Clemson Transfer Guards Shine in West Virginia Win

It was going to take a little bit before the Clemson men’s basketball team would gel, but adversity in its win over West Virginia on Friday helped two come into their own. 

Transfers Jestin Porter and Butta Johnson both scored double-digit points in the Tigers’ Charleston Classic win. Porter, a graduate from Middle Tennessee State, scored a team-high 14 points in the win, while Johnson, a UAB transfer, added a season-high 11 points in 22 minutes of play. 

West Virginia entered the contest as the No. 4 best team in points allowed per game (54.8), and Clemson had plenty of scoring droughts and turnovers that pointed the momentum in the Mountaineers’ direction. Some important plays by the two new Tigers helped lead to Clemson’s best win of the season so far. 

Porter recorded nine of his points in the second half, hitting an important three-pointer to stop a West Virginia run to prevent putting the game out of hand. At the 5:20 mark in the second half, the Houston native would strip opposing guard Honor Huff and drive a layup in to put the game within four, forcing a Mountaineer timeout that continued the momentum in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Johnson hit two of Clemson’s five three-pointers in the second half, playing the most minutes that he has under head coach Brad Brownell in his first five games with the team. Both guards also added at least a steal, with Porter recording two. 

After the loss to Georgetown last Saturday, when the team was unable to respond following a strong Hoya second-half surge, Clemson was able to rely on two of its most experienced guards on the team. 

Being a deep team this season, seeing a consistent 10 players in Brownell’s rotation so far this season, different players have been able to carry the load in the opening games. In every game, there has been a different player who has led the team in points in the first five games.

While it will continue to take time for the new-look team to gel, having 10 new players to the program and only returning two players, having a Quad 2 win under its belt already will be key moving into March, where many expect Clemson to be a bubble team this season. 

In what was called a “war” by Brownell, Clemson will look to recharge swiftly before its matchup against either Xavier or Georgia, which will end shortly, on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the championship.