Tag: Alex Hemenway

Clemson guard enters the transfer portal, losses continue for the Tigers

Clemson guard Alex Hemenway has entered the transfer portal.

Brad Brownell and the Clemson men’s basketball team have been dealt hefty losses in the transfer portal, with another Tiger entering his name on Thursday. 

According to multiple reports, Clemson graduate transfer Alex Hemenway has entered the transfer portal. A long time Tiger, Hemenway spent five seasons at Clemson, averaging 5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. 

During the 2023-24 season, Hemenway averaged 5.2 points, 0.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, shooting 38.1% from the field. A solid contributor, Hemenway looks for opportunities elsewhere as his collegiate career comes nears its end. 

He is the fourth Tiger to enter the transfer portal, joining Jack Clark, RJ Godfrey , and Josh Beadle.

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 11

One representative from Notre Dame this week.

With Notre Dame taking final exams, now seems like a good time to look at the best of the Irish’s conference. If the Irish are to have success this season, these are players who are most likely to challenge that prospect. Specifically, here’s who leads major categories:

What We Heard: Hemenway, Godfrey

Offensively in Clemson’s 72-41 win over Loyola Maryland on Monday night, a key player for the Tigers was senior guard Alex Hemenway, who had a perfect field-goal percentage, scoring on all five of his shots including three 3-pointers. When asked …

Offensively in Clemson’s 72-41 win over Loyola Maryland on Monday night, a key player for the Tigers was senior guard Alex Hemenway, who had a perfect field-goal percentage, scoring on all five of his shots including three 3-pointers.

When asked about his offensive success, Hemenway, who finished with 13 points, responded, “My teammates do a great job of finding me when I’m open and just getting that first look going down, and it’s just great for shooters like me to see that.”

Highlighting the depth of Clemson’s bench, freshman RJ Godfrey scored his first career points, continuing on to finish the game with seven points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

“It was great,” Godfrey said. “We practice together every day, fight against the starters every day. It was real fun running with Dill (Dillon Hunter) and Wiggs (Chauncey Wiggins).”

Godfrey continued on to share the impact of graduate forward Hunter Tyson.

“We talk about coverages and plays every single day, even after practice,” Godfrey said. “So I would say that’s my mentor right now.”

As a freshman, Godfrey believes he is still progressing as a player.

“I still have a lot more to learn and a lot more to grow from,” he said.

One of the biggest things is details.

“Positioning, especially on defense,” he said. “I’m still just trying to get in the right position every possession and just play hard every possession.”

With tournament play coming up, Hemenway discussed the Tigers’ confidence in the momentum being built.

“We’ve been working hard in practice,” he said. “Defensively, offensively…Offense has been pretty good the past few games, and just cleaning up a lot of things on the defensive end.”

Defensively, the Tigers were dominant Monday night, allowing only 14 points in the first half while holding Loyola to a 28.8 shooting percentage for the game and causing 18 turnovers that the Tigers transformed into 16 points.

Clemson (4-1) faces off against Iowa at 7 p.m. Friday on CBS Sports Network in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.

Hemenway sets career high in win over USC Upstate

Clemson’s senior guard from Indiana, Alex Hemenway, was a big asset for the Tigers’ basketball team in their second win of the season. The Tigers defeated USC Upstate 81-70 on Tuesday in Littlejohn Coliseum. During the game, Hemenway scored a …

Clemson’s senior guard from Indiana, Alex Hemenway, was a big asset for the Tigers’ basketball team in their second win of the season. The Tigers defeated USC Upstate 81-70 on Tuesday in Littlejohn Coliseum. 

During the game, Hemenway scored a career-high 18 points, was 7-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 on 3-pointers.

Hemenway was excited in the postgame press conference about his play but quickly attributed his success Tuesday night to his teammates being able to find him in the right place at the right time. 

“It felt great,” Hemenway said following the game. “I mean, credit to my teammates, they did an amazing job of finding me when I was open, and once you see the first one go in the basket just grows.” 

Coming off only hitting one 3-pointer in the loss to South Carolina on Nov. 11, Hemenway took all the blame for not being as aggressive on the court as he should have been.

Head coach Brad Brownell told Hemenway following the loss to South Carolina that he needed to work on his confidence on the court.

“He (Brownell) said to just be more confident, just trusting in your work,” Hemenway said. “We’ve worked harder than we’ve ever worked in our lives this summer to be able to have the year that we want to have this year, so just trusting that work, trusting the progress and just going out there and performing.

“It’s hard whenever they are around you all game, but it’s just finding your spots, and then like I said my teammates do a great job of finding me when I am open… I’m just there as a reciprocate of a great pass.”

