ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team's overall offense for 2020-21 season

ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team’s overall offense for 2020-21 season

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 10: Teammates Jordan Goldwire #14, Wendell Moore Jr. #0 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils react after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: Aamir Simms /

Clemson Tigers

2019-20: 65.2 ppg in ACC play

Clemson Basketball is the first team that is going to not only improve their point production but their offensive standing as well. Clemson will leapfrog Miami to tenth place, up one spot from last season. One of the Tigers’ two players who averaged double digits in Tevon Mack (12.2 ppg) has graduated.

At 6’6, Mack played power forward and had the ability to take defenders off the dribble and post up smaller players on switches. His 28 percent shooting from beyond the arc on over five attempts per game will be put to better use from the streaky bench player Tyson Hunter (5.5 ppg) who only averaged 13 minutes per game.

Hunter had a three-game stretch in mid-November where he connected on eight of sixteen three-pointers, then early January saw the start of a six-game stretch when he hit eight of fourteen. As a starter, Hunter will continue to spot up in the corner and wait for his man to double-down on Amir Simms in the post, or when the ball is on the perimeter use a stagger screen to get up top for an open look.

Aamir Simms will literally and figuratively be the center of the Tigers’ offense. After testing the NBA Draft waters, Simms will be returning to be the Tigers’ best player in the 2020-21 season. Simms’ versatility comes into play when Coach Bradwell has him up screen for one of the several ball handlers and then be able to open up and hit the weakside post for the easy ‘dish and two’. When not hitting the weakside block Simms connected on 40 percent of his three-point attempts.

Last season 6’2 Al-Amir Dawes (9 ppg) and 6’4 Clyde Trapp (6 ppg) were interchangeable with Trapp being the first sub off the bench. This season they will be starting alongside No.1 scoring option John Newman III to form a three-guard front. The weave/hand-off/screen motion they use at times leads to one of the guards slipping to the basket, but mostly led to a lot of perimeter passing and the lowest total of two-point field goals per game.

Newman III (9.5 ppg) will become the first option on offense as they will continue to use down screens to get the ball in his hands on the perimeter. While he does have the tendency to dribble too much, if the Hurricanes are going to score on the offensive end instead of looking to score off of turnovers, Newman III will have to shoot at least 7 times a game.