Yahoo Autos Our boldest predictions for Clemson basketball this season, including March Madness
Clemson basketball will tip off its season with higher expectations despite a new-look lineup and a key injury.
The Tigers open Monday (7 p.m., ACC Network Extra) against The Citadel at Littlejohn Coliseum and will play in-state rival South Carolina on Friday (7 p.m., SEC Network Plus) in Columbia.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell is entering his 13th season with the Tigers and is the third-most tenured in the ACC, behind only Leonard Hamilton of Florida State and Tony Bennett of Virginia.
The Tigers last season went 17-16 last season and 8-12 in the ACC for their first losing record in league play in five years. Clemson was picked in the preseason poll to finish 11th among the 15 teams.
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Here are some bold predictions for this season:
Clemson returns to NCAA tournament
It wasn’t exactly an ultimatum, but Clemson athletics director Graham Neff expressed publicly that he expects the Tigers to make the NCAA tournament. Brownell agreed with the bar being set that high. Clemson made the tourney two years ago, losing to Rutgers in the first round, and that was only the second appearance since 2010-11. The Tigers will make it make to the Big Dance.
P.J. Hall considered for player of year
Clemson post player P.J. Hall had a remarkable sophomore season, considering he was never healthy, leading the Tigers in scoring with 15. 5 points per game and blocking 38 shots while playing all but three games. He had foot surgery and will get a late start on the season with a knee injury. Hall will be 100% in December, make the All-ACC first team and get votes for player of year.
Alex Hemenway ACC's top 3-point shooter
The ACC’s top 3-point shooter will be a senior in a regular starting role for the first time in his career. Alex Hemenway, who started two games last season and averaged 14 minutes, shot 40.6 percent from long distance. He will become more of a weapon with increased playing time and force defenses to spread out. Brady Manek of North Carolina led the ACC last season at 40.3% on threes.
Point guard position problematic
Clemson lost both of its point guards from last season as Nick Honor transferred to Missouri and Al-Amir Dawes transferred to Seton Hall. A couple of potential transfers in, one that was even announced, didn’t work out. Brevin Galloway came in from Boston College by way of College of Charleston and is a scoring point guard. But he had only five more assists than turnovers last season.
Ian Schieffelin among most valuable
Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin is undersized (6-foot-7) at the post position, but he became a valuable piece in the middle backing up Hall. Schieffelin is more advanced than maybe even Hall was as a freshman because of all the time with the starters as the latter was unable to even practice during the second half of the season. Schieffelin, per 40 minutes, averaged 9.7 rebounds.
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Our boldest predictions for Clemson basketball, including March Madness
