Clemson Tigers Men's Basketball
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The Clemson Tigers men's basketball team is a
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
program that represents
Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...
and competes in the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
. Clemson is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson sponsored its first men's basketball team in the 1911–12 season, winning its first conference championship in 1939, and in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1990. The Tigers have reached the NCAA tournament 13 times in the modern era (1980, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021) since the tournament expansion in 1980, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 four times (1980, 1990, 1997, 2018), with their best performance reaching the Elite Eight that very same year. Clemson's home court is Littlejohn Coliseum and has been the scene of 55 Clemson wins over ranked teams (23 in the Top 10) since 1968, including a victory over #1
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
in 1980, a 75–65 victory over #1
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
in 2001, and a 74–47 victory over #3 Duke in 2009. The Clemson basketball programs have won roughly 75% of their games played in Littlejohn, making it one of the ACC's toughest road venues. Clemson's current head coach is Brad Brownell.


Team history

Clemson's basketball history had an unusual beginning. The Tigers first two basketball games were both played in Greenville, South Carolina on February 9, 1912, a 46–12 win at Furman, followed by a 78–6 victory over the Butler Guards later that evening. Brothers John and Frank Erwin scored a combined 74 points in their second game; John Erwin's 58 points still stand as Clemson's single game scoring record, unique in college basketball for not being broken in over a century since the program's inaugural day. Clemson won its first seven games in the program's history, the longest streak to open a program among the current 15 ACC schools. Former Pittsburgh Nationals player Frank Dobson was Clemson's first basketball coach, taking the Tigers to a 13–5 record in the first two seasons. Southern Conference: The Tigers began play in the Southern Conference in 1921, and in 1922–23 had an 11–6 finish. Josh Cody coached for five seasons, the longest tenure for a Clemson Basketball coach in the first 25 years. In 1928–29 the Tigers won 15 games, a school record, and then followed that with a 16–9 mark. Cody pulled off the first huge upset in Clemson basketball history when the Tigers defeated
Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Uni ...
's 10–1
Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,47 ...
, 29–26, at Clemson on
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in 1931. From 1931–40, Joe Davis coached Clemson to 101 victories, including 44 wins on the road. Davis still has the best winning percentage in Clemson history on the road and led the Tigers to a 15–3 (.833) mark in 1934–35. In the 1938–39 season, the Tigers won 10 of their last 11 games to close the regular season. Banks McFadden, eventual All-American in both football and basketball averaged 11.8 points per game to lead the team as the starting pivot to four victories. It was an incredible run in the tournament as Clemson beat
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
, 44–43, Wake Forest, 30–28, Davidson 49–33 and
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
39–27 to clinch the Southern Conference title. McFadden's best year as coach was the 1951–52 season when the Tigers were 17–7 overall and 11–4 in the Conference.


Atlantic Coast Conference

In 1953, Clemson became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the 1954–55 season, Bill Yarborough averaged 28.3 points per game, 4th best in the nation, and best in the ACC. In 1958, Vince Yockel became the first Clemson player to make first team All-ACC. Press Maravich, father of basketball legend Pete Maravich, coached the Tigers to a 96–94 double overtime victory against a #8 NC State team. Jim Brennan became the first Clemson player to make first-team All-ACC Tournament in 1962 with 34-points against #8 Duke in the semifinals before losing to Billy Packer and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 77–66. In 1963–64, coach Bobby Roberts guided the Tigers to an 8–6 record in the ACC. The season included the only regular season sweep of North Carolina in school history. Roberts beat the Tar Heels and Dean Smith, 66–64, in double overtime at Clemson to open the season; and beat them again, 97–90, in double overtime in Charlotte at the North–South Doubleheader. In 1966–67. Clemson won seven straight ACC games including consecutive wins over Wake Forest, #14 Duke, North Carolina State and #4 North Carolina. It was the first sweep of "the North Carolina ACC schools" in ACC history. Clemson finished with a 17–8 record and 9–5 record in the ACC.
Randy Mahaffey Randolph Mahaffey (born September 28, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward born in LaGrange, Georgia, Mahaffey played college basketball at Clemson University. Mahaffey was one of four brothers (Don, Ronnie ...
was a first-team All-ACC selection who went on to become Clemson's first professional player. His teammate Jim Sutherland averaged 17 points a game and was the first Clemson athlete in any sport to win the Jim Weaver Award as the ACC's top scholar athlete. In the 1970s, Tree Rollins ushered in a new era in Clemson basketball when he matriculated to Tigertown for the 1973–74 season. He changed the image of Clemson basketball more than any other player. At 7–2 he was a shot-blocking phenomenon who burst on the national scene in just his second game when he had 22 points, 20 rebounds and nine blocked shots against St. John's. Rollins started 110 games in a row, a national record at the time. His sophomore year, 1974–75, he joined forces with
Skip Wise Allen Harper "Skip" Wise Jr. (born July 25, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. Wise was a sensation as a high school player at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland. In his junior year in 1973, Wise led Dunbar to a ...
to take Clemson to its first top 20 final ranking and its first postseason NIT tournament bid. The Tigers defeated 3rd ranked
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
, 10th ranked
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
and 4th ranked NC State at home. Wise was named first-team All-ACC the first true freshman in league history to obtain that honor.