A big topic tonight was the recent return of center PJ Hall. Hemenway knows that being able to have Hall out there adds a whole new dimension to the team because he is such a threat down low for an opposing defense.

“Teams have to make the decision whether they want to give up the 3 or whether they want to go one-on-one with Hall on the post,” Hemenway said, “so it’s been really huge when we’ve been able to have him in the game because he’s proved he is a scoring factor down low, and that helps us to be able to make plays, and to get in the passing lane.”

The Tigers are back in Littlejohn Coliseum this Friday, Nov. 18 to take on Bellarmine. The game is slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. on ACCNX.

Balanced effort gets Clemson hoops back in win column

It was the guards early. The bigs got involved later. That balance helped Clemson’s men’s basketball team get back in the win column Tuesday. Chase Hunter led the way with 20 points while Alex Hemenway added a career-high 18, helping the Tigers …

It was the guards early. The bigs got involved later. 

That balance helped Clemson’s men’s basketball team get back in the win column Tuesday.

Chase Hunter led the way with 20 points while Alex Hemenway added a career-high 18, helping the Tigers bounce back from their loss to rival South Carolina late last week with an 81-70 win over USC Upstate at Littlejohn Coliseum. Four players finished in double figures for the Tigers, who shot 56.4% from the floor.

Brevin Galloway made 4 of 6 shots from the field to chip in 15 points, the most in a Clemson uniform so far for the Boston College transfer. In his second game back from offseason knee surgery, PJ Hall again came off the bench and finished with 13 points and two rebounds in 21 minutes after leading the Tigers with 15 points against the Gamecocks.

Meanwhile, Hall’s frontcourt mate, Hunter Tyson, scored all of his eight points in the second half of a game Clemson led by as many as 19. It was Clemson’s backcourt, though, that was humming early.

The Tigers’ 41 points by halftime were the most they’ve scored in a half this season thanks in large part to Hunter, Hemenway and Galloway. They combined to score all but seven of those points. Hemenway made four of his first six shots en route to 10 first-half points while Hunter and Galloway each had 12 at the break.

The trio combined to shoot 11 of 17 from the field to help the Tigers make nearly 54% of their shots in the first 20 minutes. Clemson held Upstate to 41.7% shooting in the opening half and led by as many as 13 before halftime.

Upstate trimmed the deficit to a couple of possessions late in the half before Hunter sank a corner 3 just before the buzzer. Tyson started the second half with his first bucket of the night, igniting a quick 6-2 spurt for the Tigers that pushed their lead back to double digits at 47-34 with 17 minutes, 49 seconds left.

Jordan Gainey had a game-high 24 points for Upstate (1-2), which shot better than 52% from the field.

This story will be updated.

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Alex Hemenway talks improvements, changes and expectations for this season

Clemson senior guard Alex Hemenway sat down with the press on Tuesday ahead of the team’s first game of the season against The Citadel that is just a little over a week away. Following a tough overtime loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament to …

Clemson senior guard Alex Hemenway sat down with the press on Tuesday ahead of the team’s first game of the season against The Citadel that is just a little over a week away.

Following a tough overtime loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament to end the 2021-22 season, the Tigers have spent the offseason preparing and trying to improve in all aspects of the game. More specifically,  Hemenway says he has been trying to improve his game “everywhere.” 

“Just kind of being more than a shooter, that’s really what we’ve hit on most every offseason,” Hemenway said. “Just making sure when I put the ball on the ground I am able to make plays for other guys, just making sure the handle is tight…of course keeping the shooting fine-tuned but just getting stronger and really just making the whole game intertwined into one.”

In the offseason the Tigers welcomed a number of new players to the team, including graduate transfer Brevin Galloway. With many new and old faces, the team was able to connect and grow more during its trip to France this past August. 

Galloway spoke on the adversity the team faced in the final game in Nice, France, and how it handled an extremely hostile environment.

“Our last game we were in a very heated battle and adversity was presented to us, and the way we responded was crazy,” Galloway said on Tuesday, “and I was impressed with how well the guys did, especially the younger guys being in that environment. I think going forward, that anytime we’re in a hostile environment we’ll be able to survive… because we’re a brotherhood and we’re a family.”

Hemenway agreed.

“That last game solidified how our team is a team,” Hemenway said. “I can tell with the guys that we have this year, it is going to be a great team, and a lot of us play for each other and one another. That was one of the big things that I took away from France.”

During Clemson’s time in France, the team also had the opportunity to visit the D-Day invasion of 1944 that occurred during World War II. 

