Tag: Clemson basketball recruiting

Newly offered recruit sees himself similar to current Clemson star

Following a weekend tournament down in nearby Spartanburg, Holy Family Catholic (Victoria, MN.) power forward Boden Kapke made his way to Clemson’s campus for an unofficial visit. He didn’t really think that an offer would be coming his way, in …

Following a weekend tournament down in nearby Spartanburg, Holy Family Catholic (Victoria, MN.) power forward Boden Kapke made his way to Clemson’s campus for an unofficial visit.

He didn’t really think that an offer would be coming his way, in fact, the 6-foot-11, 230-pound junior in the class of 2023, was just excited to see what Clemson had to offer.

Shortly after receiving an offer from Clemson while he was on campus, he spoke with The Clemson Insider in a phone interview.

“I was really excited,” Kapke said. “We talked for a really long time. We had some good questions and he had some great answers. We just liked what he had to say and we liked what their program has to offer.

“I loved the campus. It was a beautiful campus. I liked how you can just kind of walk everywhere there. We asked about what they liked to do offensively and (Coach Brownell) talked about that a lot. He said some really good things that we liked.”

Did anything stand out to him about his conversation with Brownell?

“One thing he said was being able to play on the move, which they like,” Kapke said, “and that’s something that I think that I can continue to improve on. Also, something that stood out was his values and the work ethic he likes and wants in his players. That kind of goes along with my family values, so that was something we liked.”

Kapke spent the majority of his time on campus Monday with director of recruiting Lucas McKay. Though, he did have an extensive conversation with Brownell that he mentioned prior and also had the chance to meet with assistant coach Dick Bender.

“Coach McKay has been in touch with me a lot,” he said, “We’ve been texting a lot. He showed us around a lot, which was really nice. I think we have a good relationship and I’m excited to grow that relationship.”

As far as his recruitment is concerned, Kapke said he’s still in the middle of evaluating all of his options. Earlier in the year, he made visits to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Iowa State and Loyola-Chicago. In addition to Clemson, Kapke currently holds offers from Wake Forest, Xavier and all of those programs mentioned, except Wisconsin.

With that being said, what are some of the more important factors that he’s looking for in a school at the next level?

“We got three things that are pretty important to us,” Kapke said. “We’re big on academics. We want it to be a strong academic school, but then we like obviously the basketball program, the fit and the coaches. And then like the college itself. If I didn’t play basketball, would I want to go to that college? Those are all important to us.”

Getting a better feel for Kapke and his game, he’s someone who makes a living inside but can stretch the floor at times within the flow of the offense. He offers versatility with room to grow, as every now and then he can step up and hit a three when called upon.

And yes, he has watched PJ Hall.

“When I’ve watched Clemson’s games, that’s one player I liked,” he said. “I’d 100% agree that’s a way that they could see me play there and that’s someone that I see as a similar player to me.”

— Photo for this article courtesy of Boden Kapke.

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Clemson offer ‘a really big deal’ for fast-rising 2023 combo guard

It’s hard to describe just how big this past weekend was for a guy like Solomon Ball. The 6-3, 185-pound combo guard out of St. James School (Sharpsburg, MD.) raised his stock with an impressive showing during the Nike EYBL in Orlando. Ball’s …

It’s hard to describe just how big this past weekend was for a guy like Solomon Ball.

The 6-3, 185-pound combo guard out of St. James School (Sharpsburg, MD.) raised his stock with an impressive showing during the Nike EYBL in Orlando. Ball’s performance this past weekend culminated in offers from Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Providence, Illinois and George Mason. 

“It was a big one,” he told The Clemson Insider regarding this past weekend’s performance. “I think most importantly, we won all four games and I was able to produce in all four games and that was a big contribution to why my recruitment just skyrocketed. It does change the path that I take and how long I may take to commit and stuff, but I’m just taking this stuff day by day. I think I had a pretty good performance. There’s always much more that I can do.

“I would’ve never imagined that it would’ve happened this fast. I’m just really blessed to be in its position. I know how much work I put in. I know how much work my parents put in and all my trainers to help me be where I am today.”

Ball was offered by Clemson assistant coach Dick Bender on Sunday, April 10.

“He just loved my willingness to win and my willingness to just compete, play hard, do whatever it takes for my team to win,” Ball said. “Although I shot over 50% for the session, there were parts in the game where my shot wasn’t falling and I would just crash the glass and do other stuff to help my team win and he really liked my effort.”

