How A Color-Coded Chart Led Another Duo of Brothers to Clemson Basketball

Clemson basketball has seen a trend in its roster over the last four seasons, and it helps with the close-knit group that head coach Brad Brownell looks to bring with each roster.

For three years, it was Chase and Dillon Hunter. This year, it’s Nick and Blake Davidson, another duo of brothers.

Similar to the Hunter brothers, the older-younger brother stereotypes are spot-on: Nick, a stoic graduate senior who transferred from Nevada and uses experience to his advantage, and Blake, a charismatic, outgoing freshman who is embracing the young college experience.

Something is a bit different about the brother duo, however: Blake is redshirting this season and will not see the court. It’s not a shock, as Brownell sometimes does this with freshmen to continue their development for an extra season in the future.

Blake Davidson is redshirting his freshman season at Clemson, but that isn't stopping him from letting his voice be heard. — Blake Davidson (4) is redshirting his freshman season at Clemson, but that isn't stopping him from letting his voice be heard. | Amanda Inscore/The News-Press USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK

When the two put their heads together, though, positive things happen, like their journey to Clemson. Blake was in charge of Nick’s next school using analytics, something that his agent put the younger brother in charge of doing.

“So when schools started reaching out to Nick, our agent would call me and explain what schools were reaching out,” Blake said on Clemson Athletics’ Tiger Hour, “and then I’d go onto KenPom, find all their advanced statistics based on like positional categories and their usage rates of the fours and fives.”

After putting the numbers in the color-coded chart, it would turn red, yellow or green. Out of a list of over 50 schools, Clemson was the only school that had all green.

Numbers are something that Blake uses well in basketball, looking to potentially become a coach after his playing career. Brownell jokes on the interview that after watching his staff, Davidson is “not so sure” about that.

However, even though he isn’t playing, Blake will coach Nick at times during the game, showing that coaching inspiration. When the forward hits the bench after stints in the game, his younger brother will give him notes, even sometimes keeping them until after the game to reflect.

“It’s like a debrief. He’s not only getting debriefed by Coach Brownell and Coach Bender, he’s also getting debriefed by his little brother,” Brownell said. “I don’t know much that actually was working, but that’s hilarious. Shows you the relationship, though, between the two.”

The two made the move from California to South Carolina over the past summer, but have immediately clicked within the Clemson community. The two said that it was the people who allowed them to have a place on the East Coast to feel like home.

“I’d say that was like the biggest thing, how friendly they were, how welcoming, especially being a new student and, you know, goes down the line,” Nick said, “from the adults to all the student-athletes that were super welcoming, inviting us to do things like go to softball games and baseball games in the summer.”

“Everywhere you go, like the restaurants, like the waiters and waitresses are really the nicest people ever,” Blake added. “When they ask how you’re doing, they actually care.”

In a crazy world where the transfer portal sends players across the country, Brownell thinks that the Davidson family is a great fit for the Clemson family. He even believed that during the two’s first visit to the city.

“There’s a good connection with the family and both these guys, and they’re Clemson guys,” Brownell said. “You can just tell, like when you hang out with them for 24 hours and spend time, like these guys are going to fit. They’re going to really enjoy it here.”