Just when we all thought that the transfer portal was over with and done, think again. With the recent ruling of the 5-in-5 legislation being in favor of players from the 2002 class, a fifth year is now readily available for some players who did not quite make the leap to the professional level. From a Clemson basketball standpoint, Brad Brownell looks to be losing at least two more players off last year's team.
RJ Godfrey spent three of his four college seasons at Clemson, but plans to play for his third program outside of the Tigers and Georgia this fall. As for Dillon Hunter, he just entered the transfer portal on Saturday evening after spending all four years at Clemson. These were probably expected moves to happen, but that does not make them any easier to swallow. Brownell has a season to get ready for...
Let's unpack these two moves and their potential impact here in this Clemson basketball roundup.
RJ Godfrey possibly heading to Arizona after spending time at Clemson
All signs are pointing to Godfrey playing for Tommy Lloyd's Arizona Wildcats next season. The Suwanee, Georgia native spent his freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons at Clemson, with his junior campaign being played just down the road at Georgia. Arizona has been looking for a player to help offset losing their star player from last season in Koa Peat to the NBA Draft. Godfrey is their guy.
News of Godfrey potentially heading to and committing to Arizona first surfaced early on Saturday.
NEWS: Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey will commit to Arizona, per @KevoPosts.
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) August 1, 2026
The 6-8 forward averaged 12.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG and shot 61.1% from the field.
He was recently granted a 5th year of eligibility due to a court ruling. pic.twitter.com/Fv0RCAx7gH
After coming back to Clemson last year, Godfrey had his best season with the Tigers. He averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game in 25.2 minutes per contest. At 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, Godfrey has the potential to be a very flexible chess piece in the frontcourt for Lloyd, just like he grew into under Brownell. With Clemson's roster mostly set for 2026-27, this move was expected.
As for Hunter, he needs to find his next place to play after hitting the transfer portal a little while later.
Dillon Hunter plans to enter transfer portal after four years with Clemson
Former Clemson guard Dillon Hunter was the other player of note to hit the portal after news broke in favor of the 5-in-5 ruling. The Atlanta native spent all four of his college seasons out of Westlake with the Tigers. He too gained more experience as he went a long playing for Clemson. Hunter averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 28.6 minutes per contest in his final year with the Tigers.
On3's Joe Tipton was all over the news of Hunter intending to enter the transfer portal on Saturday.
NEWS: Clemson guard Dillon Hunter plans to enter the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) August 1, 2026
The 6-3 senior averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game this past season. https://t.co/JjU5UOSrZr https://t.co/J3jvrHMbyu pic.twitter.com/hcHzomrQnb
While Hunter's next team is far more up in the air than Godfrey presumably already on his way to Arizona, he will find a new place to play here soon. Although his scoring numbers could be improved on, Hunter was a starting guard on a tournament team out of the ACC last season. He has improved his shooting from distance each season, getting to as high as a .347 percentage clip last campaign.
As for Brownell, he has to come to grips with yet another can of worms opening up in college sports.
What does this mean for Brad Brownell's Clemson Tigers going forward?
Overall, Brownell was not expecting either of these class of 2022 players to be a part of his team. If they were, that would have been an added bonus. While it remains to be seen how new scholarships could potentially come available to all these super-seniors wanting to come back, that does create a logjam within the context of minutes allocation. Only five guys can be on the court at any given time.
Ultimately, Brownell only needs to control what he can control. Being proactive will ultimately serve him and his Clemson program. The Tigers will be part of this year's Maui Invitational, as well as drawing a respectable Auburn Tigers team in this year's ACC/SEC Challenge. Should they handle their business, there is a non-zero chance Clemson could find itself ranked in the top-25 here soon.
For now, we should be grateful for all that Godfrey and Hunter were able to give Clemson these years.
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