What was his reaction to finding out about the Clemson offer?

“It was pretty big because although I got Virginia Tech right before, getting Clemson after that, it was a really big deal,” he said. “It was right before one of my last games on Sunday when we played Team Herro and it just carried into my performance and I finished out the tournament. It just kept me motivated.”

This isn’t the start of Ball’s relationship with Clemson. He has been talking to assistant coaches Kareem Richardson and Lucas McKay since February.

“They’ve been recruiting me for a little bit,” Ball said. “It seemed like I was really building a relationship with them. It just shows that they really believe in me as a person and as a player.”

Ball says that he would definitely want to get down and visit Clemson and it’s just a matter of time at this point. 

“I’m definitely looking forward to building that relationship and I have three coaches on the coaching staff that I can text and just talk to if anything is ever up,” he said. “I just want to learn more about Clemson.”

Seeing how he would fit in at Clemson, Ball’s a fan of the way the Tigers utilize their guards. Clemson oftentimes expects a lot from its guards defensively, which tends to give them more freedom on the offensive end.

“That’s definitely my kind of style of play,” Ball said. “If a coach is relying on us to be able to play defense how a player’s capable of and just have that freedom on offense, it just gives a sign of building confidence and that confidence comes from the defensive end. When you’re giving effort on one side, you’re gonna put in the same amount of effort on the other.”

Ball describes himself as a three-level scorer, who has a 45-inch vertical and can guard positions 1-5 on the court.

He says that teams at the next level view him as a combo guard, who can guard just about anybody on the court. In his last game against Team Herro, the opposing team’s leading scorer was averaging 28 points per game and Ball held him to 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field.

— Photo courtesy of @soloball1 on Instagram

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Clemson lands big transfer commitment

Brad Brownell’s program has earned a commitment from a player in the transfer portal. After taking an official visit to Clemson this past weekend, Princeton’s Jaelin Llewellyn has committed to Clemson. The addition of Llewellyn, who was a first-team …

Brad Brownell’s program has earned a commitment from a player in the transfer portal.

After taking an official visit to Clemson this past weekend, Princeton’s Jaelin Llewellyn has committed to Clemson.

The addition of Llewellyn, who was a first-team all-Ivy League performer this past season, comes on the heels of both Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes electing to enter the transfer portal, respectively.

The 6-2, 185-pounder was also one of the Ivy league’s top shooters last season, as he shot nearly 39% from beyond the arc and averaged 15.7 points in 28 games.

In games against South Carolina, Minnesota and Oregon State – Princeton’s only three against Power Six competition – Llewellyn looked like he belonged, scoring 16.3 points per game. Llewellyn also showed above-average rebounding abilities for his size (4.1 per game), something Clemson could use more of from a guard now that Collins, the Tigers’ leading rebounder last season, has exhausted his eligibility.

The Tigers now have two open scholarship spots remaining.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcRFnTnpY5y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

— Photo for this article courtesy of (Rachel O’Driscoll/Getty Images)

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Clemson visit ‘definitely up there’ for big-time Alabama prospect

Win Miller was among the three prospects from the state of Alabama that was in attendance for Clemson’s final regular-season game at the Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday, March 5. The 2023 guard out of Vestavia Hills (Ala.) caught up with The Clemson …

Win Miller was among the three prospects from the state of Alabama that was in attendance for Clemson’s final regular-season game at the Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday, March 5.

The 2023 guard out of Vestavia Hills (Ala.) caught up with The Clemson Insider regarding his recent visit to Clemson’s campus.

“It was fun,” he said. “I really liked it. The game was fun because it was a big game for them and it was a cool atmosphere and close game. That was cool to be there for that. The campus was really cool. I like Coach (Brad) Brownell a lot, so it was a good experience overall.”

Miller prefers a small-town type of feel, so Clemson is right up his alley. The Tigers have only just begun to start recruiting him, so he really enjoyed being able to see the basketball facilities and what Clemson had to offer on his visit.

He was also a fan of Clemson’s guard play during the team’s 63-59 win over Virginia Tech last Saturday.

“They played really fast, which is my game,” Miller said. “I would fit well in their system for sure.”

