Veterans Dillon Hunter and RJ Godfrey highlight leadership, looking forward following first conference loss
Clemson saw their toughest loss of the season last Tuesday, falling to NC State 80-76. The loss snapped Clemson’s 6-0 start in the ACC, nine game win streak, and 10-0 start at home.
Dillon Hunter did not have his best game. He scored just seven points, going 2/9 from the field and 2/8 from beyond the arc. Hunter had the opportunity to make a game winning deep three at the end of regulation, but missed the unlikely shot. “Its just a learning lesson. Being confident down the stretch. We’re gonna bounce back, we’re ready to come back Thursday ready to work”.
When asked about the Wolfpacks ability to get out to a lead early, Dillon commented on the teams lack of energy early on; “We just started out slow. We weren’t in the groove, didn’t have enough energy. That’s on me as a leader, getting the team going, we just gotta bounce back”. Clemson did not score a field goal for eight minutes in the first half, and a lack of energy seemed apparent throughout. They struggled with their off ball movement the entire game, looking awkward on the offensive side of the ball. Coupling that with seventeen turnovers, and a 15/24 performance from the line, and the miscues kept the Tigers from coming away with a victory.
RJ Godfrey played great, but wasn’t able to quite do enough. He scored sixteen points and hauled in seven rebounds on 7/9 shooting. However, Godfrey was unable to be as impactful as he could have been facing a smaller NC State roster. The Wolfpack had no other choice but to consistently double RJ, and were able to keep him in check for a majority of the game. Clemson saw an eight minute drought without a field goal in the first half, and a four minute drought in the second. A lot of that comes from Godfreys inconsistency on a possession-to-possession basis. When asked about his play, Godfrey pointed to a relative lack of aggression; “We just gotta be the ones to set the tone. Some of the guys got good looks early, and we weren’t as aggressive as we wanted to be.”
Hunter and Godfrey felt the effects of the loss, but decided to look forward; “That’s the main thing. Life happens, and it’s about how you respond”. Clemson will have every opportunity to respond moving forward; against a Q3 opponent in Georgia Tech on Saturday, then very winnable games against Pitt, Stanford, Cal, and VA Tech before they play 17-1 Duke. Brad Brownell highlighted looking forward as well; “The games come quick, and you gotta respond when you get punched in the mouth. We didn’t play great, it’s just about how you respond”. Let’s hope the Tigers can respond well for the rest of the season.
