A driving force for Clemson men’s basketball this year is the 6-foot-8 senior Ian Schieffelin who, despite playing through back spasms and calf cramps, has made valuable contributions throughout the season.
During Clemson’s win against Florida State on Jan. 11, Schieffelin was seen coming out of the locker room wearing a back brace, and head coach Brad Brownell later announced that he was playing through a calf strain.
The injuries didn’t stop Schieffelin from playing 31 of 40 minutes and leading the team in assists. After the game against the Seminoles, Schieffelin has continuously been sporting the back brace during warmups and during some timeouts.
In an overtime win against Pittsburgh, the Atlanta native recorded another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds — despite playing through these injuries.
Snapping their win streak with a loss to ACC rival Georgia Tech, the Tigers faced some trouble during the triple overtime game, one of which was Schieffelin, who went out late grabbing his calf. After some time on the sidelines with the trainers, Schieffelin returned and finished the game with a total of 23 points.
In the postgame press conference, questions were raised about Schieffelin’s health.
“You know Ian’s playing at the end of the game with a cramp,” Brownell said. “He’s had a little bit of that in a couple games and some practices, he was trying to gut it out, he’s a warrior.”
Even though Brownell described Schieffelin as “a wounded soldier,” in the next game against Duke, he put up his ninth double-double, scoring 12 and securing 10 rebounds. His efforts helped the Tigers bring down the Blue Devils, which was the highest win over an AP opponent in Brownell’s coaching career.
With the injuries almost unnoticeable, the forward came back out on Monday, as the Tigers took on North Carolina. Schieffelin led the team with 10 rebounds, his 29th double-digit rebounding game, helping win the team’s second straight ACC win.
Schieffelin’s health will remain a key factor for the rest of the season, as Clemson looks to make a deep run in the ACC tournament and beyond. No matter the injury, the senior is determined to play and win.