He sees himself as a big-time scorer, who plays really fast and can get his teammates involved in transition. Miller helped lead his team to a 25-5 record, but they weren’t able to reach that end goal of obviously winning a state championship.

Miller was coming off knee surgery this past summer, so he struggled to get back into the flow of things towards the beginning of the season. While he was on his butt for four months, he was still able to gain some muscle in his upper body. Miller was also getting adjusted to playing at a different weight.

He found his shooting stroke during a 30-point game over Christmas and then his game just took off after that. In his mind, Miller was able to play the best he’s ever had.

Miller has a connection to the Tigers in the form of one of his high school basketball teammates — Cole Turner — who signed with the Clemson football during the February signing period.

While hasn’t heard much from Turner about Clemson, his teammate has “pressured” him a given him a little bit of a nudge to make the same move from Vestavia Hills to Tiger Town.

Miller has only been on five or six unofficial visits, so it’s hard for him to compare his Clemson experience to other schools. However, he indicated that his latest unofficial was “definitely up there” and he’s looking forward to hopefully getting back on campus sometime soon.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

 

Alabama standout talks Clemson visit, offer he’d been ‘waiting on’

Fresh off a state championship victory, Jacksonville (Ala.) School 2023 guard John Broom was on campus and in attendance for Clemson’s 63-59 win over Virginia Tech this past Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. Catching up with The Clemson Insider on …

Fresh off a state championship victory, Jacksonville (Ala.) School 2023 guard John Broom was on campus and in attendance for Clemson’s 63-59 win over Virginia Tech this past Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Catching up with The Clemson Insider on Sunday night, Broom considered this past weekend to be one of the best in his life, or in the top-3, as he put it.

“The visit was really, really good,” Broom said. “It wasn’t my first time going, I’d been to a football game and I visited most of the basketball facilities and all that. But, I really liked it. I liked the atmosphere of the game. I liked the coaches. I liked pretty much everything about it. It was really just a nice feel.”

Following the game, Broom picked up an offer from the Tigers and so did his best friend and teammate, four-star Cade Phillips. Broom walked us through how he ultimately learned about his offer from the Tigers.

“We had spoken with Coach (Brad) Brownell before the game,” Broom said, “and then he told us that he’d talk to us after the game. After the game, we went into this little conference room and we talked for about 15 minutes and then he extended the offer to me. I was really excited about the offer. It was an offer that I’ve honestly been waiting on.”

What did that mean to Broom?

“It felt really good, I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “It’s not all the time that you and your teammate and your best friend are getting offered at the same time by a really good basketball school in the ACC. We both were really excited about it.”

Broom said that in his conversations with Clemson’s coaches, they primarily talked about the championship game and how it felt.

“It felt really, really good because we’re the first team to do it in our high school,” he said. “So we’re pretty much in the history books for that. It really felt great because all my teammates, we all grew up together — even Cade — he transferred from a different school. But, we all grew up just talking about winning a state championship when we got older. It felt like a dream and then it came true.”

After he cut down the nets with his teammates, Broom hung out with a couple of his friends from the team. Before he knew it, he was on the road to Clemson at 7 a.m. Saturday morning.

What was different about this unofficial visit compared to one he took back in October?

“It was definitely different because I was with the coaches a lot more during the football game, but I was with the coaches a lot before the game and then we watched the game,” Broom said. “I really liked the playstyle they played in. It really fits me well. I like the intensity they all play with and that nobody on the team is selfish, there’s a lot of ball movement.”

Broom sees himself as a guard that can run the 1 and the 2 while shooting the ball at an efficient rate. He estimates that he shot at least 50% from beyond the arc this season. All in all, he’s a self-described all-around player who can shoot the lights out of the ball and defend really well.

He’s a fan of the way Clemson utilizes its guards. The Tigers oftentimes expect a lot from their guards defensively, which tends to give them more freedom on the offensive end.

“I really love the confidence and the confidence the coaches give them, honestly,” he said. “But, yes, I do love that the coaches do dial hard on defense and if you’re not playing defense, then you’re probably not gonna play. I really like that about them.”

Is Broom looking forward to getting back to Clemson soon?

