CLEMSON — Shawn Poppie was officially introduced as Clemson women's basketball coach Tuesday at Littlejohn Coliseum after receiving a six-year contract last week.

The 39-year-old coach, who guided Chattanooga to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, is the eighth coach in Clemson women's basketball history. He replaced Amanda Butler, who was fired after six seasons on March 12, after making one NCAA Tournament in 2019.

With Clemson athletic director Graham Neff, men's basketball coach Brad Brownell, boosters and his family in attendance, Poppie outlined his vision for the program, including making it back to the NCAA Tournament.

"We want to still be playing right now," Poppie said. "It’s hard to watch in this tournament right now, and you’re not playing."

Here are three takeaways from Poppie's opening press conference:

Clemson women's basketball will have a new identity

Poppie's offensive philosophy is to space the floor and shoot 3-pointers. Since basketball has evolved to where players rely heavily on shooting beyond the 3-point arc, he wants to develop talent that can play well together in this style.

With Chattanooga, Poppie's team ranked first in the Southern Conference and 12th in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage (37%). In comparison, Clemson shot 31.8% from 3-point range.

"Three is worth more than two," Poppie said. "We'll try to shoot a number of threes and have a roster that has the ability to stretch the floor."

Defensively, Poppie aims for Clemson to be a man-defense team that mixes in zone and press defense. The Mocs had the sixth-best scoring defense in the nation (54.5 points per game) and tied for first in the conference for lowest field-goal percentage allowed (37.6%). Clemson averaged 70.3 points allowed, and opponents shot 43% from the field.

What will success look like for Shawn Poppie at Clemson in Year 1?

Poppie understands he has to retool Clemson's roster, especially after Ruby Whitehorn entered the transfer portal and Imari Berry — Clemson's highest-rated recruit in program history — decommitted. He said the cornerstone of the program will be development and believes the Tigers are "a sleeping giant" that can thrive.

The new coach didn't put a number on how many games he wants his team to win in his inaugural season. Still, he wants his program to have an "it factor" when viewers watch his team.

"When you come watch us and you're around our program, you will feel 'It,'" he said. "If we feel 'It' — how are we loving on each other, what’s our energy level, are we competing, are we doing the things that it takes to win games? — the results will take care of themselves."

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Competing with Dawn Staley and South Carolina

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women's basketball team are headed to the Final Four as Poppie gets acclimated to Clemson and its roster.

While there is a stark contrast between the two programs — South Carolina has made March Madness every year in the past 10 years; Clemson had earned a bid once — it didn't start out that way in Staley's tenure. It took her four seasons with South Carolina to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Poppie understands it takes time to build a program and is focused on rebuilding the Tigers rather than comparing them to Staley's team.

"We're gonna go be the best version of ourselves, and I think when we do that, we build it the right way, we'll be able to compete with anybody," Poppie said.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson women's basketball: Shawn Poppie outlines vision for Tigers