No doubt about it, Dillon Hunter returning to Clemson is huge. The senior guard from Atlanta initially entered the transfer portal to see what was out there for his final year of eligibility. After things settled down a bit after the 5-in-5 ruling left college athletics spinning, Hunter did the most prudent thing by coming back to Clemson. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game last year.
Hunter had spent all four seasons out of Westlake at Clemson, gradually getting more minutes and starting opportunities in Brad Brownell's rotation. He returns to Clemson with 134 games under his belt and 48 starts, including 35 in both departments last season. As expected, this does improve Clemson's backcourt rotation considerably, as well as shaking up a few things on the depth chart.
Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Small Forward | Center |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dillon Hunter | Jestin Porter | Liutauras Lelevicius | Dylan Faulkner | Carter Welling |
Zac Foster | Cole Certa | Chase Thompson | Chase Thompson | Nick Davidson |
Ace Buckner | Ace Buckner | Dallas Thomas | Trent Steinour |
Hunter is the projected starter at point guard, with Jestin Porter at shooting guard, Liutauras Lelevicius at small forward, Dylan Faulkner at power forward, and Carter Welling at center. Although Brownell will have to adjust to big man RJ Godfrey transferring to Arizona, Hunter, Porter, and Welling all had 24-plus starts last year. Ace Bucker and Zac Foster also played well in the backcourt rotation.
NEWS: After previously planning to transfer, Dillon Hunter is returning to Clemson for a fifth year of eligibility, he told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) August 24, 2026
The 6-3 senior guard averaged 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game this past season. https://t.co/Smv340LFuf https://t.co/c0dTd8sxIN pic.twitter.com/hm09H51Yz2
Dillon Hunter's return could help Clemson go on a deep tournament run
While Hunter does need to evolve even more as a shooter, he did shoot at a 34.7-percent clip from long distance. Even if his percentages from the field (41.1 percent) and from the charity stripe (78.6 percent) need some work, he was the best distributor on last year's team. Hunter's 3.0 assists per game led the team by a considerable margin. Only Foster's 2.5 exceeded the 2.0 threshold as well.
What we are looking at is a veteran team in the backcourt, one that could potentially make some noise not only in ACC play, but in the NCAA Tournament as well. Clemson has become a regular staple in March Madness under Brownell. The Tigers were the No. 8 seed in the South Region last year before falling to a red-hot Iowa Hawkeyes team in the first round. That was an Elite Eight team.
Although Hunter may have fancied himself a bigger stage for his final year of eligibility, he will be right at home in Clemson. Brownell and his staff should be over the moon to have him back, too. While his return could eat at Buckner and Foster's minutes, surely, they are pleased to have another high-end player back on the team to help get these Tigers over the top. In the end, basketball is a team sport.
Overall, we all kind of had a feeling that there was a non-zero chance Hunter would come back to Clemson for one last hurrah. It was not like Godfrey's situation, where he seemingly had a deal lined up to transfer to Arizona. After all, he did spend one other season at Georgia. His loyalty to Clemson was never the same as Hunter's, despite playing there for three years. It is so good to have Hunter back.
If Clemson gets the right matchup, Hunter could be a driving force to have the Tigers playing into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
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