For the last couple of seasons, Clemson’s frontcourt has relied heavily on one of the more consistent bigs in the ACC.
Aamir Simms broke out during his junior season, averaging 13 points and 7.2 rebounds. It was good enough for him to declare for the NBA Draft following the 2019-20 season, but the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder ultimately opted to withdraw his name from the draft and return to Clemson for a senior season. He averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds last season.
By the time it ended, Simms had eclipsed 1,000 points for his career. He was a key cog in the Tigers making two of the last three NCAA Tournaments, but now Clemson coach Brad Brownell is tasked with replacing the production left behind by Simms, who’s now with the New York Knicks.
For Brownell, that starts with PJ Hall.
“Really think it’s his time to take a big step,” Brownell said. “Excited to watch him have the opportunity. He’s worked really hard. His body looks much better. Physically, I think he’s in a better place than he was a year ago. Mentally, he’s excited about the opportunity.”
The Tigers have other frontcourt options. Senior forward Hunter Tyson averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19 games (12 starts) a season ago. Youngstown State transfer Naz Bohannon was a 1,200-point scorer at his previous school and should step in as an immediate contributor, and Ben Middlebrooks could get some minutes as a 6-10, 232-pound freshman.
But none of them came to Clemson with as much hype as Hall, the state’s top-ranked recruit coming out of Spartanburg’s Dorman High School last year. A consensus top-60 recruit nationally, Hall bided his time as a true freshman, appearing in 21 games off the bench. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in almost 10 minutes per game.
But Brownell said he’s been pleased with the progress Hall has made after a season in which Clemson went 16-8 overall and 10-6 in ACC play before falling to Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If the Tigers are going to repeat that success or perhaps improve on it, Hall will have to do his part in what’s shaping up to be his biggest role yet in a Clemson uniform.
“He has to be productive. He’s got to take a big step forward, and I’m optimistic that he’ll do that,” Brownell said. “There’s no question the loss of Aamir hurts. We did a lot of things through him. We won’t do quite as many things through PJ right now, but he’s going to get a lot of touches and he’s going to have to make some plays for us. He’ll be excited about that, so he’s certainly an important guy.”
Hall and the rest of the Tigers will take the court for the first time this season Monday in an exhibition against Georgia Southwestern State. Clemson will begin the regular season Nov. 9 against Presbyterian at Littlejohn Coliseum.
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