Clemson Men’s Basketball: Brad Brownell signs top 20 class

Very quietly last week Clemson Men’s Basketball announced the signing of a three-player class for 2024, one of whom is a legacy.

Basketball recruiting takes a backseat to football recruiting and the football season in general, especially at a school whose identity is rooted on the gridiron like Clemson.

All three of the players are rated in the top 174 in the 247.com composite ratings and two of the three are rated as 4-star recruits.

The highest-ranked player in the class is Dallas Thomas a 6’7, 170-pound small forward from Parkview Magnet High in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The development of Hunter Tyson into an NBA player was a big selling point for Thomas, who believes the Clemson staff can do similar things for his future.

247.com ranks Thomas No. 128 overall, but the other services are higher on Thomas, so much so that he comes in at No. 84 in the composite rankings.

Thomas was in demand and reported offers from Auburn, Houston and Texas A&M among other big-name basketball schools.

Del Jones is a 6’2 combo guard from Chandler, Arizona who reported offers from Oregon, South Carolina, Arizona State, Tennessee and Texas A&M among others.

Speed, toughness and good mechanics are Jones’ calling cards, but he has struggled shooting at times.

Jones had a final five of Arizona State, Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee and West Virginia and he visited Arizona State, Clemson and Tennessee before choosing the Tigers.

Jones was ranked No. 130 overall by 247sports.com and No. 120 overall by the 247.com composite.

The third member of the class is Clemson Legacy Ace Buckner, the son of Clemson great Greg Buckner.

The 6’2 Buckner hails from the Cleveland area and is rated as the No. 23 combo guard in the class by 247sports and comes in at No. 173 in the composite rankings.

Buckner reported offers from smaller schools, like Kent, Ohio and Cleveland State, with Clemson being his only Power 6 offer reported.

While none of these three necessarily jump off the page, this is a solid class for Brad Brownell and comes in at No. 19 (updated since tweet above) in the nation per 247.

Clemson Men’s Basketball will have huge shoes to fill, literally, in 2024

The Tigers will have huge shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively, as Alex Hemenway, Jack Clark, Joe Girard and Bas Layette are listed as Graduate students, with Chase Hunter and P.J. Hall listed as Seniors.

Unlike Dabo Swinney’s football program, Brownell’s program has used the transfer portal extensively for several years, with Clark and Girard contributing heavily to this year’s rotation.

Looking at this class and those that will be returning next year, the same will have to be true next season if the Tigers hope to compete at the level they have been accustomed to.

Clemson is off to a 3-0 start and take on Boise State Sunday in Littlejohn Coliseum at 1 p.m.