Clemson Men’s Basketball transfer portal rumors: Cincinnati center favored to join Tigers
By John Chancey
Clemson Men’s Basketball will have a modest amount of turnover this offseason. Three players have already departed via the portal (Jack Clark, Josh Beadle, and RJ Godfrey) and a couple have exhausted eligibility (Joe Girard and Bas Leyte).
Additionally, PJ Hall is expected to pursue a pro career, and we haven’t heard a public decision from Chase Hunter about his future.
The Tigers have three incoming freshmen. When you do the math, it looks like Brad Brownell has two roster spots for incoming transfers.
Clemson Basketball Scholarship Availability 4/12
— Cliff Spammonds (@CliffSpammonds) April 12, 2024
RJ Godfrey entering the transfer portal adds an available scholarship for the 24/25 season (and also 25/26)
Clemson is currently using 11/13 scholarships for 24/25 https://t.co/KmIaydEFmy pic.twitter.com/Xfji7sm0lY
We’ve seen a lot of players claim that Clemson has reached out to them. Clemson improved their profile with an Elite 8 appearance this season, but they still aren’t a destination, nor are they simply going to be able to outbid other programs for high-profile players. Brownell has to do his research and find the guys under the radar who are a fit for his program.
It appears that he might have found one of them. On3 believes Cincinnati center Viktor Lakhin is heavily leaning towards a transfer to Clemson.
Viktor Lakhin would step in as a physical presence to replace PJ Hall in the starting rotation
Lakhin is a 6’-11” center from Anapa, a town located in southwestern Russia. He has been a starter for the Bearcats for two seasons but was slowed somewhat by injury and illness in 2023-24. He has one season of eligibility remaining.
He would be the presumed ‘replacement’ for Hall at starting center. He won’t be a comparable player to Hall from the perspective of point production – Lakhin averages 8.5 points per game for his career, highlighted by 11.6 points per game in 2022-23.
He would, however, bring the physical presence that the Tigers would need in the paint to pair with Ian Schieffelin, who averaged nearly ten rebounds per game this past season. Lakhin averaged 6.1 rebounds per game in 2022-23.
While he is a name that most Tiger fans wouldn’t have known before now, he appears to be a solid fit for Brownell and his program.
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