“Oh, definitely,” he said. “Definitely. It’s a great place to be.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

 

 

Alabama 4-star forward dishes on Clemson offer, recaps visit

Fresh off a state championship victory, Jacksonville (Ala.) School four-star power forward Cade Phillips was on campus and in attendance for Clemson’s 63-59 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Clemson Insider caught up …

Fresh off a state championship victory, Jacksonville (Ala.) School four-star power forward Cade Phillips was on campus and in attendance for Clemson’s 63-59 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Clemson Insider caught up with Phillips, who earned an offer from the Tigers following Saturday’s win.

“My family and I had a meeting with Coach (Brad) Brownell after the game and had a good talk about everything they have to offer and then he offered me,” Phillips said. “It was great to get the offer, especially with them fixing to start their ACC tournament.”

How did Phillips enjoy his visit to Clemson?

“It was very fun,” he said. “Clemson is a really cool town and it’s always good to watch a good game, especially with coming out with the W.”

While he was on campus, Phillips said he was told by Clemson’s staff how he could develop into a really good player and get to compete for a spot there from Day 1.

While he’s a slightly different player from PJ Hall, they have a very similar build. Phillips liked how Clemson utilized its star player against Virginia Tech and added that, “It was good to watch him and see how they used him.”

Phillips describes himself as an “explosive athlete,” who can do a little bit of everything. Mainly, the Alabama native can guard 1-5 and use his athletic to block shots and stay in front of guards.

The past 24 hours or so have been quite the whirlwind for Phillips — a 6-foot-9, 205-pound junior — who ranks as the No. 8 power forward and No. 60 overall prospect nationally in the 2023 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite.

“It’s been a great time,” Phillips said, “and I got to share this visit and offer with my best friend and teammate, who also got offered by them (Saturday), so it has definitely been an awesome time.”

Phillips, of course, is referring to John Broom, who also earned an offer from the Tigers this weekend. Saturday marked Broom’s second unofficial visit to campus. He visited Clemson on Oct. 30, 2021, and was also in attendance for the football team’s 30-20 win over Florida State.

“John’s my best friend and it’s awesome to be able to go through this recruitment process with him,” Phillips said of Broom. “It’s something that not many people get to experience, much less with a friend.”

Playing alongside Broom, Phillips enjoyed a fantastic junior year. He battled a stress reaction in his foot, which caused him to miss nine games. Though, Phillips was able to come back for the first round of the playoffs and close things out with him and his teammates on Friday.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Teammate of current, future Tiger talks Clemson visit

The Clemson Insider caught up with a teammate of a current and future Tiger, who was in attendance for Clemson’s 80-69 win over Wake Forest last Wednesday at the Littlejohn Coliseum. Gicarri Harris-Robinson attended the game, alongside the rest of …

The Clemson Insider caught up with a teammate of a current and future Tiger, who was in attendance for Clemson’s 80-69 win over Wake Forest last Wednesday at the Littlejohn Coliseum.

Gicarri Harris-Robinson attended the game, alongside the rest of Grayson High School’s boy’s basketball team made the trip to Tiger Town. If that sounds familiar that’s because it’s the high school of Ian Schefflein and Clemson class of 2022 signee, Chauncey Wiggins.

“It was really good,” Harris said regarding his Clemson visit. “I liked the atmosphere. I liked how all the players were engaged in the game. It was a great win. The game was great. I liked how everybody was engaged, everybody was talking and everybody was on the bench clapping for their teammates.”

What has Harris heard from Schieffelin and Wiggins about Clemson?

“That’s great that both of them are now gonna be at Clemson,” he said. “I look up to both of them, Chauncey this past season and Ian last year at Grayson. They said that they have a great coaching staff, great fans, great atmosphere, everything. All positive things about Clemson.”

Harris is close with both Schieffelin and Wiggins, who he described as being really good leaders, who work hard and never take any plays off. They’re also excellent people, on and off the court. Harris has always looked up to both of his high-school teammates, who will be playing with each other again come next season.

Harris had a chance to play with Wiggins this season. Harris feels like he’s improved a lot since last season. In his sophomore campaign, he had the ball more in his hands and was able to make plays for his teammates and himself. 

“I pride myself on defense, so the first thing I would say is defense,” Harris said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I just create defense from my offense.”

With that being said, Harris is a fan of the way Clemson utilizes its guard. The Tigers oftentimes expect a lot from their guards defensively, which tends to give them more freedom on the offensive end.

“I definitely like that,” he added. “It’s a lot of movement, you are never standing still, so I like that. You can get easy buckets by cutting to the basket or cutting a screen for somebody. I like their offense.”

