Clemson Preview Capsule

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson

Last season: 17-16, sixth straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Nickname: Tigers.

Coach: Brad Brownell.

Conference: Atlantic Coast.

Who’s gone: G Jaron Blossomgame (senior), G Avry Holmes (senior), F-C Sidy Djitte (senior).

Who’s back: F Donte Grantham. The senior struggled some last year and hopes to rebound after his scoring average dropped from double digits as a sophomore to seven points. F Elijah Thomas. The Texas A&M transfer played the second half of the season after sitting out and averaged seven points and four rebounds. G Shelton Mitchell, a Vanderbilt transfer who is the team’s top returning scorer at more than 10 points a game, but bothered by a knee problem. G Marcquise Reed is a Robert Morris transfer who averaged 10 points a game in his first season at Clemson.

Who’s new: F David Skara. A junior who transferred from Valparaiso and has won praise from Brownell as Clemson’s best defender. F Mark Donnal. A Michigan graduate transfer, Donnal helped the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. F Aamir Simms. A freshman from Palmyra, Virginia is 6-7 expected to give the Tigers a reliable dual-threat inside and out.

The Skinny: Brad Brownell has held on to his job because he’s a strong ambassador for the program and instrumental in the refurbished Littlejohn Coliseum that opened last year. He knows the pressure to make the NCAAs is there and needs to have a healthy Mitchell at point guard to make that happen.

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