Old and new faces coming together for Clemson's 3-0 start

Chase Hunter has scored in double figures each game this season with multiple 3-pointers per game. (Photo: Ken Ruinard / USATODAY)

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Wednesday, November 13 2024

CLEMSON - Viktor Lakhin sat in the confines of Littlejohn’s media room, attempting to break down the “how” of Clemson’s second-half comeback over Eastern Kentucky.

Along the way, Lakhin’s explanation went on a tangent of being unable to explain it to “9-5 jobs.”

He may not have known exactly where his analogy was headed, but one thing continues to become more evident: this Clemson team continues to improve.

On Tuesday night, the Tigers faced stiff resistance early and often from Eastern Kentucky, and at one point, the Colonels led by four points.

According to Lakhin’s breakdown, not much was spoken, but there was a distinct understanding of what needed to be done. Clearly, those in the huddle understood each other. Clemson would go on a 25-8 run in the final 13 minutes, putting a stamp on the Tigers’ third win of the season.

With such a brand new roster heading into the 2024-25 season, mingling new faces with old might be a time-consuming task. Slowly but surely, that togetherness appears to have displayed itself on the court.

One moment came between that old and new as Ian Schieffelin snagged a rebound for second-chance points. Wide open beyond the arc were both Jaeden Zackery and Chase Hunter.

Despite being at the top of the arc and holding an easier shot, Zackery pointed to Hunter to defer the shot to him. Schieffelin obliged. Hunter drilled it.

Moments such as those go a long way in building the on-court chemistry that will be crucial as the games continue to grow in difficulty. Early on, that trust is woven well.

If you ask Zackery, the group coming together at the first sign of adversity will build strong continuity.

"Honestly, that second half showed what we're capable of because in the first two games, we were strong in the first half, and the second half, we weren't as much in this game,” Zackery said. “We weren't as strong in the first half, but we showed that we can close games out and battle through adversity. We were down four, and then we had two quick steals of three and kind of came back. So I feel like that there kind of just showed how we're able in close games to battle through in the second half, kind of just lean on each other and just, it's like a brotherhood, just lean on each other and be able to finish at the end of the game.”

The brotherhood in question looks different from last year, losing faces like PJ Hall and Joseph Girard, who were crucial to Clemson’s Elite Eight run.

That new group faced its first challenge, and with new obstacles like Boise State and Kentucky on the horizon, Brad Brownell felt like the second-half pressure was a necessary bump to overcome.

"Yeah, it's good to be in games like these where you have to execute and deal with some game pressure, and these games are always a little harder on the high-major team when the game gets close and late because the pressure is to win,” Brownell said. “You're supposed to win, and there's no pressure on the opponent, and so those guys kind of play with a free mind, and sometimes those guys can shoot well on games like that when you're not supposed to win you can just kind of let it go a little bit. So dealing with that is a good thing for our guys. And we've got some older guys that have been through some wars. I thought they showed that tonight.”

Tuesday was one small step to get back to where this team hopes to be.

No words were spoken as the comeback was on, and plenty were said as they enjoyed explaining the how of it all. The analogies may border on confusion, but so far, there’s nothing that would elude to chaos on the court.

As the team reached 3-0, there were certainly plenty of smiles within a growing unit. As the season continues to paint a clearer picture, there may be much more to grin about.