The strength of Clemson's basketball team

CLEMSON — RJ Godfrey closed his eyes and took a deep breath before missing a free throw.

He closed his eyes for longer and took a longer exhale before missing another one — this one touching nothing.

Normally these are doomsday moments, on the road, with the score tied and 1:31 on the clock.

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Clemson’s last loss, at home against N.C. State, was sealed with similar struggles from the free-throw line.

But if there’s one defining and uplifting characteristic of this team, it’s that it has plenty of guys who are willing and able to come to the rescue.

Ace Buckner wasn’t the only guy who helped Clemson get past Stanford on Wednesday night in a grinding game where space and points were hard to come by.

But he was that dude in both performance and in body language.

Clemson was already up two with three seconds left, thanks to two clutch free throws Nick Davidson had drained 20 seconds earlier.

There was still an opening, though. Still a chance for the Cardinal to win it or send the game into overtime if Buckner didn’t take care of business at the free-throw line.

But business was good with Buckner, and it’ll continue being good over a career that has to be considered nothing short of promising at this point.

Buckner had already played a vital role in helping Clemson quickly surmount a six-point deficit inside of 15 minutes when it looked like Stanford might be taking control.

He faked a drive to create space for a step-back 3 that tied the score at 41 with 13:18 left.

He went full speed for a driving fast-break layup that put Clemson up 61-58 with four minutes left.

And after a forced go-ahead 3-pointer by Stanford missed inside of five seconds, it was Buckner who leaped high to snare the defensive rebound before he was fouled with 3.7 seconds left.

Buckner had plenty of time to think about those free throws as the refs took a timeout to review the clock.

But this redshirt freshman, and son of former Tiger star Greg Buckner, has already shown plenty of signs of being wise beyond his years. Of being supremely competitive, and confident. Not brash. Just a confident air about him that you can see and feel.

He just brings the juice.

Everyone could see it and feel it as he prepared to get the ball for that first free throw, looking to the bench and giving a thumbs-up gesture while smiling.

He calmly drained the first, turned around and gave a five to Dillon Hunter and then turned back toward the basket. 

He was still grinning. Probably because he knew exactly where that orange basketball was going — through the net to assure the guys in the orange jerseys their 13th consecutive ACC road win.

There’s something so soothing and assuring about that type of aura, that type of juice, particularly because it offsets the shaky comportment of Godfrey on a night that just wasn’t his largely because of foul trouble.

There’s just something about this team as it keeps winning to the tune of a 19-4 overall record and a 9-1 mark in the ACC.

Let’s maybe pump the brakes a tad on the idea that the portal/NIL era brings nothing but mercenaries who care only about the bottom line and nothing about the names on the front of the jerseys.

Because what Brad Brownell constructed for his 16th season at Clemson is probably Exhibit A for why that gripe not only isn’t always true, but can be resoundingly untrue.

And this on top of Exhibits B, C and D probably being … Brownell’s teams over the previous three years.

“The strength of our team is just the team,” Brownell said. “It’s kind of been that way. I don’t even know if we have an all-conference player. Our guys don’t really worry about it, care about it. We just come to work every day and we’re a very unselfish, hard-working group. Really proud of them. Great group of kids.”

Stanford was rugged enough, and playing well enough, to hand Clemson a loss on this two-game cross-country junket for the Tigers.

Jestin Porter had an off shooting night, missing eight of 10 shots from the field in 35 minutes.

Carter Welling had eight rebounds but just four points in 19 minutes.

And Godfrey, as noted, never could really get going as he totaled nine points, one rebound, three turnovers and four fouls in 12 minutes.

This is where a diverse supporting cast comes in. Davidson was a big story on his homecoming, totaling 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 30 determined minutes while fighting off the pain of an ankle he rolled in the first half.

Chase Thompson has been doing eye-opening things behind the scenes in practices, and before this trip Brownell was surprised it had yet to translate to games. 

That surprise ended at Stanford when the freshman looked smooth, confident and assertive both shooting from outside and attacking the rim.

“That’s his best game at Clemson,” Brownell said of Thompson’s 10-point night in 18 minutes. “We’ve been waiting for a game like that from him.”

And, of course, Buckner. He played 21 minutes to just 14 for Jake Wahlin as Brownell matched Stanford’s move to a three-guard lineup.

“Because of that, the speed element becomes even more important,” Brownell said. “I kept trying to tell our guys that we’ve got to continue to try to play in the open floor and we didn’t do as much of it in the second half.”

Buckner listened with four minutes left, taking a careening rebound off a missed Stanford 3 and turning on the jets. 

It was a 2-on-2 break with Hunter flaring open for an open 3 on the wing. Both defenders converged on Buckner as he went to the rim and split them for the running layup.

He could’ve kicked it to Hunter, but he had the confidence and the juice to go right to the rim.

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“That was a huge play by Buck,” Brownell said. “He’s that kind of guy. He plays the game with great force, leverage, and it was a heck of a move. Heck of a play.”

And a heck of a message sent by Buckner when he was on the free-throw line with three seconds left.

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His smile and his gestures told everyone else he had this.

In large part because he knew he did.

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