Clemson basketball gets another transfer in Michigan’s Mark Donnal

The Clemson men’s basketball team got some much needed help in the front court when Michigan center/power forward Mark Donnal decided to finish his final year of eligibility with the Tigers. The redshirt senior will be able to play next season. 

Mark Donnal is a 6-foot-9 graduate student who redshirted as a freshman. He averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game with shooting percentages of 61, 50 and 78, respectively, from the field, behind the arc and the free throw line.

After his redshirt season, Donnal started 10 of 29 games and averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.7 minutes. In his second season, his minutes(19)and starts(25) increased, and subsequently, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. He had career scoring nights of 26 and 25 against Illinois and Maryland. But with the emergence of sophomores D.J. Wilson and Moritz Wagner, Donnal saw his playing time diminish this past season and became exclusively a backup to both players. He did have a season high of 15 against Marquette and played well in road games at South Carolina and UCLA. He had 12 points in Columbia and 10 in Pauley Pavilion, where he knocked down both of his three point shots.

With seniors Jaron Blossomgame and Sidy Djitte gone, Clemson basketball will need Donnal to mesh with little used senior Legend Robertin and juniors Elijah Thomas and David Skara. Donnal has the height and size(240 lbs) to man both post positions. As freshmen forwards Aamir Simms and Malik William get more acclimated to the college game, he will get the lion’s share of minutes either as a backup or starter.

Donnal is the type of player that coach Brad Brownell likes in his offensive system. He has the size to help get teammates open on screens, and he can knock down mid range and three point shots on pick and pop situations. He’s a career 37 percent three point shooter on 70 attempts and will likely have the green light to shoot from that distance.

Points of emphasis for improvement in his game will be his back to the basket moves and defensive rebounding. Both of those areas were also weaknesses for last year’s team, so coaches will have to work with Donnal and his new teammates to make them better.

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Mark Donnal was a top 100 recruit in 2013 and his older brother Andrew Donnal is an offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams.