The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a face lift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference. I’ve already counted down the Pac-12, Big 12, SEC, and AAC, and now turn my attention to the already new-look ACC.
Without a whole lot of offensive firepower, the Clemson Tigers must once again rely on their stout defense if they are going to finish in the upper half of the ACC standings.
CLEMSON TIGERS
Last Season: 6th, 10-8 in ACC, 23-13 overall
Predicted ACC Finish: 10th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Landry Nnoko (Jr)/Josh Smith (Jr)/Siddy Djitte (So)
F: Jaron Blossomgame (So)/Dante Grantham (Fr)
SG: Demarcus Harrison (Sr)/Austin Ajukwa (So)
G: Jordan Roper (Jr)/Patrick Rooks (Fr)/Gabe DeVoe (Fr)
PG: Rod Hall (Sr)/Avry Holmes (Jr)
Gone: SF-K.J. McDaniels, G-Adonis Filer (transfer-Florida Atlantic), SG-Devin Coleman (transfer-Temple), PF-Ibrahim Djambo (transfer-Hofstra)
2014-2015 Outlook:
K.J. McDaniels’ early exit to the NBA leaves Brad Brownell with no returning player who averaged double digit points per game last season. As a result, the experienced guard trio of Rod Hall, Demarcus Harrison, and Jordan Roper must collectively fill that void. Hall is the maestro of the Tiger offense but Harrison and Roper possess more natrual scoring ability.
Clemson shot a woeful 31% from downtown last season but should be improved in that area with the addition of San Francisco transfer Avry Holmes and Patrick Rooks, who was forced to redshirt last year due to hip injury. Seldom used Austin Ajukwa and freshman Gave DeVoe will compete for any leftover backcourt minutes.
Landry Nnoko once again anchors the defense in the middle due to his shot blocking and ability to crash the boards. Josh Smith and Sidy Djitte provide more size inside and resume their roles off the bench. Jaron Blossomgame returns to the starting lineup and is another asset defensively due to his combination of length and athleticism. Freshman Freshman Dante Grantham will try to work his way into the frontcourt rotation as well.
The Tigers scored just 63.3 points per game last season which ranked 326th out of 351 Division One programs and fourth to last among power conference teams. A group effort is needed to pick-up the production left behind by McDaniels offensively but the team defense that allowed the fifth least points per game last season must be their calling card if Clemson is going to be a real factor in the ACC.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/21 vs. Gardner Webb (Paradise Jam)
11/23 vs. Seton Hall/Nevada (Paradise Jam)
11/24 vs. LSU/Old Dominion/Illinois State/Weber State (Paradise Jam)
12/1 vs. Rutgers (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
12/7 vs. Arkansas
12/14 vs. Auburn
12/29 at South Carolina
OTHER ACC PREVIEWS:
#14 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
AAC PREVIEWS:
#1 UCONN HUSKIES
#7 UCF KNIGHTS
#8 SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
#9 HOUSTON COUGARS
#10 TULANE GREEN WAVE
#11 EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
SEC PREVIEWS:
#1 KENTUCKY WILDCATS
BIG 12 PREVIEWS:
#1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS
PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
#1 ARIZONA WILDCATS
#4 UCLA BRUINS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.