Clemson’s backcourt is the spot to watch as Brad Brownell pieces together another NCAA Tournament team, and the biggest question is simple: who takes over the ball?
If Dillon Hunter is cleared to return for a fifth season, the answer probably writes itself. He gave Clemson a steady hand last year, averaging 7.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-best 3.0 assists per game as a fourth-year player. But his status for this season is still up in the air, and that uncertainty leaves Brownell sorting through a real competition for the point guard job.
CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter projects Cole Certa, Liutauras Lelevicius, David Fuchs and Dylan Faulkner as part of Clemson’s starting five, but the more interesting call is in the backcourt. Trotter has Ace Buckner - or Hunter, if he’s eligible - ahead of Zac Foster at the lead guard spot. That matters because Foster and forward Carter Welling are both working back from injury, while Harris Reynolds arrives with a lot of buzz.
Reynolds is the newcomer who could change the shape of this group. He just powered St.
Pius X Catholic in Atlanta to a perfect 33-0 season and a state championship, the Golden Lions’ first title in some 68 years. Out of high school, he chose Clemson over Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Saint Louis, South Florida and VCU.
That kind of résumé gives the Tigers another layer to work with.
The path forward depends on how quickly Reynolds can contribute and whether Buckner and Foster can close the gap on Hunter if the veteran can’t play this winter. Buckner is entering his third year in the program, Foster his second and Reynolds his first, and in the best-case scenario Clemson could end up with one of the ACC’s deepest backcourts.
That’s the upside for Brownell. The downside is just as clear: if Hunter isn’t available and the others aren’t ready, nobody has truly seized control yet.
Either way, this is the kind of problem Clemson wants. The Tigers should be in good shape for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament under Brownell, whose work has lifted a program that long underachieved by raising its floor. Now the challenge is making sure the backcourt matches the rest of the roster.
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