Clemson Football has begun fall camp and will be starting a new season soon, along with other fall sports like soccer and volleyball. Not a lot of attention is focused on Clemson Men’s Basketball for the time being but that will change before too much longer.
We just learned Clemson’s out-of-conference matchups. The Tigers will play at the Alabama Crimson Tide as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. They will play the TCU Horned Frogs in Toronto as part of the 2023 Hall Of Fame Series. They have also announced a new home & home deal to play the Memphis Tigers. This season’s game will be played at Memphis.
It won’t be too long until we should have the full schedule, including the ACC slate for the Tigers.
Meanwhile on the court, Clemson hopes to take a step forward and qualify for the NCAA Men’s Tournament, a goal they fell just short of in the 2022-23 season.
As has become customary in the age of the transfer portal, some faces have changed, but one big return will be starting center PJ Hall. Hall average 15.3 points for the full season, which tied Hunter Tyson, who is now playing for the defending NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets.
Hall also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last season. Hall explored his options for turning pro but elected to return to Clemson for another season.
Clemson Men’s Basketball will have both old and new faces
One of the new faces that is joining the squad is Syracuse transfer Joe Girard, a guard who averaged 16.4 points for the full season, along with 3.0 assists and 0.8 steals.
When you look at points scored during ACC contests only, an intriguing stat emerges:
Returning scoring leaders in ACC play for 2023-24:
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) August 11, 2023
1. Joseph Girard III » 17.8 ppg
2. PJ Hall » 17.6 ppg#ClemsonGRIT pic.twitter.com/hkNzWmBPlv
I am not going to review record books, but I think it is safe to conclude that it has been a very long time since the Tigers have entered a season with both the #1 and #2 returning point scorers in ACC play from the season before.
If Hall and Girard can continue to be potent scorers, and head coach Brad Brownell can motivate his squad to put the effort in on the defensive end of the court, the Men’s Basketball team has a solid chance to take a step forward.