Clemson hoops program confident entering critical 2022-23 season

Clemson Athletics Director Graham Neff made it clear in a letter to Tigers fans last month that the Clemson basketball program did not meet his expectations in 2021-22.

Next season is a critical one for Brad Brownell and his program, and the Tigers need to get back to the NCAA Tournament next year.

Brownell and his players spoke with the media on Wednesday and sounded like a group that is plenty confident that they can do that and more in 2022-23.

“The guys we’re bringing in, the guys we’re returning, the core group, this is like putting the league on notice,” Clemson star forward PJ Hall said. “We’re going to have a squad next year.”

It’s easy to see why Clemson is confident.

The Tigers return Hall, who should be one of the best players in the ACC next season. And have senior forward Hunter Tyson back as well.

Hall prefers to play around the basket, while Tyson is more of a stretch 4 who can score in a variety of ways. Those two play well together and combined to average 25.5 points and 11.3 rebounds last season.

Clemson also returns guard Chase Hunter, who finally started to play up to his potential last season.

Perhaps the biggest reason for optimism is a transfer piece Clemson brought in earlier this week in guard Jaelin Llewellyn.

The former Princeton point guard averaged 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists for a Princeton team that finished 23-7 in 2021-22.

Llewellyn should offset the losses of Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes, and he arguably is an upgrade from those two.

“I’m incredibly excited about next year. Optimistic. I just think we have the chance to have a special season,” Brownell said. “Jaelin Llewellyn, the young man we just got a commitment from, I think is a terrific player. He can score, he can play off the bounce, he can make 3’s. He’s got size for the position, which we felt was important. And as much as anything, he comes from a winning program at Princeton where they’re used to winning.”

Clemson returns a few solid bench guys in Alex Hemenway, Ian Schieffelin and Ben Middlebrooks, and the Tigers will also have Josh Beadle in the rotation after he redshirted last season.

Clemson also has a solid recruiting class coming in that includes Chauncey Wiggins, RJ Godfrey and Chauncey Gibson.

While those three might be asked to help some, overall it’s an older team that is likely to start all upperclassmen. The experience of next year’s team has Brownell excited, as well.

“When you look at college basketball and you look at the end of the season and start watching the teams that are really good, I mean Duke’s like the only team playing freshmen,” Brownell said. “Being old, staying old, getting old, having experienced older players is a necessity.”

Clemson should have old, experienced, talented players next year.

“I know we’re returning healthy players, confident players, bringing in a guy who I’ve watched a lot of film of — Jaelin. He’s a great player. … I know that he’ll be able to come in there and step into a new role for us,” Hall said. “Bringing in him and the freshmen coming in, I’m just very confident in our core group.”