This season, the Clemson men’s basketball team will have a reloaded roster in order to make a deep run in the ACC and the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Brad Brownell brought in four transfer players in the offseason, hoping to boost Clemson’s squad and give them the final pieces needed to make a push for the big dance. Here are the new faces that bring experience and talent to Clemson’s squad this season:
Joe Girard III, Guard
Perhaps one of the biggest transfer acquisitions of the season, Girard joins the Tigers after spending four years at Syracuse as a capable guard.
Coming off a senior season where he averaged 16.4 points per game, Girard made his mark through his excellent 3-point shooting. Throughout his collegiate career, the graduate transfer has shot 36.3% from downtown. In the Tigers’ first game of the season on Monday, Girard scored 3 points on 1 for 5 shooting.
Brownell will rely on Girard for his offensive production to help the Tigers in crucial situations throughout the season. The guard returns as the top scorer in the ACC, with Clemson’s PJ Hall being the second top returning scorer. Fans will hope to see this experienced offensive tandem help the Tigers get back to the top of the ACC, where they finished with the most conference wins in school history last season.
Jack Clark, Forward
Like Girard, Clark joins the Tigers from a conference foe, coming to Littlejohn Coliseum after one season with NC State last season. The 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward spent three years at La Salle University before coming to the ACC, averaging 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game across his collegiate career.
Despite suffering a groin injury that shook him up before the season, Brownell will use Clark as one of the team’s primary forwards, potentially filling in for Hunter Tyson’s spot at the starting small forward position. Despite starting on the bench for Clemson’s exhibition last week against Newberry and their first regular season game against Winthrop, Clark was the first player off the bench and should ease his way into the starting lineup as the season goes on.
Jake Heidbreder, Guard
Brownell brought in another guard in junior Jake Heidbreder, who spent his first two seasons at Air Force before joining this transfer class. Heidbreder brings a great scoring ability to Clemson, averaging 15.1 points per game last season for the Falcons, shooting 39.9% from 3-point range and 48.8% from the field as a whole.
Despite an incredibly talented guard room that Clemson possesses, Heidbreder will serve as a bench player at first in Brownell’s rotation. The new Tiger’s hot hand could instantly kickstart a Clemson offense at any time, though, making him dangerous for an open shot at any point on the court.
The All-Mountain West third-team guard will hope to have his continued success carry over into Littlejohn over the next few seasons.
Bas Leyte, Forward
In an effort to boost Clemson’s frontcourt, Brownell picked up big man Bas Leyte in the offseason. Leyte spent the last four seasons at UNC-Greensboro, averaging 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season.
With the loss of forward/center Ben Middlebrooks last season, Leyte will serve as the backup big man to Hall or even as a second big forward if that is needed throughout the season. The Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, native will hope to bring physicality as well as experience to a talented Clemson team and will have plenty of minutes in the rotation this season.