Bill Foster

150px, Bill Foster In 1975, Bill Foster was brought in to further build the program. He had an impeccable reputation and was coming from a UNC Charlotte program that he helped advance. When Tree Rollins decided not to turn professional, Foster coached the Tigers to 22–6 record, the program's ninth straight year with an improved winning percentage. Prior to his final game, Rollins had his #30 jersey retired, the first athlete in Clemson history so honored. It was a fitting way to honor Rollins who averaged a double-double for four years and is still first in ACC history in blocked shots, before starting his 18-year career in the NBA. Bill Foster did a remarkable job in keeping Clemson at a winning level. He won 100 games in his first 147, still fifth in ACC history in terms of fewest games required to get 100 wins. He had an ability to find diamonds in the rough that kept Clemson competitive in the ACC: Bobby Conrad, Horace Grant, Harvey Grant, & Larry Nance an eventual All-West regional choice in the 1980 NCAA tournament and NBA All-Star. Foster's 1979–80 team defeated six top 20 teams during the year, including #1 ranked Duke on January 9, 1980 in overtime, 87–82. Clemson went to the NCAA Tournament defeating Danny Ainge and BYU in Round 2 before being eliminated by Larry Brown and
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
in the Elite Eight.


Cliff Ellis

Cliff Ellis became the winningest coach in Clemson basketball history on a total victories basis (177–128). He took the Tigers to eight post-season tournaments, including three NCAA tournaments, and coached a record 25 win season in 1987, with
ACC Player of the Year Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport ACC Players of the Year by year: *Atlantic Coast Conferen ...
and future NBA champion Horace Grant. Ellis coached Clemson to the ACC regular season title in 1990, with the Tigers posting a 24–8 record that year behind Dale Davis and Elden Campbell, ending in a last second shot by UConn in the Sweet 16. Ellis set 33 Clemson coaching records, including ACC regular season victories, victories at home and home winning percentage. The Tigers won 22 games over top 25 teams in Ellis' ten years at Clemson, including an upset of 12th-ranked Florida State in the 1993 ACC Tournament, and a victory over #2 North Carolina in 1994. Ellis was also named ACC Coach-of-the-Year in 1987 and 1990, the only Clemson coach to win that award.


Rick Barnes

Rick Barnes Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
was the first coach in Clemson history to take the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years. Barnes coached Clemson into post-season play every year of his tenure, and to the NCAA's in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The Tiger's top season was his third year, when he coached the Tigers to a 16–1 start and a #2 national ranking. The season opened with a 79–71 overtime victory against defending National Champion Kentucky. The team ended the season 23–10 and ranked #8 in the final USA Today poll. Picked last in the ACC prior to his first season, he shocked the basketball world by winning his first ten games, including a 75–70 victory over 9th ranked Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium. His second season featured an 18–11 record, including Clemson's first-ever ACC Tournament victory over #20 North Carolina . The Tigers were ranked fifth in the nation in the pre-season poll of 1997–1998, an example of the level of respect that Barnes had brought back to the program. His fiery on the floor interactions with Dean Smith and teams' physical style of play made him a basketball fan favorite. Clemson defeated three top-25 teams in 1997–1998, including sixth-ranked South Carolina. Barnes concluded his four years with a 74–48 record, a 60.7 percent winning mark before leaving for the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.


Larry Shyatt

Barnes' assistant
Larry Shyatt Lawrence Alan Shyatt (born April 8, 1951) is an American basketball coach. He last served as an assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shyatt was previously head coach at the University of Wyoming in ...
, who was a part of Clemson's success in the three seasons prior, took over as head coach for five seasons from 1998–2003. In his first season, Shyatt led the Tigers to a 20-win season (20–15). The Tigers advanced to the 1999 NIT Championship Game before losing by one point, 60–61, to California. At the time, Shyatt became only the fourth first-year coach in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history to guide his team to a 20-win season. Also during his time as head coach at Clemson, the 2000–01 team set a school record for three-point field goals in a season and recorded one of the biggest wins in school history with a 75–65 win over No. 1 ranked North Carolina on February 18, 2001, ending an 18-game winning streak for the Tar Heels.


