Clemson Basketball: Baehre could be a future star in the ACC
Clemson basketball has added its sixth transfer in three years, and he could be a future star in the ACC.
When you look back at the success of the 2017-18 Clemson basketball season, it would be hard to discount the contributions of the five transfers. Just name an important statistic. Scoring? Steals? Marcquise Reed(Robert Morris) led the Tigers with 15.8 points and 1.7 steals. Rebounding? Shot blocking? Elijah Thomas(Texas A&M) averaged 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Assists? Shelton Mitchell(Vanderbilt) averaged 3.6 to lead the team. Three-point shooting? Mark Donnal(Michigan) hit 48 percent of his shots from distance. And defensively, David Skara(Valparaiso) made a difference in the team’s improvement in that area.
After committing to Clemson last week, UNC Asheville sophomore Jonathan Baehre is the next transfer heading to Clemson. Head coach Brad Brownell didn’t have to look far to scout him either because on Dec. 3, 2017 Clemson defeated Asheville 83-52, and Baehre scored nine points and had five rebounds. On the season, the 6-foot-9, 205 pound forward/center played in all 34 games and started 20. He averaged 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, blocked 1.8 shots and hit 37 percent on threes.
"“I think this kid is a player to watch over the next two years in college basketball.”"
Baehre will have two years of eligibility left, after he sits out next season.
His numbers may seem modest in regards to a possible ascension from a fourth leading scorer on a Big South team to a star in the ACC. But Asheville had a talented squad that finished atop the conference regular season standings and was selected to play in the NIT. To help get the team to a 21-13 record, Baehre essentially played out of position. He played center, because he was the only player taller than 6-foot-7 on the roster. As far as his scoring output of 7.3, his role was to complement scoring leaders MaCio Teague, Ahmad Thomas and Raekwon Miller who averaged 16.7, 16.5 and 11 points, respectively.
After only one early season start, but garnering starter minutes, Baehre started the 14th game against Campbell and from that point, he averaged 8.1 ppg and 4.9 rbg and started 19 of 20 games to finish the season.
Brownell is getting a player who seems to be scratching the surface of his potential, and he flashed that potential when he scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Asheville’s first round NIT 103-98 double overtime loss to USC. During that game, Baehre made 4 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc and blocked 5 shots. ESPN announcer Dave Pasch did play-by-play for the game and in between his partner Bill Walton’s historical rants about everything under the sun, he made these remarks about Baehre.
“They(coaches) think he has the potential to blossom into an NBA player……They think if he continues to work on his range as a stretch four, he has a chance.” Pasch also made this statement after Baehre made his fourth three-pointer of the game. “I think this kid is a player to watch over the next two years in college basketball.”
Below are links to highlights from the NIT loss to USC:
One, two, three consecutive shots from NBA range.
Baehre will likely be a power forward in Brownell’s motion offense, but he is athletic enough to play small forward. With a year in the Clemson weight room to add 15 to 20 pounds, he could be the next transfer star in LittleJohn Coliseum.