The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team wrapped up their preseason last night, Nov. 2, defeating the Georgia Southwestern State Hurricanes in their first and only exhibition game. The Tigers controlled the game with their suffocating defense and showed signs of promise on the offensive end.
Paws up: The frontcourt
Sophomore center PJ Hall had a dominant night on both ends of the floor, scoring 23 points while blocking a couple of shots. The Tigers’ offense was conducted through Hall, showing that he may be the driving factor of this team’s success.
Freshman forward Ian Schieffelin gave quite the surprising performance; the three-star recruit poured in 13 points from just about everywhere on the floor.
“He’s worked to get his shot much better, he has a good feel for the game… he plays the game with a nice confidence for a young player that you don’t see in most players,” said Head Coach Brad Brownell.
Paws up: Defense
On Monday night, the Clemson defense looked impenetrable, forcing 20 turnovers and converting them into 28 points. Furthermore, the Tigers held Georgia Southwestern to a 29.5 field-goal percentage. The Hurricanes struggled to find easy looks, settling for lots of three-point prayers that were rarely answered.
Paws down: Turnovers
The Tigers showed issues with ball security, turning the ball over 17 times.
Coach Brownell commented on this during the postgame, “Few too many turnovers for sure… couple older players had some turnovers which was disappointing, but that’s the only thing I would be critical of our performance.”
Paws up: Offensive Chemistry
The Tigers displayed some serious offensive cohesion versus the Hurricanes, assisting on 17 of 33 made baskets. Al-Amir Dawes, Nick Honor and David Collins, the three starting guards, split most playmaking duties. Nick Honor led the way with seven assists.
Paws down: Outside shooting
Just as the Clemson team has seemingly maintained their defensive identity from last season, they did the same with their perimeter shooting. The Tigers only shot 28.6% from 3, led by University of South Florida grad transfer David Collins who shot two for three from the arc.
As a team that relies heavily on post touches, this is something to keep an eye on. Zone defenses could spell trouble for the Tigers, but luckily Hall and Schieffelin showed the ability to shoot from outside.
Paws down: Offensive rebounding
The Tigers matched Georgia Southwestern with ten offensive rebounds, albeit the Hurricanes missed over a dozen more shots than the Tigers. The frontcourt of Clemson could have shown a bit more urgency when finishing plays on the offensive boards.
