Mike Krzykewski isn’t the only basketball coach in the ACC that’s noticed the improvement in PJ Hall’s game.
Hubert Davis’ North Carolina squad will get an up-close look at Hall and the rest of the Tigers when the Tar Heels (16-7, 8-4 ACC) visit Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday for the first of three home games this week for Clemson (12-10, 4-7). Davis, in his first year as UNC’s coach following Roy Williams’ retirement, said Clemson’s sophomore big presents a lot of challenges.
“He’s a guy that plays with a lot of emotion,” Davis said. “He’s competitive. He’s very physical and plays hard on both ends of the floor on every possession. He’s a guy that can consistently score around the basket, but he can shoot the ball from the outside. On both ends, he’s a player that could be a huge factor.”
Hall is coming off an 18-point, eight-rebound performance in Clemson’s loss at Georgia Tech over the weekend. Hall, who’s increased his scoring from 3.5 points per game last season to a team-best 14.9 this season, has shot at least 60% from the field in four of the last five games.
Davis may have given away part of the Tar Heels’ game plan against Clemson when mentioned an aggressive mindset his team needs to have against Hall on the interior.
“I think it’s important for us from an offensive standpoint to attack the basket and put a lot of pressure on him to defend without fouling,” Davis said. “And then defensively we’ve got to do a good job of keeping him away from the basket but also be in position to contest his shot because he can really stretch the floor and shoot the ball from 3-point range.”
Hall has scored in double figures in all but one game despite dealing with foot inflammation that’s limited him in practice throughout the season. Hall hasn’t played fewer than 26 minutes since the Tigers’ non-conference loss at Rutgers back in December, so it hasn’t affected him much during games.
“We’re just trying to keep him fresh, keep him healthy, minimize the impact on him and just see how it goes,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.
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