I don’t remember the last time I told myself, “I’m really glad we can start focusing on basketball season,” but that’s where we’re at currently in Clemson, South Carolina, and it’s time to see what Head
Coach Brad Brownell has cooked up for the new men’s basketball season.
It was a brutal end to last year’s incredible season, getting upset in the NCAA tournament by McNeese State. It felt like a setback for the program, considering the Tigers had just arguably had their best regular season in school history. Now, Brownell and his staff have turned the page to a new year, and you can read my colleague Ryan Kantor’s season preview to see everything those guys have to cover this season. With a complete overhaul of the roster, getting off to a quick start is incredibly important, and that’s what we’re covering today.
The Wildcats of New Hampshire are led by third-year head coach Nathan Davis. Last season, New Hampshire finished 8-24, a significant drop-off from the prior season, when the Wildcats went 16-15. The Wildcats only return five players from last season’s roster, with junior forward Davide Poser being the most experienced returner of the group. The problem is that Poser was not among the top scorers for New Hampshire, only averaging 6.5 points per game. All three of the Wildcats’ top scorers have moved on, leaving Poser as the leading returning scorer.
New Hampshire has brought in a few new faces from the portal, hoping they will rejuvenate their offense. R.J. Kennedy is a guard who comes to the Wildcats from UAB, while Jack Graham is a junior guard who comes over from Richmond. New Hampshire also brought in guard Comeh Emuobor, who has spent time at UCF and Iona. These guys don’t bring incredible experience with them, but they come from an outside perspective, and sometimes, a fresh face is all a player needs to kickstart a good career run.
Clemson needs to get out to a hot start this year. I would expect a bumpy first half as the team begins to gel in the early parts of the season. Having RJ Godfrey back will be nice, but it will take much more than that to replace the talented group from last season. Dillon Hunter is the only legit returner from Clemson who has seen the court under Brownell, so it may be a year to be patient with this team in the non-conference slate.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra/ESPN+ live from Littlejohn Coliseum.
