Last year, the Clemson Tiger basketball team finished 16-8 overall and 10-7 in the ACC. The Tigers got off to a 9-1 start but then the ACC schedule kicked in. Clemson ended up going 7-7 their last 14 games, including a second round loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament, then losing to Rutgers in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament
Aamir Simms has departed for the NBA, taking his team leading 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds with him. Clyde Trapp Jr. has graduated and moved on, as did Jonathan Baehre. However, the transfer portal claimed three Tigers that were going to be counted on in 2021. Guard Johnny Newman, and forwards Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Lynn Kidd decided to move on to greener pastures, opening up a few slots for Coach Brad Brownell to take advantage of the transfer portal his way.
This year’s team brings back an experienced team, led by guards Nick Honor (8.1ppg, 2.2 assists), Al-Amir Dawes (9.0ppg, 1.9 assists) and Alex Hemenway (4.7ppg). Chase Hunter returns as well, averaging 2.4 points a game and playing in all 24 games. Newcomers to the position include Senior Grad transfer David Collins, 6-4 220, from the University of South Florida. Collins led the Bulls in scoring with 12.5PPG while averaging 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Freshman Joshua Beadle comes to Clemson from an unlikely place, Cardinal Newman High School in Columbia, SC. Beadle averaged 16.9ppg, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals as a senior. He chose Clemson over Wake Forest and VCU.
The front court lost several players off last year’s team, including leading scorer and rebounder Aamir Simms. However, two returnees, PJ Hall and Hunter Tyson are ready for breakout seasons.
Hall only averaged 3.5ppg and 2.0 rebounds per game, and saw his playing time dwindling towards the end of the season with Coach Brownell went to his bench less and playing his seniors more. At 6-10 235, Hall is primed to break out. Tyson, 6-8 215, came on strong at the end of the year, hitting double figures in each of the last three games. Hall and Tyson are going to be counted on cleaning up the boards this year.
Highly sought-after F Naz Bohanon is expected to play a big part in Clemson’s success this year. The Youngstown State transfer, 6-6 230, played four years, and is just one of 22 players to post at least 1,200 points, 975 rebounds and 275 assists.
Two other incoming freshmen are going to be counted on to work the boards; Ian Schieffelin, 6-8 225, and Ben Middlebrooks, 6-10 225. As a senior, Schieffelin averaged 12.0 points a game, 12.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks for Grayson High School, the top-ranked program in Georgia. Middlebrooks averaged 20.0ppg and 13.0 rebounds for Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
G/F Parker Fox was a former walk-on that was rewarded with a scholarship back in August 2021. Fox and guards Devin Foster and Jack Nauseef round out the roster.
The Tigers open up their season at Littlejohn Coliseum on November 1st against Georgia State. The first ACC contest will be December 4th in Miami, and the Tigers should get a good idea what their season might look like. As a matter of fact, the Tigers will play Rutgers and Miami back to back that week, the two teams they lost their last two games to last season. Yes, it’s still football season, but basketball is right around the corner.
