Clemson Tigers 2012-13 Basketball Preview - SCACCHoops.com

Clemson Tigers 2012-13 Basketball Preview

by WebMaster

Posted: 10/18/2012 6:58:28 AM


We continue our ACC team previews with the Clemson Tigers. Matt Purdy chips in as our guest writer today to fill us in on the Tigers.

ACC Season Previews

Boston College |  Miami | Clemson

Clemson Season Preview

Record Last Season 16 - 15, 8 - 9 ACC
Players Lost Andre Young, Tanner Smith, Bryan Narcisse, Catalin Baciu 
New Players Jason Blossomgame, Adonis Filer, Landry Nnoko, Jordan Roper, Josh Smith 
Projected Lineup TJ Sapp, Rod Hall, KJ McDaniels, Milton Jennings, Devin Booker 
Schedule Highlights 11/22 vs Gonzaga, 11/28 vs Purdue, 12/2 at South Carolina, 12/8 vs Arizona 
Clemson Schedule
Clemson Scouting Report

Projected Statistics (Returning Players Only)

Explanation of Statistic Projections

 

Name Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs % Correct
 Devin Booker 11.9 1.3 6.2 1.0 0.7 1.8 75
 Milton Jennings 8.6 1.1 5.4 0.8 0.5 1.6 78
 Rod Hall 6.7 1.4 2.9 0.6 0.4 1.4 89
 Devin Coleman 6.3 1.7 2.8 0.7 0.2 1.4 95
 TJ Sapp 6.3 1.4 2.5 0.8 0.3 1.2 92
 KJ McDaniels 5.7 0.7 2.9 0.5 0.5 1.0 91
 Bernard Sullivan 3.9 0.5 2.1 0.4 0.3 0.6 97
 Carson Fields 2.8 0.4 1.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 99

Things to Watch

After missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 4 years, the Clemson Tigers will have to move forward without their two senior leaders (and leading scorers) from last year. This year, the Tigers will rely on their large sophomore class and two seniors who have yet to blossom as originally expected. While Clemson is not exactly expected to make the NCAA Tournament this season, the goal of postseason play is certainly attainable. The focal point of the 2012-2013 season will be the growth of the 10 underclassmen on the roster.

Backcourt

With the loss of steady senior guards Andre Young and Tanner Smith to graduation, Clemson is very young in the backcourt. However, their replacements, Rod Hall and TJ Sapp, did gain some experience last season. Hall, Sapp, and athletic swingman K.J. McDaniels all averaged over 10 minutes per game last season and all are expected to start. Sophomore BYU transfer Damarcus Harrison is expected to fill some minutes in place of the injured Devin Coleman (who looks like he might miss the entire season) after averaging 3.2 points per game for the Cougars. Freshmen guards Adonis Filer and Jordan Roper are expected to contribute, with Filer likely to get the most minutes between the two at backup point guard.

Frontcourt

This group should be the strength of this team. The lone seniors, Devin Booker and Milton Jennings, are the expected starters. Booker, who is somewhat more known for being Trevor Booker’s brother, averaged 10.5 PPG and 7 RPG last year. However, he will be expected to improve on those numbers. Jennings, who came to Clemson as their first McDonald’s All-American in 18 years, has one last year to show that potential after a 9.7 PPG/5.6 RPG season last year. Behind the two seniors, sophomore forward Bernard Sullivan looks to get the bulk of the minutes. Highly regarded out of high school, Sullivan struggled with asthma last season, but claims that his conditioning is greatly improved. Filling out the frontcourt spaces are three freshmen: 6’7” Jaron Blossomgame, 6’8” Josh Smith, and 6’10” Landry Nnoko. Look for athletic Blossomgame and the burly Smith to see some minutes. Nnoko is more of a project, and may redshirt.

Schedule

Three games and an early tournament stick out in Clemson’s non-conference schedule. After opening up with two low/mid-majors, the Tigers open with Gonzaga in the Old Spice Classic. They follow that up with a tough three game slate: home against Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, at South Carolina, and home against Arizona. If they have a good showing in the Old Spice Classic and take two of the three following, the Tigers could be in for a good season. The ACC schedule is relatively manageable, but opening conference play at home against Florida State and then at Cameron Indoor against Duke is a tough start.

Prediction

Clemson will go as far as their experienced frontcourt can take them. Booker, Jennings, and Sullivan can be a solid frontcourt trio. The keys to the season will be point guard play (can Rod Hall step up and be a leader?) and finding a three point shooter (Young and Smith were by far the biggest threats on the team last year). I think this team will have some great moments, but also hit quite a few speed bumps. As stated earlier, this looks to be a team built more towards the next few years. I think this team will improve slightly over last year and perhaps sneak into the NIT. To me, that would indicate a good season for the Tigers.

by Matt Purdy @UMwolfpack87

Fantasy Player to Watch

One of these years Milton Jennings will live up to the hype, and I'll cross my fingers and say it will be this year. Jennings is a really talented player but has yet to put it together consistently. He's long, athletic, has a nice touch, but has seemed to disappear at times. If he can assert himself a bit more, he has all the ability to be a 14 points, 7 rebounds per game player.

Last Year's Player Statistics

Clemson
Name GP Mins Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs FG% 3P% FT%
 Andre Young  31  34.5  13.3  3.1  2.7  1.7  0.0  1.3  41.8  34.9  82.8
 Tanner Smith  31  32.6  11.2  4.1  5.1  1.7  0.2  2.1  45.7  35.1  72.1
 Devin Booker  31  29.2  10.5  1.3  7.0  0.9  0.9  1.8  45.9  21.7  69.8
 Milton Jennings  28  26.4  9.9  1.1  5.6  0.9  0.9  2.4  44.3  33.3  59.2
 Catalin Baciu  31  10.6  4.1  0.0  2.1  0.2  0.5  0.8  58.1  0.0  58.1
 Rod Hall  31  16.7  3.7  1.1  1.3  0.5  0.0  0.9  43.5  80.0  59.6
 KJ McDaniels  30  10.1  3.9  0.2  1.8  0.3  0.7  0.4  45.4  28.0  57.9
 TJ Sapp  30  16.1  3.6  0.7  1.6  0.7  0.0  0.9  31.1  31.6  43.8
 Bryan Narcisse  31  14.6  2.5  0.6  2.1  0.5  0.5  0.5  36.8  23.1  69.6
 Bernard Sullivan  29  7.2  1.3  0.1  1.1  0.0  0.1  0.5  37.2  0.0  46.2
 Devin Coleman  22  10.0  2.6  0.5  1.3  0.4  0.0  0.5  35.9  14.3  72.7

Team Stats



Widgets

Add these Widgets to YOUR Site

SCACC Hoops has no affiliation to the NCAA or the ACC
Team logos are trademarks of their respective organizations (more/credits)

Privacy Policy