Harris currently holds offers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State. In addition to Clemson, he’s received some interest from Purdue and Georgetown. He estimates that his recruitment is only starting to take off.

This offseason, Harris is gonna work on getting stronger, faster and becoming more athletic. He’ll obviously focus on ball-handling, shooting and the rest of the basics.

Additionally, he’ll have to assume more of a leadership role as Wiggins and the rest of Grayson’s senior class will be moving on following this season. Luckily for Harris, he received some good examples in leadership from both Wiggins and Schefflein.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Hutchinson recaps Clemson visit

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with an uncommitted prospect, who was on hand to watch Clemson’s 80-69 win over Wake Forest last Wednesday. Louis Hutchinson – a 6-7 guard out of Long Island Lutheran (LuHi) -currently holds offers from …

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with an uncommitted prospect, who was on hand to watch Clemson’s 80-69 win over Wake Forest last Wednesday.

Louis Hutchinson — a 6-7 guard out of Long Island Lutheran (LuHi) —currently holds offers from Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Howard, Coppin State, Mount St. Mary’s University and Memphis. In addition to Clemson, he has interest from programs like Vanderbilt, Penn, University of the Pacific, Washington, Minnesota and Florida State, among others.

He visited Clemson as he begins to take his final unofficial visits. He’s looking to make a final decision around the April timeframe after his senior season winds down.

“It was amazing,” Hutchinson said of his experience at Clemson. “The team played great. I think it definitely started on the defensive end. They shut down guys that they needed to shut down. They were great on the boards. They executed, did what they needed to do, the coaching was great and they got a win.”

A highlight of Hutchinson’s visit was getting to see his aunt’s jersey in the rafters. Hutchinson is the nephew of Karen Jenkins Gray, who is one of the most accurate shooters in Clemson history and helped lead the Tigers to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1988 and 1989.

She was inducted into Clemson’s Hall of Fame in 2012.

Clearly, basketball runs in the family, as Hutchinson is coming into his own right.

First and foremost, Hutchinson is a “dog” defensively, who can guard positions 1-5. Offensively, he describes himself as an elite perimeter scorer at all three levels and has done so consistently on national championship level programs. Additionally, an underrated part of Hutchinson’s game is the ability to be relentless on the boards.

As far as his senior season is concerned, Hutchinson has two tournaments remaining, before the end of his high school basketball career. He’s averaging about 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game.

“This year, I’ve been having a really good year,” he said. “I definitely improved in a lot of ways. I think my goals for the season and my team’s goals for the season are coming to fruition.”

Family is very important to Hutchinson, so Clemson’s family atmosphere certainly stood out to him during his visit.

“That’s one of the reasons why Clemson is very attractive to me,” he said. “A family-oriented place, that has that type of atmosphere and you could especially feel that at the game (Wednesday) in a great win over the Deacons.  You feel like you have the whole school there, dialed in, cheering you on. That’s the type of atmosphere that you want to be in.”

Right now, Hutchinson is looking for a place that will be the best fit for him and will also allow for him to be the best possible person on and off the court.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Big honor for future Tiger

After signing with Clemson back in November 2021, R.J. Godfrey was able to put quite the senior season together for North Gwinnett. Godfrey, – a 6-7, 215-pound senior – was named Georgia high school basketball’s Region 8-7A Player of the Year. It’s …

After signing with Clemson back in November 2021, R.J. Godfrey was able to put quite the senior season together for North Gwinnett.

Godfrey, — a 6-7, 215-pound senior — was named Georgia high school basketball’s Region 8-7A Player of the Year. It’s quite an impressive feat for the Suwanee (Ga.) native before he heads off to college.

The Clemson signee will have a chance to help out his new team, once he arrives on campus this summer. Back in November, he walked The Clemson Insider through his decision to commit to Clemson and ultimately sign with the Tigers.

“I thought Clemson was the perfect fit for me in terms of environment, just being there and experiencing that family environment,” Godfrey said. “Also, from a basketball standpoint, I think Coach [Antonio Reynolds] Dean is going to heighten my potential, just like what he’s done, for example, Aamir Simms. Last year he really improved him as a player and I think he can do the same for me and get me to that next level.”

