exhibition observations

Nov 2, 2024, 1:53 AM

Based on the lineup and substitution patterns we saw on Wednesday, I'm guessing the depth chart and position usage for this team will probably look like this:

starters: PG: Chase Hunter, SG: Jaeden Zackery, SF: Chauncey Wiggins, PF: Ian Schieffelin, C: Viktor Lakhin

2nd string: PG: Dillon Hunter, SG: Jake Heidbreder, SF: Asa Thomas, PF: Myles Foster, C: Christian Reeves

3rd string: PG: Del Jones, SF: Dallas Thomas

With all due respect to Ace Buckner, Jackson Roberts, Andrew Latiff, Matt Kelly, and Daniel Nauseef, I doubt that any of them will be seeing any meaningful minutes this season. Buckner didn't dress out, so I wouldn't be surprised if the plan is for him to redshirt this year.

Notes: As others have said, Chase and Zackery are essentially interchangeable at the 2 guard spots. Both are athletic dribblers who can handle the point.

They also seemed comfortable bringing in Foster to replace Lakhin several times, so we may see more of the 2 power forwards in the game at the same time to cover both the 4 and the 5 when Lakhin comes out, similar to how we mostly saw Godfrey come in for PJ last year even though he wasn't a true center. I actually thought Reeves looked pretty good, but Foster is older, and probably a more impactful player at present, so I can see why the coaches would want to give him additional opportunities to get minutes at both the 4 and 5. Either way, from a depth perspective, I love that there's 2 true centers and 2 true power forwards on the roster this year, all 4 of whom should be good enough to at least be an option in meaningful games. The team really only had 2 power forwards and 1 playable center last year (with all due respect to Bas Leyte), and we saw how that lack of depth became a problem at times, so hopefully that additional big man can make a positive difference this season.

The guy no one seems to be talking about who caught my eye was Asa Thomas. I thought he looked very impressive in the backup small forward role. Wiggins got the spotlight (and deservedly so), but Asa went 3-4 from the field, 2-3 from 3, to score 8 points in just 11 minutes of play. He also had an assist and 2 rebounds. His movement, passing, and shot all looked crisp, and he made intelligent plays. I am by no means suggesting he should supplant Chauncey at the 3; I just think a lot of folks forgot about Asa last year, and I believe he could be a much bigger contributor on this team than people expect.

For the people who've been asking about the replacing the losses, I think it's a mixed bag. Just to be blunt: there are no individual "replacements" for PJ Hall and Joeseph Girard, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. With players as great as they are, it's very uncommon to simply find one other player who can be just as good immediately, especially considering their unique skillsets. There aren't any players on this year's team who really resemble those 2 guys, and they shouldn't try to.

But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Let's go through them position by position. Viktor Lakhin is not PJ Hall. He's probably not going to be a threat from 3 or an all-conference level center. But what he can do is make good passes, provide size in the middle, and score efficiently in the paint. If he does those things well, the team should be in great shape.

Thinking about the other big men, once again, there is no star like PJ Hall in this group. And Godfrey is gone. But I would argue that the combined group of Schieffelin, Lakhin, Foster, and Reeves is better and deeper as a unit from top to bottom than that of Hall, Schieffelin, Godfrey, and Leyte. That's the key to this whole thing. You can't "replace" guys like Hall individually. But what you can do is make up for it with contributions from several different good players who work well together as a team, probably with a different style than what worked well with the star.

Jack Clark is also gone, but he was always intended to be a stopgap, and I think the signs are there that Chauncey Wiggins has taken the next step and is ready to hold down the small forward position like we had hoped. His offense looked great on Wednesday, and I thought he looked much more confident and involved as a primary playmaker. Of course, it was one exhibition game against Augusta, so I don't want to get too carried away. But let's be real; offense has never been the concern with him. As I mentioned earlier, I also think Asa Thomas will be able to contribute offensively at this position. The real question is going to be if either of them can play competent defense. That could be one of the most crucial questions of the season, and probably what will determine whether we miss Jack Clark or not.

Josh Beadle has also departed, and his main strengths were quickness, good ball-handling, and scrappy defense as a reserve point guard. But with the additions of Jaeden Zackery and Del Jones, as well as the returns of the Hunter brothers, I think the team should be pretty well covered in terms of quick guards who can dribble and play good defense. So hopefully that won't be much of a loss.