Oliver Purnell

After several lackluster seasons and renovations to Littlejohn Coliseum, Oliver Purnell rebuilt the program steadily, improving each subsequent season. The trademark of Purnell's teams was full court pressure defense. In 2008, he guided the Tigers to a third-place 10–6 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a runner-up position in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, losing to North Carolina by 5 points. The 2008–09 season was record-breaking on many fronts. Purnell's team finished with a 23–9 record, a .719 winning percentage, and a No. 24 final ranking in the Associated Press poll. Among Clemson's victims that season were #3 Duke, who lost to the #10 Tigers by a score of 74–47 at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was the largest margin of victory ever for Clemson against a ranked opponent. Coaching players such as
Cliff Hammonds Clifford Daniel Hammonds (born December 18, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Limburg United of the BNXT League. The point guard played college basketball for Clemson. High school and college basketball Hammonds attended ...
, K.C. Rivers, and Trevor Booker, Purnell finished with a record of 138–88 and guided the Tigers to 3 NCAA appearances.


Brad Brownell

Currently, Brad Brownell is the Clemson head basketball coach. In his first season in 2010, Brownell guided the Tigers to a 4th place ACC finish, and a 2nd round finish in the NCAA Tournament and set a record with 22 wins (9 ACC), the most ever by a rookie coach. Jerai Grant and Demontez Stitt became the first scholarship players in school history to be consistent contributors to four straight NCAA Tournament teams. Brownell's second team went 16–15 and 8–8 in ACC play, a record fifth straight season the Tigers were .500 or better in conference games, defeating three teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, including NC State. In 2013, the Tigers suffered a 13–18 overall record but were impressive in several statistical categories, yielding just 60.1 points per game, finishing 2nd in the ACC in Scoring Defense, and setting a record for fewest turnovers. Brownell's defensive style of play continued to stifle teams into the 2014 season, as the Tigers, led by blocking and scoring leader K. J. McDaniels, were ranked 2nd in the nation in Scoring Defense (56.8 ppg), which helped elevate Clemson to a 72–59 upset of #16 Duke on January 11. The Tigers were seeded 6th in the 2014 ACC tournament and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
. On January 16, 2016, the Clemson Tigers defeated #8
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
marking the first time Clemson has defeated three consecutive top 25 opponents. The two games prior to Clemson defeated #16 Louisville and #9
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
. After the 2016-2017 season, it was announced that Brownell would stay on as Clemson head coach with a contract extension until 2021. In the 2017–18 the Tigers went 25-10 (9-9) and Brownell and the Tigers made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2010–11. Clemson would beat #12 seed New Mexico State 79–68 and #4 seed Auburn 84–53 before losing to #1 seeded Kansas 80–76. In the 2019–20 season, the Tigers beat #3 Duke at home and North Carolina back to back and won in Chapel Hill for the first time ever. the Tigers also beat #5 Louisville and #6 Florida State and finished with a 16–15 (9–11) record and finished 9th in the ACC.


Awards


Retired Numbers

;Notes


All-Americans

* Banks McFadden (1939 Helms Foundation) * Tree Rollins (1977 Helms, 3rd Team – AP) *
Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...
(1980 Helms, Honorable Mention – AP) * Horace Grant (1987 Consensus 2nd Team) * Elden Campbell & Dale Davis (1990 Honorable Mention – AP) * Sharone Wright (1994 Honorable Mention – AP)


Clemson Ring of Honor

* Banks McFadden * Dale Davis


ACC Player of the Year

* Horace Grant – 1987


ACC Defensive Player of the Year

* K. J. McDaniels – 2014


ACC Freshman of the Year

*
Skip Wise Allen Harper "Skip" Wise Jr. (born July 25, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. Wise was a sensation as a high school player at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland. In his junior year in 1973, Wise led Dunbar to a ...
– 1975 * Greg Buckner – 1995


ACC Most Improved Player

*
Jaron Blossomgame Jaron Samuel Blossomgame (born September 16, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the LNB Pro A and the Euroleague. Blossomgame played college basketball for Clemson University and was selected in the second round ...
– 2016


ACC All-Defensive Team

*Greg Buckner – 1997 *Vernon Hamilton – 2006 & 2007 * James Mays – 2007 & 2008 *
Cliff Hammonds Clifford Daniel Hammonds (born December 18, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Limburg United of the BNXT League. The point guard played college basketball for Clemson. High school and college basketball Hammonds attended ...
– 2008 * Trevor Booker – 2009 & 2010 *K. J. McDaniels – 2014 * Landry Nnoko – 2016


