Painter’s Preview: Tiger Basketball Week 6
The Clemson Tigers have started out their December red hot and have propelled themselves into the national conversation. Coach Brad Brownell has a tough December in front of him; however, difficult schemes and gameplans have worked to perfection so far. The Tigers started out past week upsetting No. 4 Kentucky at home as they controlled the entire contest from the jump. Clemson won with a strong collective performance 70-66, being one of the only 2 ACC Teams to beat a SEC Team in the 2024-25 ACC/SEC Contest. The Tigers ended the week going on the road to Miami in a place that has thwarted them in the past. Despite the rough Offensive performance, Clemson was able to come out on top late in the game winning 65-55. The Tigers now sit at 9-1 this season and are ranked at No. 16 in the latest AP Poll (ESPN). Clemson has also shot up in the NET Rankings as they currently sit at No. 11 (“DI Men’s Basketball Rankings - NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com”).
Key Tiger Takeaways from Last Week:
Mr. Double-Double: After playing much of his career under the radar, Senior Forward Ian Schieffelin has put himself and the Tigers in National spotlight. An average start to his season made many believe that the “Chef” would only put up numbers similar to that of last season, but since Clemson has played in the Sunshine Slam Tournament, he has broken out. Ian has averaged 13.4 pts/g, 14.6 rbs/g, and 4 asts/g since the beginning of that tournament, and he has looked back. He is currently the leader in rbs/g in all of the NCAA and has become Clemson’s go-to guy these past couple of weeks. Schieffelin truly put the world on notice after a 20 rebound performance against the Kentucky Wildcats. He became the first Tiger since 1999 to have 20 rebounds in a game, and he did it against one of the best rosters in all of College Basketball. His rebounding ability is like no other, and his 6’8 frame combined with his effort in the paint is reminiscent of Dennis Rodman. Schieffelin is going to play a critical role for Clemson throughout this season, but will he continue this All-American level of play or was this just a one-hit wonder?
Transferred Stars: Clemson Basketball’s presence in the Transfer Portal is completely different than the philosophy in the Football Complex just down the road, and it has paid off for Coach Brownell and his staff. Coach Brownell decided it was best for the Tigers to bring in four Transfer this past off-season which resulted in an experienced Guard, Forward, and Center plus a project Center. Christian Reeves is the obvious project for Coach Brownell and his staff, but they believe that if Reeves buys into the program that he will be a valuable asset down the line; however, he has not contributed much this season. Jaeden Zackery is a Senior Guard from Boston College and his experienced play and hard nosed defense has paid dividends so far. Zackery has been a consistent lock down defender and is the obvious nightmare for teams’ best guards. However, Zackery’s true difference to be made in the Tigers’ success is what he can do on the Offensive side of the court. Zackery has been a little inconsistent to start out this season, but during this past week, sparks have been seen in what he can contribute. He stepped up bigtime in the second half against the Wildcats making multiple difficult lay-ups, and he even ended up leading the Tigers in scoring with 13 points (ESPN). Zackery has been a great add to this team, but to make a difference that can result in how the Tigers finish this season, he has to be a threat on Offense. The two experienced big guys that Coach Brownell brought in were Senior Center Viktor Lakhin and Senior Forward Myles Foster. Foster has been coming off the bench this season in relief of either Ian Schieffelin or Lakhin, but his Offensive play has been inconsistent just like Zackery’s. However, Myles was terrific off the bench against Kentucky, and it provided the perfect spark to keep Clemson ahead during the first half. Foster has shown his upside to this team, but it is whether or not he can keep up consistent performances to contribute. Viktor Lakhin is a former Cincinnati Bearcat and has been great for Clemson so far. Lakhin has averaged 11 pts/g, 5.5 rbs/g, and a 50.6% FG percentage; however, Lakhin has struggled staying off of foul trouble just as P.J. Hall used to do (ESPN). The Tigers found it difficult to win at Miami last week because of the lack of time that Lakhin was on the court because of foul. Lakhin has to be better at not getting fouls called on him throughout the rest of the season, because the Tigers lose experience and height when he is not on the floor.
Bounce Back Chase: Chase Hunter had a extremely strong start to his last and final campaign as a Clemson Tiger, but he has slowed down as of this past week. Hunter has his worst shooting performance of the season against the Kentucky Wildcats going just 2-8 from the field and 0-4 from behind the arc; however, Hunter’s free throws down the stretch secured the game for Clemson (ESPN). Going to Miami and seeing the Tiger Offense struggle, Hunter knew that he was going to need to step up if Clemson wanted to win. Hunter was a mere 1-7 from behind the arc against the Hurricanes, but his quick first step was unguarded creating space for himself to attack the rim over and over (ESPN). Hunter made the biggest plays down the stretch for Clemson to secure the win over Miami despite his struggles to score away from the basket. Expect Chase Hunter to bounce back from this poor shooting week because he has a lot riding on his final season as a Clemson Tiger.
