Last Season: 19-13 overall, 7-9 in the ACC (seventh place). The Tigers lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament (as is the Law) and the second round of the NIT.
Gone: Starters Akin Akingbala (#2 scorer and #1 rebounder) and Shawan Robinson (#1 scorer).
New: Four freshmen (David Potter, Trevor Booker, Karolis Petrukonis and AJ Tyler). None were ranked in Scout.com’s top 100 recruits.
Forecast: I believe that Oliver Purnell is one of the better coaches in the ACC, but it’s about time to prove it with better on-court results. The backcourt of Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds will give opponents fits as they are aggressive and quick defenders. The Tigers actually play good overall team defense, but as is Clemson tradition, they struggle at times to score points. It’s hard to say if that will be any better this year. Hamilton and Hammonds can both score, but neither are really great shooters. James Mays, who missed most of last year with academic problems, could help and they’ll also need Sam Perry and KC Rivers to step up.
My guess is that, as usual, Clemson will dominate their early, weak non-conference schedule and then go somewhere between 6-10 and 8-8 in the ACC while praying that they have done enough for an NCAA bid. It’s time for Purnell to get this program back into the Dance.
Other Reviews:
Duke Basketball Report
TigerNet.com