Clemson basketball: David Skara makes a timely decision

Clemson basketball senior David Skara wants to play another year while a transfer has the Tigers in his final four.

In May, when rising junior Javan White, a graduate transfer from Oral Roberts, joined UNC-Asheville transfer Jonathan Baehre and true freshmen, John Newman III, Greensboro Day School(NC), Hunter Tyson, Piedmont High(NC), Trey Jemison, Hoover High(AL) and preferred walk-on Parker Fox, Oconee County High(GA) to become new Tigers, Clemson basketball was left with one remaining scholarship.

That scholarship looked like it might be given to another transfer, Zane Martin, until David Skara, the team’s best defender, asked to return to the basketball team. Skara graduated in May and announced in April, his intention to forego his final year to pursue a pro career and Martin, a sophomore point guard from Towson University, was scheduled to visit the Clemson campus, on June 15, per Jon Rothstein, a CBS College Basketball Insider, and the Tigers, Seton Hall, New Mexico and Gonzaga are his final choices.

Martin will have two seasons of eligibility left, wherever, he goes and will have to sit out the 2018-19 season. He led Towson in scoring with 19.8 points per game and made 37 percent of his three point attempts.

Why considering Martin made sense?

Brownell will need a replacement for point guard Shelton Mitchell after 2018 and Martin’s experience could have been a plus. The 6-foot-4 lefty would have had a year in the Clemson system and a chance to start in 2019.

Why Brownell won’t say ‘no’ to Skara?

Skara hasn’t been a big scorer(5.1 ppg) during his career but at 6-foot-8 and over 215 pounds, he brings great size to the small forward position. He is also versatile enough to play power forward, which he did often, last season. Next season, look for him to start and play exclusively at small forward, especially, with the additions of White and Jemison and a more experienced Malik William in the front court.

Clemson improved defensively last season and that improvement pushed them to a Sweet Sixteen appearance, so with Skara back and four returning starters, another NCAA tournament appearance is expected. His defense and experience alone, will keep Brownell from saying, ‘no’ to his return.

According to Tigernet, it could be some time before he is cleared to play. He never hired an agent, so he is ok there, but the Croatian native has paperwork to complete before he can rejoin the team.

Next: Early Scouting Report: Texas A&M

In regards to Martin, he has been quiet about his recruitment but various reports had him visiting Gonzaga on June 22 and Seton Hall on the 25th. He has yet to make any public statements on his future decision.

The possible return of Skara will without question have an impact on Martin’s decision.