“It was very impactful,” he said. “Just being able to experience that in person is a whole other experience in itself. You can see pictures and all that kind of stuff, but once you really get to that spot and realize all the sacrifices that all of those people made at our age and even younger, it’s just a really impactful experience.”

With the season on the horizon, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are holding Rock the John this Thursday in Littlejohn Coliseum starting at 7:30 p.m. 

The men’s basketball team is set to face The Citadel at home on Nov. 7 for its first game of the season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Clemson’s trip to France about more than just basketball

Clemson’s men’s basketball team’s trip out of the country won’t be like the last one. In 2019, the Tigers traveled to Italy representing Team USA in the World University Games. There was the usual routine of practicing, scouting and game planning, …

Clemson’s men’s basketball team’s trip out of the country won’t be like the last one.

In 2019, the Tigers traveled to Italy representing Team USA in the World University Games. There was the usual routine of practicing, scouting and game planning, which paid off as Clemson won gold that summer.

There won’t be any of that when Clemson arrives in France later today for its latest foreign tour.

“We don’t treat the games the same,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “There’s no scouting. We don’t practice before. We literally just go over and play. Part of that is on purpose because I want some of the trip to really be the cultural experience.”

Clemson will spend 11 days in the country with stops in Paris, Normandy, Nice and Monaco. The Tigers will play just three games during that time, but with five newcomers, including four true freshmen, spending the summer getting integrated during practice, guards Chase Hunter and Alex Hemenway and senior forward Hunter Tyson said they’re all eager to see how the pieces come together during the Tigers’ first tastes of competition against other teams.

“Just to see how we play there and just see how we gel together,” said Hunter, one of seven holdovers from last year’s team. “We’ve been doing a lot of stuff with each other (in practice), so playing against some other competition will be good for us.”

But there will be plenty of down time in between games, and Brownell and his players plan to take advantage of it by doing plenty of sightseeing and visiting some famous landmarks. One of them needs no introduction.

“I’m excited to see the Eiffel Tower, but I’m petrified of heights,” Brownell said. “So I will not be going to the top of the tower. That’s 100% assured.”

When it comes to historical significance, though, there’s one spot that Brownell and some of his players have at the top of their list. The team will get a chance to visit the beaches of Normandy, where American troops joined Allied forces in June 1944 for the D-Day invasion during World War II. It’s still the largest seaborne invasion in history.

“That’s going to be unbelievable, and I think that will be an incredible experience for all of us,” Brownell said. “It’s something we need to do a little more historical background on.”

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial located there contains the graves of nearly 9,400 soldiers and more than 1,500 names inscribed on the Walls of the Missing, most of whom died during the D-Day landings and ensuing operations, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

“I know we’re going to be able to go to the beaches of Normandy, and I think that’s really going to mean a lot to see that there were guys our age that were storming the beach back on D-Day,” Tyson said. “Just to see all their graves and see the historic site, I think that’s going to mean a lot.”

Hemenway echoed his teammate’s sentiment.

“I’m a big historical guy, and I love seeing all of these sites and all of these historical venues,” Hemenway said. “I think it will really put it into perspective just how significant it is that dudes our age were going and giving their lives for our country. I think that will be a really neat experience.”

Brownell said he’s looking forward to using the trip as an opportunity to grow closer with his players off the court.

“When you go have these kinds of life experiences with your players, you have a much better chance to bond, grow, get to know them better and spend more quality time with them,” Brownell said. “It’s not just about basketball. I think that’s really important now as well.”

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Brownell gives early assessment of Clemson’s retooled roster

Clemson’s men’s basketball still has one last scholarship available for next season’s roster, though there’s no guarantee at this point the Tigers are going to use it. In other words, Brad Brownell largely knows what he has to work with from a …

Clemson’s men’s basketball still has one last scholarship available for next season’s roster, though there’s no guarantee at this point the Tigers are going to use it.

In other words, Brad Brownell largely knows what he has to work with from a personnel standpoint. He is entering his 13th season in charge of Clemson’s program with a roster that features its share of turnover as the Tigers try to get back to the NCAA Tournament after a 10th-place finish in the ACC this past season.

Clemson is welcoming five signees to campus this summer, three of which are guards that will be part of a revamped backcourt after the Tigers lost David Collins (eligibility exhausted), Nick Honor (transfer) and Al-Amir Dawes (transfer) off last season’s team. The group is headlined by Boston College transfer Brevin Galloway and combo guard Dillon Hunter, the brother of current Tiger Chase Hunter.

