On Wednesday night, the Clemson men’s basketball team cruised to a 90-39 victory over the Newberry Wolves at Littlejohn Coliseum.
It was the first time that fans were able to see the Tigers in action, after an exciting season last winter that featured plenty of moments to be remembered. With plenty of new players and a new-look lineup, there were some key takeaways that we saw from Wednesday’s game.
PJ Hall looks dominant, set for a huge season
PJ Hall has been one of the main focuses on this Clemson team since he played his first minutes at Littlejohn Coliseum as a freshman. Last season, however, the beginning of the season was rough for the center, who was recovering from a knee injury that gave him a minute restriction in the first few games. Across this stretch, the Tigers stumbled a little bit, losing to teams like South Carolina and Loyola-Chicago along the way. However, a healthy Hall looks to be a dominant threat in the frontcourt this season.
In Wednesday’s scrimmage, Hall scored 14 points in only 12 minutes of gameplay, making big plays to send excitement around Littlejohn Coliseum. He looked great physically, saying in press conferences that his conditioning was one of the best things that he improved on for this season. He also has done a great job from three-point range, making 2-of-3 shots from downtown to add to his points total.
If Clemson has success this season, the Preseason All-ACC First Team center will be right in the heart of it, as he has looked like a NBA Draft prospect in recent games and should have his best season yet in a Clemson uniform.
Three point shooting proves to be the X-factor once again
The Tigers found plenty of success from beyond-the-arc last season. In their game earlier this week, Clemson played the same way and found the same successes.
Brad Brownell and his team were automatic from three in the first half, shooting 46.7% from downtown to jump out to an early lead. Fans know the success that players like Hall and Chase Hunter have had from three-point range over the last few seasons, but the transfers and the underclassmen did a great job as well.
The Tigers brought in Syracuse transfer Joe Girard II to help aid the backcourt, as the graduate guard found incredible success from behind the arc. Girard sank two out of five attempts on Wednesday, helping shake off the nerves in one of his first games with his new team.
Players like Jack Clark, Chauncey Wiggins and Josh Beadle also found success in this area of the offense, proving that this team is not afraid of the big shots and helped the Tigers with their 51-point victory.
There’s a lot of flexibility with this roster
With the loss of players like Hunter Tyson and Brevin Galloway from last season, Brownell has plenty of options to use when making his starting lineups. He has time to experiment with it, especially with injuries heading into this season, and fans got their first look on the potential lineups.
Brownell led the game with Girard and Chase Hunter in the backcourt, which was expected. The two provide experience and serve as catalysts for the offense. There is plenty of depth at the position as well, with younger guards like Dillon Hunter and Beadle being key role players in the rotation that can make key shots when it matters.
When it comes to experimenting with the team is at the forward position, where Tyson played. Brownell started Ian Schieffelin and Wiggins, who made his first start as a Tiger in his sophomore season. Despite this, there are plenty of options that the team can make based on their opponent.
Jack Clark, who transferred from NC State this offseason, was expected to be the starter for the season, who would most likely take Wiggins’ spot at the 3-spot in the lineup. However, with a groin injury still lingering, he started on the bench and played 16 minutes.
The team could also play smaller or bigger. Graduate player Alex Hemenway has been talked about to start as a potential third guard alongside Girard and Chase Hunter, but the 6-foot-4 guard is also recovering from a hamstring injury and did not play. Instead, Brownell played 6-foot-10 Wiggins, or he has options such as 6-foot-10 transfer Bas Leyte, who could serve as another big man alongside PJ Hall if they are playing a bigger squad.
In the frontcourt, there are plenty of choices to make with talented players on the court either way. It will be exciting to see who breaks out and cements themselves as the starting rotation player moving into the season. For now though, we can expect an exciting season to happen, which starts with Winthrop on Monday night. Only time will tell.
