Clemson left no doubt in their quest to reach 2-0 this basketball season. It took less than 10 minutes for the Tigers to build a 29-10 lead. They’d lose a little steam before halftime and enter the break with a 15-point advantage at 45-30. In the second half, they were even more dominant outscoring the Runnin’ Bulldogs by 23 for a 97-59 win.
Gardner-Webb looked a bit more competent than New Hampshire did in the opener vs. Clemson but they were still overwhelmed by high-major talent. For context, Gardner-Webb didn’t
not opt-in to the House Settlement and is thus not sharing revenue with athletes. As such, we have to grade this win on a bit of a curve, but a suffocating win is all you can ask for. Here’s what stood out for the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson’s strength this year will be in their deep front court. If there’s one thing I’d credit as a staple of Coach Brownell offenses it’s good passing from the bigs. We saw it three years ago with Hunter Tyson and PJ Hall and then with Hall and Ian Schieffelin. To a lesser extent, Clemson enjoyed it last year with Schieffelin and Viktor Lahkin, and now it is back on in full force with RJ Godfrey and Nick Davidson this year. They’ve already developed some good chemistry and combined for 5 assists in this contest.
Clemson’s three leading scorers were their three bigtime transfer post-players, Nick Davidson with 18 points, Carter Welling with 14, and RJ Godfrey with 13. Despite being 6-foot-10, Davidson is more of the finesse option with a shooting touch and great court vision. He knocked down a 3-pointer and snatched 6 rebounds.
At 6-foot-7, Godfrey is three inches shorter than Davidson and Welling but makes up for it with strength and newly developed finishing skills around the rim. He was always a bit raw at Clemson, but right before he transferred out, we saw him start to show some touch around the basket. Now it is fully developed and will pay dividends for this squad. RJ Godfrey does a good job hiding on the baseline and making himself available and then finishing. He took the opening tip and makes a great duo with Nick Davidson who can play a little further the basket when Godfrey is on the court.
Carter Welling comes off the bench and reminds me a lot of RJ Godfrey. Welling has more speed and slashing ability, but less touch around the basket. Both are impressive defensively and Welling is especially good as a rebounder because of his high-level athleticism paired with his 6-foot-10 stature. He finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Senior starting PG Dillon Hunter had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 0 turnovers. It was a boringly efficient game which is probably what you should expect from him this season along with above average defense and leadership.
SF Jake Wahlin stood out to me all night, so I was rather surprised to see he only had 6 points at the final buzzer. Although their styles and positions are very different, he is a lot like Dillon Hunter in that he helps you win without stuffing the stat sheet. His defense and passing continue to impress me. He gets down the court quickly and will be a valuable piece for this team all year.
The other starter is 6-foot-1 guard Jestin Porter. He has a quick release on a somewhat odd-looking flat shot. He is going to have nights where he goes off for 20+ and part of that is because he isn’t shy about letting shots fly. He was 3-11 with 8 3-point attempts. He’ll be frustrating at times, but this squad needs a guard like that because Dillon Hunter isn’t an elite shooter. While they have a lot of players who can shoot the 3 somewhat well, but don’t have anyone like Chase Hunter or Jaeden Zackery from last year. Porter will likely lead the team in made 3-pointers.
Ace Buckner had 11 points and 3 assists. He continues to be one of the most impressive offensive options on this team. With him and Welling coming off the bench, this team is certainly deeper than a year ago. Butta Johnson is another strong guard who comes off the bench and can shoot and attack the basket. He had 7 points.
The true freshmen, Zac Foster and Chase Thompson, didn’t have big nights. Foster had 5 assists but also went 0-5 with 4 fouls. He has a lot of upside but seems to move faster than he can make decisions. Chase Thompson doesn’t look overmatched but hasn’t flashed yet. I love their potential and could see them contributing as soon as this year, but these aren’t among the top 7 guys in the rotation. Redshirt freshman Dallas Thomas also played and had 5 points.
Overall, it was another impressive night for a squad that is aiming to make the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row. It would be an impressive feat given all the offseason losses, but Clemson is now 2-0 and #24 in the KenPom rankings so certainly a reasonable one.