I think the greatest tipping point here will be shooting guard. Girard and Hemenway are both gone. You're not going to find another guy who can shoot it like Joe on this team, and probably in all of college basketball. The guy was just that good. As crazy as it sounds, Hemenway might have actually had a better pure shot even than Joe, but he was much less athletic and a worse dribbler, so in reality he wasn't nearly as prolific a scorer as JG3 was because he couldn't get himself open looks the way that Joe could. And as we all know, he got hurt a lot, so his actual impact could be questioned in that regard as well. But regardless, those are 2 really great shooters who aren't coming back this season and don't have comparable replacements on this year's team. So what will the Tigers do?

Once again, it has to be a group effort. I think the most pivotal players in terms of shooting success will be Chase, Chauncey, Heidbreder, Schieff, and maybe Zackery. We've seen Chase be both red-hot and ice-cold before in his career, and at times last season it felt like he wasn't very involved as a scorer, especially early in the year. With Girard and PJ gone, he needs to get his points this season, and he needs to be consistent, inside and out. He probably needs to be at least in the top 2 on the team for scoring average.

I already talked about Wiggins, but once again, he's going to be in a bigger role this year too. He's already shown some great flashes offensively; now he needs to become one of the main scorers as well. And like Chase, he needs to do it more consistently this year. His upside is massive, and he might well be the most talented player on the team.

We haven't seen Jake Heidbreder play in a full year, and never for Clemson, but don't be fooled: this guy is for real. He averaged over 14 points per game in the Mountain West 2 years ago, and was 3rd-team all conference. And remember, the MW is essentially on par with the power conferences in basketball nowadays. He's not the shot that Girard is (nobody is), but he is still a very good shooter. And what's important to understand is that he's a different type of player than Girard and Hemenway. He's not just a spot-shooter guard. He's actually more of a hybrid between a shooting guard and a small forward, so he has some advantages that Girard and Hemenway don't. He's taller and more athletic than I think most people realize, so he should also be able to dribble, drive inside, and shoot over defenders some. This way he can do more than just be an outside shooter, which will hopefully create more respect and room for his open shot when he wants to take it. But he's another guy I think really needs to shoot well and be a prominent scorer for this team.

We all know what Schieff does well, and a lot of it isn't actually scoring points himself. But with PJ gone, he needs to work in more of his own scoring this season, and he and Brownell have said as much. He didn't take long shots much last year (not his role), but when he did, he was actually pretty accurate. I'm not saying he should start chucking 3's, but Schieff continuing to shoot accurately as he hopefully starts to take more of his own shots is going to be another key. I think it would be great if he could be top 3 or 4 on the team in points per game.

I don't know much about Zackery's offense, but I don't think it's something he's known for. He's quick, athletic, a good dribbler, and he plays good perimeter defense. I don't think he's a great shot. In over 16 minutes played in the exhibition, he only attempted 2 field goals (both 2's) and went 1-2. He did make both of his free throws. What will be interesting with him as a starting guard is that he and Girard are almost polar opposites, so that will be quite a change. Again, it's not all bad, because the defense, ball-handling, and quickness should all be much better. But the shot is what's taking a big downgrade. The reason I'm including Jaeden in this is because I just think as a starting guard he needs to provide something in terms of scoring. It doesn't have to be a lot. He doesn't need to lead the team in points. He doesn't need to take a bunch of logo 3's. He just needs to provide some consistent level of his own offense, at least enough so that the opponent has to respect him and can't just leave him open. He did average over 10 points per game last year at BC, so I believe it's reasonable to expect he can do this. But that's why I think included him as my last key shooter in the group effort to replace Girard.

So that's what I think this year's team needs to do to be successful. Again, the biggest questions in my mind are:
1.) Can Chase, Chauncey, and Jake shoot well and be prominent scorers?
2.) Can Chauncey emerge as an offensive star and play competent defense?
3.) Can Schieff and Jaeden shoot well enough to be mid-level scorers and be respected by defenses?
4.) Can the quartet of big men be productive as a unit inside?

Overall, this team may not have the star power that last year's did. But they do have better depth, and they might actually have a better team overall. And if their playstyle corresponds with that, I think they could do very well. Go Tigers!

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