ACC Coach of the Year

* Cliff Ellis – 1987, 1990


All-Southern Conference

* Banks McFadden – 1938, 1939, 1940 *Johnny Snee – 1952


All-ACC First Team

*Vince Yockel – 1958 *Choppy Patterson – 1960 *
Randy Mahaffey Randolph Mahaffey (born September 28, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward born in LaGrange, Georgia, Mahaffey played college basketball at Clemson University. Mahaffey was one of four brothers (Don, Ronnie ...
– 1967 *Skip Wise – 1975 *
Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...
– 1980 *Horace Grant – 1987 * Dale Davis & Elden Campbell – 1990 * Terrell McIntyre – 1998 * Will Solomon – 2000 *Ed Scott – 2003 * Trevor Booker – 2010 *K. J. McDaniels – 2014 *
Jaron Blossomgame Jaron Samuel Blossomgame (born September 16, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the LNB Pro A and the Euroleague. Blossomgame played college basketball for Clemson University and was selected in the second round ...
– 2016


All-ACC Second Team

*Bill Yarborough – 1955 & 1956 *Vince Yockel – 1956 *Choppy Patterson – 1961 *Jim Brennan – 1963 & 1964 *
Randy Mahaffey Randolph Mahaffey (born September 28, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward born in LaGrange, Georgia, Mahaffey played college basketball at Clemson University. Mahaffey was one of four brothers (Don, Ronnie ...
– 1965 *Jim Sutherland – 1965, 1967 *Butch Zatezalo – 1968, 1969, 1970 * Tree Rollins – 1975, 1976, 1977 *
Stan Rome Stanford Bernard Rome (born June 4, 1956) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 11th round of the 1979 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clems ...
– 1977 * Larry Nance – 1981 *Vince Hamilton – 1982 *Horace Grant – 1986 *Elden Campbell – 1989 *Dale Davis – 1991 * Sharone Wright – 1994 *Greg Buckner – 1997, 1998 * Terrell McIntyre – 1997, 1999 *Will Solomon – 2001 * K. C. Rivers – 2008 * Trevor Booker – 2009 * Marquise Reed – 2018 * Aamir Simms - 2021


All-ACC Third Team

* Sharone Wright & Chris Whitney – 1993 * Devin Gray – 1994 *Terrell McIntyre – 1998 *Ed Scott – 2002 * Sharrod Ford – 2005 *
Cliff Hammonds Clifford Daniel Hammonds (born December 18, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Limburg United of the BNXT League. The point guard played college basketball for Clemson. High school and college basketball Hammonds attended ...
– 2008 *Demontez Stitt – 2011 * Devin Booker – 2013


NBA Players

* Trevor Booker *Sharrod Ford * Will Solomon *Harold Jamison * Greg Buckner * Devin Gray *Sharone Wright * Chris Whitney * Dale Davis * Elden Campbell * Horace Grant *Larry Nance * Tree Rollins *Skip Wise *
Randy Mahaffey Randolph Mahaffey (born September 28, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward born in LaGrange, Georgia, Mahaffey played college basketball at Clemson University. Mahaffey was one of four brothers (Don, Ronnie ...
* K.J. McDaniels


Postseason


NCAA tournament results

The Tigers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 13 times. Their combined record is 11–13.^*


NIT results

The Tigers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 17 times. Their combined record is 19–17.


Home courts

* Clemson Field House/Fike Field House: 1930–1968 * Littlejohn Coliseum: November 30, 1968 – February 23, 2002; January 5, 2003–2015; 2016 – present * Civic Center of Anderson: November 13, 2002 – December 31, 2002, (For eight games as Littlejohn Coliseum was undergoing renovations) * Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville: 2015–2016 season, (While Littlejohn Coliseum was undergoing renovations)


Coaching history


Current coaching staff

*Head coach: Brad Brownell *Assistant coach: Dick Bender *Assistant coach:
Antonio Reynolds-Dean Antonio de Andre Reynolds-Dean (born March 11, 1977) is an American basketball coach and former professional player, currently serving as associate head coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. A forward/center listed at 6-foot-7, he played college basket ...
*Assistant coach: Steve Smith *Director of Basketball Operations: Matt Bucklin *Special assistant to the head coach: Marty Simmons


Season-by-season results


Statistics


All-time leaders


Points


Rebounds


Assists


Steals


Blocks


References


External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball navbox