There are also seven holdovers from last year’s squad, most notably the starting frontcourt tandem of Hunter Tyson and leading scorer PJ Hall. With the roster getting a head start in preparation for next season with an international trip to France looming in August, Brownell recently gave The Clemson Insider an early assessment of the group’s similarities and differences compared to last year’s team.

“It’ll be interesting to see what our team is like next year,” Brownell said. “I think we’ll still play through PJ a good bit because he’s one of the better players in the league.”

As a sophomore, Hall averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds as one of the ACC’s most improved players. He did it while playing through a fractured left foot that has since been surgically repaired.

Regardless of who’s handling the ball in the backcourt, Brownell said the Tigers will continue to make sure the 6-foot-10, 240-pound is involved on the interior, something Brownell didn’t feel like they did well enough in the early going last season. Hall averaged just 3.5 points in 9.8 minutes per game as a true freshman.

“That was one of the challenges of last year’s team was I think he emerged as a high-profile player and really our most talented, best player earlier than everyone anticipated, even myself,” Brownell said. “I thought it’d take him until the middle of December or Christmas to really become (that kind of player), but it didn’t. He was ready to go in November, and I think it was challenging for some other guys on our team to understand that here’s a guy that didn’t play much as a freshman, but he’s really our most talented player and we’ve got to do some things within the way we play to make sure he’s our No. 1 option.”

With Galloway, true freshman Chauncey Gibson and the Hunter brothers part of a backcourt that includes Alex Hemenway and redshirt freshman Josh Beadle, Brownell said Clemson will “still look to shoot the 3, try to share the basketball and play the right way.” As for how he expects next year’s team to differentiate, Brownell said having and keeping a clean bill of health will go a long way in determining that.

“We couldn’t do some things defensively that maybe we like to do because of PJ’s injury,” Brownell said. “He just wasn’t as mobile. … If he gets healthy, we can play a little bit different defensively if we want to.”

Brownell threw Tyson into that equation, too. Clemson’s fifth-year senior decided to return for one more season with the Tigers after missing eight ACC games with a broken collarbone this past season. Tyson still finished as Clemson’s fourth-leading scorer (10.0 points per game) and third-leading rebounder (5.5). 

“There was obviously a major dropoff when he wasn’t out there not only because of his points and rebounds but leadership and just his toughness. A captain,” Brownell said. “He’s a competitive guy that just brings a lot to our team, so having him back will be huge for us. I’m excited for him. He’s going to have a good year next year.”

Clemson holds off Virginia Tech, takes momentum into ACC Tournament

Clemson’s men’s basketball team became whole again Saturday. Now the Tigers are streaking into the ACC Tournament. Clemson closed out the regular season with a 63-59 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. PJ Hall returned from a …

Clemson’s men’s basketball team became whole again Saturday. Now the Tigers are streaking into the ACC Tournament.

Clemson closed out the regular season with a 63-59 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. PJ Hall returned from a two-week hiatus to lead four Tigers in double figures with 12 points while junior guard Alex Hemenway added 11 for Clemson, which will take a four-game winning streak into next week’s tournament in Brooklyn.

Clemson (16-15, 8-12 ACC) held its largest lead at 50-44 with 10:08 remaining after a 7-0 run capped by Ian Schieffelin’s jumper, but four free throws were the only points the Tigers mustered over the next 5 minutes and change. Hall ended the drought with a layup that gave Clemson a 56-54 lead with 3:57 left.

Buckets were hard to come by for both teams down the stretch with Clemson clinging to a 60-59 lead with just 44 ticks left after a pair of free throws by Tech’s Justyn Mutts. But senior forward Hunter Tyson sank a timely jumper to extend the Tigers’ lead, and Tech (19-12, 11-9) missed its last seven shots, including five 3-pointers, as Clemson matched its longest winning streak of the season.

Playing for the first time since reaggravating a foot injury against Louisville two weeks earlier, Hall scored just two points in four minutes in the first half before he got going in the second. The Tigers’ sophomore big got off nine shots, making five of them, and pulled down four rebounds in just 13 minutes.

It was the first time Hall and Tyson, who returned to the lineup earlier in the week after missing six games with a broken clavicle, were simultaneously available since Clemson’s win over Florida State on Feb. 2. That put two of the Tigers’ top three scorers on the floor together for the first time in more than a month.

But with Tyson struggling for most of the game (five points on 2 of 7 shooting in 25 minutes), Clemson got more significant contributions from its guards to help pick up the slack. Hemenway scored all of his points off the bench, finishing 4 of 4 from the field and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. Al-Amir Dawes and senior David Collins, playing his final game at Littlejohn, each chipped in 10 points for Clemson, which shot 43.8% from the field and 40% from 3-point range to deal a major blow to Tech’s NCAA Tournament at-large hopes.

