Clemson Basketball: Recovering from a rough 24 hours

Clemson basketball lost a senior leader and the potential of a top recruit over the span of a single Saturday. Thank goodness they won their actual game.

In the span of 24 hours – really about five hours – the Clemson Tigers saw their spectacular season take a hit.

The problems started during their matinee game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. During the second half, senior forward Donte Grantham was fouled from behind. His knee buckled on the play and it looked bad.

An MRI confirmed that his Clemson career is over due to an ACL tear.

Grantham was arguably Clemson’s best all-around player this season. He was averaging 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, serving as the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder. Brad Brownell’s team will have to make adjustments to live without him for the rest of this year.

They were hoping reinforcements would come next year in the form of a precocious recruit. Zion Williamson was a kid from South Carolina with family members who attended Clemson. It seemed like a strong possibility that he would become the greatest player in Tigers’ history.

On Saturday night, though, Williamson chose Duke.

His stepfather and Clemson alum Lee Anderson claimed the school lost a “mile and a half lead,” adding insult to injury. Suddenly, the assumed building block of a program fled to a basketball blueblood.

Saturday wasn’t all bad news for the Tigers at least. They defeated Notre Dame to improve to 16-3 overall and 5-2 in ACC play. Gabe DeVoe and Shelton Mitchell both stepped up when Grantham went down. Barring a collapse, the team will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years.

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Still, the team and its fans have just two recovery days before the team travels to face the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers on Tuesday night. A loss in Charlottesville could serve as a reminder of the tough times ahead for the Clemson Tigers.