biggest questions surrounding High Point heading into March Madness was about strength of schedule. During his viral interview, Clayman mentioned how many high major programs did not want to schedule High Point in non-conference games. He explained that the problem isn’t that high majors are afraid to play top mid-major programs, it’s that metrics don’t support that decision. Playing a school at home with a NET ranking between 76 and 160 is considered a Quad-3 game. Top mid-major programs like High Point, who peaked with a 68 NET ranking during conference play and were consistently ranked in the 70’s, are risky games for high major programs.
“It’s the system we have metric wise,” said Clayman. “It doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to play a game, even if they’re buying you and having you on their home court, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to play a Quad-3 team. If you’re outside of the top 75, which is a really hard threshold to get into at a mid-major, you are a tough Quad-3 game that can mess with their metrics for their at-large birth.”
Now, the Panthers don’t have to wait until March to face a Power-5 program. They will travel to Baton Rouge on Dec. 18 to play LSU, led by Will Wade, who nearly scheduled High Point last season while at NC State before returning to LSU. NC State ultimately scheduled Liberty, a program ranked higher than High Point before the season. Clayman expects the Panthers to compete with LSU.
“There’s not a lot of coaches that will go out and get bought and play a high major road game when they don’t have to,” Clayman said. “I want to do it at least once a year to give our guys a chance to see where we’re at… We’re gonna go down there and compete against one of the top programs in the country.”
Navigating the transfer portal, NIL and eligibility rules is challenging. With fifth-year eligibility rules being uncertain, Clayman and his staff prioritized building their roster around players with 100% eligibility rather than waiting for court decisions. They did not want players worrying about eligibility or someone who could end up not being eligible, which could potentially hinder team success. This quick approach led to High Point filling the roster a couple weeks after the transfer portal opened, leaving Clayman confident going into summer workouts and the upcoming season.
“We just built our roster with eligible guys,” Clayman said. “We filled our spots. We feel really great about our team.”
A key addition for High Point is guard Trey Pearson, a four-star recruit out of Tennessee and the 116th-rated player in the country. Clayman praised his competitiveness and toughness so far throughout summer workouts. He’s been competing with veteran guards CJ Brown and Conrad Martinez, which has given Pearson a great opportunity heading into the season. While it’s too early to tell what Pearson’s role is going to be, he has impressed the coaching staff so far.
“He is pretty ready,” Clayman said. “We have other good point guards like CJ Brown and Conrad Martinez, but he’s out there competing with them every day.”
After a legendary NCAA Tournament run, expectations for High Point are higher than ever. Clayman views these expectations as a sign of growth for the program and believes their success will continue for seasons to come. The Panthers were favored in every game last season heading into their Tournament matchup against Wisconsin, and Clayman expects their standards to continue to grow. With a veteran coaching staff, roster and tough nonconference schedule, High Point has something to prove this season.
“I’m just excited about taking that pressure and those expectations to another level and trying to meet them,” Clayman said.
High Point hasn’t publicized its official schedule but has marquee non-conference matchups against Saint Louis and LSU.