The transfer portal period in the college basketball season is a wild one, with coaches and fans seeing new-look squads come to form right before their eyes following a successful or failed season.
For Clemson basketball, it was an interesting one, which saw four Tigers leave for the transfer portal in addition to adding four new pieces: Viktor Lakhin, Jaeden Zackery, Christian Reeves and Myles Foster.
The roster is final and set for the 2024-2025 season, and I will be grading each acquisition that Clemson head coach Brad Brownell and his staff made to get his team back to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
Disclaimer, this is all opinion.
Viktor Lakhin – Center
The Tigers filled their biggest necessity following the departure of PJ Hall: the center position. Enter Lakhin, a redshirt senior with one more year of eligibility, proving size and experience to fill the huge frontcourt hole.
The Anapa, Russia, native will fill the void defensively, showing on multiple occasions that he can defend the rim efficiently while being able to rebound at a solid level. Over his three year career with Cincinnati, he has multiple games with three blocks or more, which always helps on the defensive side of the ball.
Offensively, that’s where you may see a difference in how Clemson scores, because Lakhin is more of an inside scorer compared to Hall. Relying on second-chance points, using his body to find space and scoring efficiently in the post, my only worry with the center will be his ability to shoot the ball deep. Brownell liked to use Hall on 3-points from the top of the arc, and the ability to use Lakhin for that right away could be different.
He has shown on multiple occasions that he can pull up, but he shot 14-for-54 (25.9%) this past season from beyond the arc. However, on numerous occasions, the Tigers like to see more and more opportunities from 3-point range and like to get all their players comfortable from their spots.
I loved this pickup, as it’s another veteran leader and a great defensive piece. I am very interested to see how he fits into the offensive scheme as the starting center for next season.
Grade – B
Jaeden Zackery – Guard
Following the departure of Joseph Girard III, Brownell wanted to fill the void with another shooter from the ACC. Look no further than Zackery.
If the senior provides anything for Clemson heading into his final year of eligibility, it’s consistency. Zackery has averaged more than 10 points in all three seasons at the collegiate level as well as shooting over 40% from the field. He saw a massive increase in his assist numbers as well, going from 2.7 to 4.2 assists per game following last season.
While the efficiency is present offensively, the same goes on the defensive side of the ball, as the Salem, Wisconsin, native has averaged at least 1.5 steals per game in all three seasons. In many games last season, Zackery logged as much as three steals in his contests, proving to be an excellent two way player.
The addition of the former Boston College guard is immense. While he is not the shooting sniper that Girard perhaps was, he still hits his shots when needed, shooting 40.5% from 3-point range last season. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact, being an excellent second option for Chase Hunter next season.
I want to see the backcourt work together first, but if the Tigers are getting the Zackery that torched them in the ACC Tournament last season (22 points and seven rebounds), phenomenal pickup.
Grade – A
Christian Reeves – Center
A backup center was needed for the departure of Bas Leyte, and Brownell reloaded with a pickup of Christian Reeves, a center from Duke who has three years of eligibility remaining.
There is not much to look at from film as Reeves took a medical redshirt following the 2023-2024 season. He was a freshman at Duke in 2022 and did not play much in his inaugural season. However, a former 5-star recruit from Charlotte, Reeves has plenty of tools that can be successful on this Clemson team for the next few seasons.
The first is his size. He stands 7-foot-1 and is 265 pounds, which instantly provides a threat at the rim. In his limited time with the Blue Devils, he has shown on multiple instances that he is able to use his size to grant blocks and second chance points on both sides of the ball.
Something I am interested in seeing is his combinations with the guards on the pick and roll. The redshirt sophomore saw a lot of success with finding those plays and scoring off of them over his last two seasons.
While he may not get the first team touches right away, Brownell has three seasons to work with the center, who has an immense upside with the size that he is given. I consider this a work in progress for Clemson with a younger player, but he will provide instant impact once the season starts in November.
Grade – B-
Myles Foster – Forward
The final add of the transfer portal for Clemson was Myles Foster, who spent the last four seasons at Monmouth and Illinois State. An overall athlete who has incredible energy, the forward has potential X-factor impact for the Tigers next season.
The senior is unafraid to get to the rim or get physical, shooting 50% from the field in three of his four seasons across the NCAA. He also added 8.1 rebounds per game last season, being another physical threat along with Ian Scheiffelin on that side of the ball.
His only downside? Shooting. Foster has only made one 3-point following 17 attempts across his four year career so far. But, again, we have seen plenty of Tigers progressively have more comfortability with shooting the three as seasons go on. He also shot 63.4% from the free throw line last season, which was a major improvement from his first three seasons at Monmouth.
Foster’s energy will be useful for this Clemson team, who lost R.J. Godfrey to Georgia in the transfer portal. Whether being a starter in the first game or coming off the bench to provide impact, I think this is another great pick up for the Tigers, who needed an experienced player for the squad.
Grade – B+