Godfrey touted the ability to play in the best basketball conference in America as a reason for choosing Clemson over schools like Ole Miss and Texas Tech. Clemson gets to face off against the likes of Virginia, Louisville, Duke, UNC and Florida State, so going up against those powerhouse schools at least once a season was intriguing to Godfrey.

“I just think Clemson was the perfect fit for me,” he continued. “I have a couple of friends on that team: Ian Schieffelin, can’t wait to work with him when I get there, and Chauncey [Wiggins] from Grayson and also Chase Hunter, a childhood friend. So, I can’t wait to get up there and work with them.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Clemson made big-time Peach State prospect feel like a priority during visit

A big-time Peach State prospect was in attendance for Clemson’s game against Duke this past Thursday. As The Clemson Insider previously reported, Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) three-star Kyle “KJ” Greene, Jr. was on campus for the first time since …

A big-time Peach State prospect was in attendance for Clemson’s game against Duke this past Thursday.

As The Clemson Insider previously reported, Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) three-star Kyle “KJ” Greene, Jr. was on campus for the first time since Clemson extended him a scholarship offer in late June 2021.

Greene —  a 6-foot-3, 170-pound sophomore — recapped his first gameday experience at Littlejohn Coliseum in a conversation with TCI Sunday.

“The Clemson game was really good,” he said. “It was a great experience, great atmosphere, good game. The score (82-64) really showed that Duke won more, but it was actually a close game up until the end. That was really interesting to me because Duke’s a top-10 team in the country vs. Clemson, whose unranked while missing some of their best players (Hunter Tyson & David Collins). So, it really just shows how good of a program Clemson has.”

What was the overall message Greene received from Clemson’s coaching staff while he was on campus?

“When I was there, they was just telling me that they like my size, they like how I can score, how I affect the game,” Greene said. “They were just telling me that they really see me coming down to Clemson. They were talking about how they give their guards freedom on offense, but they expect a lot from them on defense.”

He indicated that Clemson really made him feel like a priority when he was on campus.

Greene got a chance to speak with Brad Brownell and Clemson assistant coach Antonio Reynolds Dean. He talked with Brownell after Clemson’s 82-64 loss and according to Greene, Clemson’s head coach was telling him how he likes his size, how he really likes how he can score on and off the ball and how somebody of his size could really fit into the Tigers’ program.

Greene also has a previous connection to Clemson, as he has a close relationship with Josh Beadle. He caught the freshman guard as he was leaving the locker room after the game.

“We talked for a bit,” he said. “My parents were talking about how cool it was to see him there with me visiting. We used to grow up playing basketball together, going to the same basketball camp as kids. To see us both now chasing our dream, being successful, was a heartfelt moment.

“He really likes it there. They treat him good. They got him on a workout plan where he workouts a lot every day because he’s redshirting, trying to get him ready for next year when he finally gets a chance to play. He really enjoys it. You can just tell by the way he sits on the bench, talking to his teammates. He’s not mad. He’s not grumpy. He’s always into the game. You can really tell he likes what’s going on there.”

Speaking of his parents, Greene indicated that he loved the experience and the atmosphere. Greene’s dad was also pretty excited they were sitting behind Dabo Swinney at the game. 

“They really just loved it,” he said. “It really felt like a family-oriented environment for it to be a college.”

Clemson was the first ACC school to offer Greene. He has since earned offers from Ole Miss, LSU, Cleveland State, Georgia Tech and Georgetown, to go with the offers he already held from Texas A&M, South Carolina and North Carolina A&T.

For Greene, this past Thursday was an opportunity to see Clemson in person, which he said meant a lot to him and his family.

“To see ACC play up close, you really see how fast and physical the game is,” Greene said. “Everyone is big and built, so they really show you that you got to come with it. It was really good to get out there. Clemson’s a great school with a great campus. It’s in a nice part of South Carolina. It’s very nice.

Greene has come with it this season. The sophomore point guard is averaging eight points and seven assists per game. It’s a season for him to feel out his new team at Pace Academy after transferring from Blythewood. He’s also learned how to become more of a point guard.

Next season, Greene is planning to pick up production. This season, Pace has a Cincinnati commit in Josh Reed, so they’ve really been running the offense through the three-star forward. Greene said he’s tried to get in where he can, but he feels his junior season will be interesting to see how he and 2025 forward Bryson Tiller mesh together.

This season has really opened Greene’s eyes as a passer. It showed him that he can do more than just score the basketball to affect the game.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!