The Clemson men's basketball team faces more questions this season than the average trio of contestants on Jeopardy! The most pressing problems facing the Tigers, however, will be inexperience and finding players to step up in the wake of the departure of two of the finest players in the school's history.
Clemson graduated four seniors who posted 79 victories over the last four years, making it the second most productive class in school history. Last year the Tigers recorded a 20-plus win season, the first since the 1996-97 campaign.
But the true test facing Clemson Coach Larry Shyatt will be replacing All-ACC players Terrell McIntyre and Harold Jamison.
McIntyre has been the staple of the Clemson program over the last four years. He walks away from his career owning 16 school records, along with an ACC scoring title last year.
Sophomore Will Solomon most likely will replace McIntyre at the point guard position. Solomon was a solid contributor off the bench last season - he averaged 6.3 points per game participating in 34 contests. Solomon started six games last year for the Tigers with stand out performances against Duke and Georgia Tech.
Sophomore Dustin Braddick is the top candidate to join Solomon in the backcourt. While Braddick does not have a wealth of experience, Shyatt said he likes Braddick's competitiveness and fire on the defensive end. He also said he hopes Braddick will be a defensive workhorse, taking charges and shutting down the opposition on the perimeter.
Replacing Jamison doesn't look to be an easy task either. Along with finishing fourth in the league in field goal percentage, Jamison led the ACC in rebounding last year. He is the first player in Clemson history to lead the team in rebounding and field goal percentage for four straight seasons.
Looking to pick up the slack is fifth-year senior Adam Jurkunas and 7-foot-1 center Adam Allenspach.
Along with Jurkunas and Allenspach, Clemson sports a significant amount of beef in the post. Chucky Gilmore, Arturus Javtokas and Tomas Nagys will give the Tigers an array of big men in the frontcourt.
"We well could have seven players over 260 pounds next year, so hopefully we're long and large," Shyatt said. "We'll have to do something to take advantage of our strength and size."
"It gives us a different look," he said. "Having three guys in there at 6-foot-8 and above gives us the option of going to a zone on defense ... maybe physically wear some people out."
Along with increasing its size, Clemson will look to play the outside game. Jurkunas is an inside and outside threat; the 6-foot-9 forward is a legitimate threat from three-point range, shooting 38 percent from behind the arc a year ago.
Allenspach will need to cover the boards this season to provide an inside force similar to the one Jamison provided for the Tigers last year. As a sophomore he averaged 4.8 ppg along with 3.5 rebounds. If the Tigers are to be competitive, Allenspach likely will need to double his numbers from a year ago, and play a more active role in securing second chances for Jurkunas and Solomon on the perimeter.
Since Clemson is so young, some of their freshmen will have to play at a high level from start to finish. Pasha Bains in the backcourt and Tomas Nagys in the frontcourt probably will see the most playing time out of the Tiger newcomers.
Freshman Ed Scott seemed to be in the running for significant playing time, but he broke a bone in his foot in practice Oct. 26. He will be forced to play with a pin in his foot the entire year, and could miss the team's opener against East Tennessee State Nov. 19.
In all likelihood Clemson will be somewhere near the cellar of the ACC this season, but with a team full of freshmen and unproven underclassmen, the Tigers are looking at the 1999-2000 season as a challenge in which they hope to turn some heads.
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