Clemson’s Best Lineup Yet Emerges from Charleston Classic

After completing a perfect 2-0 weekend and a Palmetto Bracket title at the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic, Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers look the part of an NCAA Tournament-caliber team yet again.

One of the throughlines of nearly every team that qualifies for the Big Dance is a consistent, dependable starting and closing lineup. While earning a pair of crunch-time wins over West Virginia and Georgia in the Lowcountry, Brownell showed what he believes to be the go-to lineup right now.

Clemson turned to Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter in the backcourt, Jake Wahlin on the wing, and RJ Godfrey and Carter Welling inside against the Bulldogs in Sunday’s thrilling overtime win.

That’s the lineup that Brownell should stick with, at least for the time being.

Porter’s shot-making ability was the biggest question fans pondered after his transfer from Middle Tennessee over the offseason. In three seasons with the Blue Raiders, he shot 34.9% from deep and averaged 11.6 points per game. After a slow start in Clemson’s first five non-conference matchups, the Houston native poured in 32 total points and six made threes on Friday and Sunday to lead the Tigers to victory. For his efforts, he was named the Palmetto Bracket’s MVP for the tournament.

At the two-guard position, the veteran Hunter provides defense, leadership, and a capable three-point shot. Through the adversity Clemson faced throughout the event, Hunter was a steadying presence that kept things together. He was also able to facilitate the offense against the Mountaineers when Brownell turned to playing both Godfrey and Welling.

“We put RJ down low and Carter up top, and obviously we can roll those guys and do a lot of different things with them,” Brownell said after Friday’s game. Dillon had the ball and was making some good decisions. We went to a lot of middle-of-the-floor ball-screen stuff in the second half, and that was better for us. Obviously, it centers around those three guys, and they made a lot of good decisions.”

Wahlin wasn’t at his best offensively in Charleston (scoring 9 total points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field), but he can still impact winning for the Tigers this season. As a 6-foot-10 floor spacer, Clemson can create openings for guards like Porter and Hunter to drive into the paint without help being there to greet them. After all, Wahlin has shot 38.5% from behind the three-point line so far this season, a 3% improvement over last year at Utah.

At the four and five positions, Brownell should continue to deploy both Godfrey and Welling to dominate the paint. Similar to Porter’s early-season shooting struggles, the Tigers’ collection of big men got off to a slow start rebounding in non-conference play.

They were outrebounded by Morehead State and allowed the Eagles to snag 19 offensive rebounds on November 11. Now, just two weeks later, rebounding has been a strength. Clemson outrebounded West Virginia by 3 and Georgia by 10 in the Charleston Classic. That post presence should bode well as the team prepares for ACC play.

The Tigers have another opportunity to prove themselves when they take on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (3-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. inside Littlejohn Coliseum. ACC Network Extra will televise the game. Alabama A&M owns wins over Blue Mountain, Charleston Southern, and Lindenwood, along with a 47-point loss at Indiana.

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