Clemson Basketball: Skara granted extra year, 2019 prospect Chase Hunter commits

Clemson Basketball recently received excellent news as David Skara has decided to return to the program. The Tigers also received their first commitment from the class of 2019 this week.

6-foot-8 senior forward David Skara announced that he would officially return to Clemson for his senior season on Aug. 22. The Croatian national was a key member of the Tigers bench mob in 2017-18.

Skara, known for his defensive prowess, averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in less than 20 minutes a contest over 26 games last year. He also blocked 13 shots and came up with 16 steals.

Back in April, Skara said that he would turn pro and forego his final season of eligibility.

Skara’s return is very good news for the Tigers. Clemson lost two starters — Gabe Devoe and Donte Grantham — as well as key frontcourt reserve (Mark Donnal) from last year’s squad that reached the Sweet 16. The Tigers went 25-10 overall and 11-7 in ACC play.

Clemson does return leading scorer Marcquise Reed, who averaged 15.9 points and 3.3 assists in 2017-18. Double-figure scorers Shelton Mitchell and Elijah Williams as well as reserve Aamir Sims are also back.

Skara played two seasons at Valparaiso before transferring to  Clemson in 2016.

Skara’s announcement is not the only good news that Clemson has received recently. As three-star 2019 recruit Chase Hunter verbally committed to the Tigers on Wednesday after per Rivals.

The 6-foot-3 Westlake (Ga.) High shooting guard chose Clemson over Auburn, Georgia Tech, Miss State and Virginia among others. Hunter held 12 scholarship offers overall. He becomes the first commitment for the Tigers from the class of 2019.

Hunter has a scorer’s mentality. The Atlanta native is very quick and has good hands defensively. He does need to work on his shooting, particularly from the perimeter, and also has to become a better playmaker.

Hunter averaged 15.6 points along with 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals as a junior. He shot just 36% from the field and 22% (17-78) from beyond the arc. Hunter scored in double-figures in 17 of 22 games, topping the 20-point plateau eight times including scoring 30 points or more twice.

With Hunter’s commitment, the Tigers have three more scholarships available for the 2019 campaign according to Verbal Commits.

Point guard is the Tigers biggest area of need for next year as Reed and Mitchell as well as walk-on Lyle Davis will graduate this year. Leaving coach Brad Brownell without a true point guard next year.

Clemson reportedly has 16 open offers, including one to five-star point guard Josiah Jordan-James. The Charleston (S.C) native recently trimmed his list to four schools which Clemson made. Duke, Tennessee and Michigan State are the other finalists.

But, per 247Sports, Clemson’s top target is Hopkins (SC) small forward Christian Brown. Brown is a consensus top-50 2019 prospect.

6-foot-2 four-star point guard Isaiah Wong, 6-foot-7 three-star small forward Kobe Brown, 6-foot-7 small forward Patrick Williams and 6-foot-2 three-star point guard Jalen Gaffney as well as 6-foot-11 center Malcolm Wilson are also on the Tigers’ “priority list”.

Other Tigers’ news

• On Aug. 15, the Tigers were selected to represent the United States in the 2019 World University Games that is being held in Naples, Italy (July 3-14). Clemson is just the fourth NCAA program to be selected as a team to represent the US, joining Northern Iowa (2007), Kansas (2015) and Purdue (2015).
• The Tigers offered top 2020 prospect Jaden Springer a scholarship on Aug. 23. Clemson’s offer is the 17th scholarship that the 6-foot-4 shooting guard has garnered. UCLA, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Maryland, and Tennessee are among the schools that have made overtures to the Charlotte native.