PJ Hall: A+ 

PJ Hall came to Clemson with tremendous expectations. He was a four-star recruit that played behind Aamir Simms last season and is the most highly-rated recruit Clemson has had since 2009, according to 247. After getting limited playing time as a freshman, Hall became the team’s star this season and filled the gap Simms left.

Hall is averaging 14.75 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 47.35% from the field and 31.73% from three, nearly tripling his averages in almost every category.

Furthermore, he has had four games where he scored 20 points or more and has four double-doubles. Hall has become the guy that Clemson looks to for scoring whenever the offense is sputtering.

“I’m proud of him,” said coach Brownell after the Syracuse game.

Holding Leads: F 

One of the most frustrating things in sports is having a lead and blowing it. Unfortunately, Clemson basketball has dealt with blowing leads multiple times this season. In fact, in five of Clemson’s eight losses, the Tigers possessed a lead in the last 10 minutes of the game.

To add more salt to the wound, Clemson has lost two games where they had a 15-point plus lead, most recently against Boston College. Coach Brownell commented on the loss.

“I took responsibility for not helping them enough in the second half,” said coach Brownell after the Boston College game. “I didn’t do a good enough job coaching them.”

Whether coach Brownell or the players are to blame, Clemson needs to work on playing with a lead, especially down the stretch. If they can establish a player to pilot the team late in the game and play with control, the sky is the limit for this team.

Transfer Tandem: A 

Naz Bohannon and David Collins have been two big bright spots for Clemson basketball. Collins is averaging 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 53.07% from the field. Bohannon is averaging 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 54.39% from the field. 

Collins has also emerged as arguably Clemson’s best defender and usually guards opponents’ best player. Some notable players Collins has played and mitigated include Jayden Gardner, Kamren McGusty and Tremell Murphy. Collins is also averaging 1.8 steals per game.

Off the bench, Bohannon brings an energetic presence and forces issues on defense too. An underrated ability of Bohannon is his ability to go coast-to-coast with the ball.

Both players are doing very well for Clemson, and the Tigers would not be in the position they are in if they did not acquire these two.

3-point shooting: B+ 

After starting the year off hot from three, Clemson has taken a slight step back. Although still ranked in the top-20 of 3-point shooting, their point percentage has fallen from 41.2% from three to 38.67% in a three-week period.

In the past five games, Clemson has shot 33.33% from three, which has hindered them, especially against zone dominant defenses. Against zone defense, it is imperative to make threes to break the zone. Unfortunately, the Tigers shot 23.72% from three in these games (against Syracuse and Notre Dame).

Luckily, it seems like Clemson has found their grove again after shooting 42.3% from three against Duke.

Overall, Clemson’s three-point shooting has been incredible and a luxury they have not had in a while, but Clemson needs to continue to shoot well from behind the arc because it would be a tough task to make Hall carry the whole load offensively.

Defense: D  

Unlike most Brownell-coached teams, Clemson’s defense has been far from lockdown this season. Clemson is averaging a .979 defensive efficiency which ranks No. 151 in the country.

Clemson’s opponents are averaging 67.01 points per game while shooting 41.2% from the field. Clemson is also only forcing 11.9 turnovers per game which ranks No. 278 in the country.

“I’m very disappointed with our defense. Right now, we’re a below-average defensive team,” said coach Brownell after the Syracuse game. “We’ve got to make stops.”

Clemson has a lot of promise in its season, but also has some things to work on. Unfortunately, there are gapping issues that are sinking the ship. Look for Clemson to try its best to patch these holes and make a late push for March Madness.