CLEMSON BASKETBALL

Blossomgame will return for his senior season
Blossomgame will return for his senior season

Blossomgame makes his decision on the NBA


by - Assoc. Editor -

CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson standout forward Jaron Blossomgame announced that he will return for his senior season at a press conference at Clemson on Wednesday afternoon.

"I appreciate everything Coach Brownell and staff have done for me throughout this process, and I feel that the best decision for me at this time is to come back for my senior year at Clemson,” Blossomgame said. “We’ve got a strong team coming back, and I’m excited to open a new Littlejohn Coliseum. This was a very difficult decision, but I’m at peace with it."

Blossomgame was named first-team All-ACC and Most Improved Player by the league’s head coaches and media last season. He averaged 18.6 points per game, the highest average by a Tiger since 2000-01.

"Jaron wants to be a first-round draft pick, and in some ways that’s why he’s coming back," Brownell said. “But at the same time he loves it here, he knows the type of team we can have next season, and feels there are bright things in our program for our team and for himself. We supported Jaron with whatever he decided to do, but obviously we’re excited he’s coming back for his senior year."

With Blossomgame's return next season it will be the first year that Clemson will have a returning 1st team All-ACC player in football, basketball, and baseball according to SID Tim Bourret.

His NBA combine measurables were impressive for the redshirt junior standout.

The Alpharetta, GA native had the following physical measurables at the NBA event: 8' 6" standing reach, 6'10" wingspan, 6' 7.25" height with no shoes, 213.6 pounds, 5.25% body fat and 10-inch hand width. His agility testing scores were 11.53 seconds in the lane agility, 3.20 seconds in the 3/4 court sprint, 35 inches in the standing vert, and a max vertical of 41 inches.

Blossomgame excelled in the NBA combine’s five-on-five games, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds in a game-high 31 minutes in his first game. During the second game, he recorded a double-double in scoring 16 points while grabbing 10 defensive rebounds.

“First of all, I played on the perimeter," Blossomgame told TigerNet last week. "I played a little bit of forward just to show my versatility,” he said. “I played all three - I came off of ball screens, played out of transition, rebounded the ball well, shot the ball really well. That's one question a lot of people had. How well can I shoot the ball from NBA range? I ended up going 4-for-5 from three, so I think I showed my versatility by being able to play in transition, around the rim, outside. I can guard most positions, and I did guard Malcolm Brogdon - the UVA guard - and Ben Bentil from Providence, who's a bigger guy. I guarded Isaiah Whitehead. I showed the versatility of how I guard different players. I think I answered the questions that they had about me."

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