A tough assignment for Clemson Basketball

CLEMSON — At various points during Clemson’s overtime loss to N.C. State on Jan. 20, it occurred that this was the type of game and the type of matchup where the absence of Zac Foster really showed up.

So we asked Brad Brownell in the press conference afterward how much Foster’s absence was felt in a game against the long, athletic and fast Wolfpack.

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He wasn’t a fan of the question because he thought any credence given to that notion would take away from the performance of the team that beat his team that night.

And the same idea was at play in his mind last night on the topic of just how much Clemson’s trip to the West Coast affected his team in a 76-66 loss to Virginia Tech.

He didn’t want any part of that as a storyline because he didn’t want to come off as making excuses, and didn’t want to take away from a splendid showing by a talented Hokies team playing their best.

Fair enough in both cases, and totally understandable.

That said, we’ll say it: 

Unquestionably this uncharacteristic showing stemmed at least in part from that cross-country jaunt. You can say that without making excuses.

Over the past two seasons of the expanded ACC, conference teams are now 4-11 in their first games back home after doing the Stanford–Cal double dip that Clemson just experienced.

Anyone who has traveled from these parts west across multiple time zones, whether to California or Hawaii, knows the hardest part is always the return trip.

Technically last night’s game came on three days rest.

But does a third day really count when your flight home after a pounding of Cal is in the middle of the night and you arrive back home at 7:30 on Sunday morning?

Before this trip Brownell himself said the back-end adjustment was the bigger concern than the front end — as in, getting rested and adjusted in time for a visit from a Virginia Tech team that came in relatively well rested, and with desperation in their eyes.

You could see early on that Clemson might be in trouble. The Tigers simply didn’t seem to have the mental or physical energy to stay with the Hokies, and the fact that the biggest lapses were coming on the defensive end — where Clemson is almost always excellent — was a pretty good tell.

Another tell came late as we saw Ace Buckner running off the court in pain from cramps. He never returned, and he spent much of the rest of the game on an exercise bike pounding fluids.

Ten days ago, Brownell specifically noted hydration as an important piece of such a trip. Turns out it was quite important after the return too, at least in Buckner’s case.

The positive here is the page gets turned quickly before the Tigers board a Friday flight for a relative puddle jump to Raleigh-Durham.

The clear negative, of course: It’s Duke.

In some ways it’s perhaps a plus to have this team edgy and not comfortable as it turns its focus to Cameron Indoor knowing how poorly some of its best pieces played against Virginia Tech.

Six points from RJ Godfrey in more than 27 minutes is no bueno, particularly given that Clemson attempted just 16 3-pointers in this game, the Tigers’ fewest since they had the same number in a New Year’s Eve win at Syracuse (Godfrey had 14 in that game, by the way).

Jake Wahlin was a total non-factor last night, to the point that Brownell opted to go to a three-guard lineup in the second half.

Dillon Hunter, Jestin Porter and Butta Johnson were a combined 1-of-16 from the field and that’s bad. But you figure that was an anomaly for the group.

The biggest concern might be Porter by himself on the offensive end. He’s so often been a spark plug with his shooting, but he’s 5-of-24 from the field in the past three games and missed some easy shots last night.

Porter is such an asset on the defensive end with the energy he devotes to being a hounding, disruptive nuisance. You wonder if that’s started to get into his legs some, and Brownell seemed to allude to that as a concern last night.

Over the first 15 games of the season, Porter reached 30 minutes in three games (40 against Georgia, 33 against BYU and 31 against Cincinnati).

He has surpassed 30 minutes in 10 consecutive games, including 33 minutes against the Hokies.

“He’s got to finish some plays,” Brownell said. “Some of it is just finishing. He’s getting the ball to some decent spots. He missed a layup today and got a couple of shots in the paint area, didn’t score. But he’ll get going. He’s fine. He’s a good player. 

“He’s done such a good job for us defensively throughout the year. I’m really proud of how he’s improved defensively, and the effort that he gives. But the last game or two he hasn’t finished as well. And obviously they guarded him very hard. … That opened more space for other players and some of our post players, and we just weren’t able to get enough other things done.”

Clemson is a football school, so its fan base is conditioned to have excessive reactions one way or the other in the wake of the most recent result.

In this case, maybe some deep breaths are warranted.

This team is 20-5 overall and 10-2 in the ACC. Losing by double digits at home certainly creates some concern, but the big picture is still there and Virginia Tech coach Mike Young marveled at the job Brownell has done.

“I think it’s a masterclass,” Young said. “I think he only brought back Dillon and the Buckner young man. To get Godfrey back, which was huge — but (Carter Welling) and Nick Davidson, (Wahlin) is a good player. Jestin Porter has helped their team. 

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“It’s a masterclass. And I had a couple people who saw Clemson in the summer and the fall and didn’t think they looked very good. And I said: ‘Yeah, I’ve heard that before. I know that guy down there blowing the whistle. He’ll get them right.’ And here we are, ranked nationally and justifiably so and on their way to another NCAA Tournament.”

Now they’re on their way to Durham, with visions of doing something big.

They need to be better, of course, and odds are they will be.

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This is a tough assignment. But last night was one too.

Brownell might not want to say it, but we will.

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