The Hokies, who were paced by Nahiem Alleyne’s 17 points, had won three straight games and nine of their last 10 coming in.

This story will be updated.

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Perimeter shooting suddenly a ‘problematic’ trend for Clemson

PJ Hall did all he could to try to help Clemson stop the bleeding. The Tigers’ sophomore big, who has a strong case as the ACC’s most improved player this season, poured in more points than he ever has in his first two seasons in the men’s …

PJ Hall did all he could to try to help Clemson stop the bleeding.

The Tigers’ sophomore big, who has a strong case as the ACC’s most improved player this season, poured in more points than he ever has in his first two seasons in the men’s basketball program. Despite foot inflammation he’s dealt with for much of the season and being at the top of every opponent’s scouting report at this point, Hall still scored a career-high 28 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor and 12 of 13 shooting from the free-throw line Tuesday at Florida State.

“Obviously his efficiency in the offense (Tuesday) was fantastic,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of Hall, who’s averaging 21.2 points over the last five games. “I’m super proud of him. The kid is in a (walking) boot 90% of every day. He’s walking to games in boots. He’s giving us everything he has, and (Tuesday) he was special in terms of finishing plays.”

But, for multiple reasons, it was all for naught in an 81-80 loss to the Seminoles, which ran Clemson’s longest losing streak in five years to five games.

One was FSU guard RayQuan Evans, who scored 20.5 more points than his season average to match Hall’s 28 on a night when the Seminoles shot nearly 44% from the field and 42% from 3-point range (8 of 19). Throw in 17 points from forward Cam’Ron Fletcher, who came in averaging just 5.9 on the season, and it helped FSU overcome the absence of four of its top six scorers because of injuries.

Hall also didn’t get much help offensively from the backcourt, which has become a trend during Clemson’s skid. Junior guard Al-Amir Dawes bounced back from an 0-for-6 shooting performance against Notre Dame to score 18 points Tuesday, but the Tigers’ guards combined to make just 24.4% of their shots, which included a 23% clip from 3-point range.

Nick Honor and Chase Hunter combined to go 1 of 13 from the field. David Collins, back after his one-game suspension, shot 2 of 3 but missed his lone 3-point attempt.

“They’re not playing quite as well as I’d like or probably they’d like,” Brownell said. “There’s great effort, I thought. But we’re not making enough shots from the perimeter. And it’s problematic for us.”

Dawes, who shot 4 of 10 from beyond the arc, accounted for all but two of Clemson’s buckets from deep. In fact, Dawes is the only guard that’s made more than two 3-point shots in a game during the Tigers’ losing streak.

It’s uncharacteristic of Clemson, which still ranks fifth in the ACC in 3-point field-goal percentage (36.7). But the Tigers’ perimeter shooting has been a real struggle without stretch forward Hunter Tyson, who was shooting nearly 39% from 3 before breaking his clavicle in Clemson’s most recent win back on Feb. 2.

Clemson is shooting just 28.3% from 3-point range during its losing streak. The Tigers have gone three straight games with six made 3s or fewer. They haven’t made more than eight since sinking 11 3s against Duke on Jan. 25, which was seven games ago.

Brownell admitted there have been “a few bad ones.” But, for the most part, he said getting quality looks from deep hasn’t been the issue.

“The last two games (against Notre Dame and Duke), we have five and six turnovers, and we only score in the low 60s because we don’t make enough shots,” Brownell said. “It’s hard. It’s not like we’re not executing things. That’s the frustrating part. … When we go back and analyze it, we’re getting the ball to places where we like, and we’re just not making enough shots to be consistent to win.”

Clemson’s final possession against FSU was a prime example. After Evans converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Seminoles the lead with 14.4 seconds left, Brownell called a timeout with 4 ticks remaining once Clemson got the ball past halfcourt to draw up one last play. 

Hunter inbounded the ball to Hall near the wing. As Hall tried to drive toward the basket, three defenders converged on him, leaving Alex Hemenway alone near the corner. Hall found him for a clean look at the buzzer, but Hemenway’s shot bounced off the front of the rim, capping a 2-of-8 shooting night from deep for a 39.5% 3-point shooter.

“We had obviously our best shooter coming open,” Brownell said. “Alex got a wide-open shot. It’s as good a shot as you’re going to get under the circumstances. He makes it a lot, and unfortunately it was short and didn’t go.”

Clemson’s next opportunity to end its late-season slide will come Saturday at Louisville. More consistent complementary play from the backcourt would go a long way in helping the Tigers’ chances.

“We have to do better,” Brownell said.

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