Clemson Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Tigers

By Chris Kern | Nov 2, 2018

SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 18: The Clemson Tigers bench reacts as the near the end of the second half against the Auburn Tigers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 18, 2018 in San Diego, California. The Clemson Tigers won 84-53. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

2 of 5

SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: Jared Harper #1 of the Auburn Tigers drives against Elijah Thomas #14 of the Clemson Tigers in the first half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 18, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /

Starters

Shelton Mitchell

Shelton Mitchell has been a big-time player for Clemson the past two seasons after transferring over from Vanderbilt. Last season he averaged 12.2 points, 3.6 assists and 3 rebounds per game.

A concern from last year was the 8% drop in three-point percentage from his sophomore year. He did shoot nearly two more three’s per game but you’d still like to see the percentage get a little bit closer to what it was before.

Mitchell does a good job scoring the basketball when needed but can do a little bit of everything. He did a good job complimenting the top option in DeVoe and will do the same with Reed this season.

Marcquise Reed

Marcquise Reed also transferred into Clemson after his freshmen season as he transferred away from Robert Morris. Last season he led the team with 15.8 points per game while also averaging 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Reed is a flat out scorer who will fill it up each and every night. That said he still contributes in other ways with his passing as well as defensively with his 1.7 steals per game.

John Newman

John Newman is a talented guard that allows this team to stick with the three-guard lineups they’ve used the past couple of seasons. 247Sports has him ranked as the 165th best player in the 2018 class.

He has the ability to make plays and will learn a lot from playing alongside Mitchell and Reed. They could go with Skara here for stretches but expect Clemson to go with Newman in the starting lineup.

Aamir Simms

Aamir Simms has a solid freshman season and even started 12 games after the Donte Grantham injury. He averaged 4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game.

Simms showed off his versatility last season and has a chance to become a really special player at Clemson. This team will still go through the three seniors so he won’t need to be a star but he needs to be able to score the ball to take some of the load off the other guys.

Elijah Thomas

Elijah Thomas is the third senior who transferred into Clemson, unlike the other two he came in during his freshmen year instead of after. Last season he averaged 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

He went into Texas A&M as a high recruit and it just didn’t work out. He has come to Clemson and continued to work hard and has really improved as a player.

Thomas has become a player they can rely on to contribute on both ends of the floor. He might be known for his offense but he did average 2.3 blocks per game so he makes a big impact on the defensive end as well.