Inconsistent Bench: The Tigers have struggled with an inconsistent bench for many years including last season during their Elite Eight run. Clemson was just fortunate to get the good stretch of performances from them during the Tournament. The Tigers had that kind of fortune against Kentucky as the bench put together one of their best performances of the season scoring 15 total points led by Myles Foster and Dillon Hunter (ESPN). However, just four days later, the bench put up just 7 points against the Hurricanes (ESPN). The Tigers have plenty of experience coming off the bench along side Freshman Guard Del Jones, so it does not make sense that they struggle with providing consistent scoring. Clemson is at their best when they are scoring by committee, so the bench has a lot to figure out to ensure their production in big time games.
Where is Dick Bender: Assistant Coach Dick Bender has not been at any game dating back to the Tigers’ loss at Boise State, and it is starting to worry myself and others that no one knows where he may be. Coach Bender usually sits at the closest sit to the scorers’ table; however, as of late he has not been there. No one has even asked about his presence, but if Coach Brownell sees this, Where is Dick Bender???
Clemson’s Upcoming Game
Memphis at Home, December 14, 2024
The Tigers welcome in the Memphis Tigers for a Tiger on Tiger match-up for the second straight season. Clemson was not able to come out on top last season on the road, and they are looking for a better outcome to carry them through this December. Memphis is coached by former NBA Star Penny Hardaway, and he is looking to lead his team to his seventh straight 20-win season (“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com”). Hardaway and his team were invited to the Maui Invitational this season, and they even reached the championship game after beating UConn and Michigan State. Yet, a loss to Auburn left Memphis second place (ESPN). Since Maui, Memphis has been seen as a top program in the country ranking as high as 16th in the AP Poll; however, a recent 13-point loss to Arkansas State has left everyone wondering if they are legit or not (ESPN). Memphis needs this win on the road to propel themselves back into the National conversation. They are led by Sophomore Guard P.J. Haggerty. Haggerty is a former TCU Horned Frog and Tulsa Golden Hurricane and has found his spot at Memphis so far this season. Coming off of a season averaging 20+ points/g, Coach Hardaway was expecting a lot from the Sophomore and he has delivered. Through nine games, Haggerty is averaging 23 pts/g, 5.8 rbs/g and 3.2 asts/g (ESPN). Haggerty is also not depended on the 3-point shot, but can light up an opposing team from anywhere on the court. Alongside Haggerty in the backcourt are two three-point Transfer Seniors Tyrese Hunter and Colby Rogers. Both shoot around 5-6 three pointers a game and have been averaging over 10 points/g for Penny’s squad (ESPN). Hunter and Rogers have very different backgrounds of basketball as Hunter has been a contributor to power programs his entire career, while Rogers has been close to the leading scorer for multiple mid-major programs (ESPN). However, both guys have come together to provide scoring in the backcourt with P.J. Haggerty. Clemson will have to keep these guys calm on Saturday because Memphis is at their best when Hunter and Rogers are hitting consistent shots. Wrapping up the rest of the starting lineup for Memphis is a collection of two of three Senior big guys: Dain Dainja, Nicholas Jourdain, and Moussa Cisse. Dainja currently leads the team in rbs/g; however, Dainja is not always guaranteed a starting role as he and Moussa Cisse switch depending on the opposing team to attempt to match height with height. Dainja stands only at 6’9 while Cisse stands at 6’11, so Coach Hardaway swaps these guys as he feels is best. Dainja is also the best scoring threat of the three putting up 10+ points/g, so it will be interesting to see how Coach Hardaway decides to go with his starters at Saturday (ESPN). Jourdain and Cisse have both been on Memphis’ roster before as Jourdain is a returner and Cisse is returning for the first time since his Freshman season (ESPN). Both Seniors average over 5 pts/g and 5 rbs/g; however, they have provided little help in winning those big time games (ESPN). Look for Dainja to make the most impact in the paint within these three guys, and expect Ian Schieffelin to be matched up on him. Clemson has a difficult challenge coming to Littlejohn, but the most important goal will be stopping the performances from those dynamic guards. Our Tigers have done a terrific job so far this season in defending good guards with the additions of Jaeden Zackery and Del Jones, but this is the toughest challenge the Tigers have faced defensively this season. This contest will come down to Clemson’s Defensive play, and I believe that Clemson will get the job done on Saturday winning 82-74 because of good perimeter defense that slows down Haggerty, Hunter and Rogers.
Sources:
“DI Men’s Basketball Rankings - NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com.” Www.ncaa.com, www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings.
“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com.” Sports-Reference.com, 2019, www.sports-reference.com/.
ESPN. “ESPN.” ESPN.com, 2019, www.espn.com/.