Clemson Basketball: Why Viktor Lakhin is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Last season was certainly something to remember for Clemson, who advanced to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history. The Tigers pulled memorable upsets over both Baylor and Arizona and made a season full of memories. Moving forward, head coach Brad Brownell knows that his Tigers will look very different in the future and has a task on his hand to maintain this momentum.

Leading scorer and star forward PJ Hall won’t be back, nor will great shooting guard Joseph Girard, the former sharpshooter for Syracuse. It’s not all bad news for the Tigers, as they get a pair of phenomenal players back in Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin. Despite these departures, those two are important pieces that Clemson will depend heavily on next season.

In addition to a litter of freshmen, the Tigers are refilling the cupboards with several solid transfers. In the frontcourt, they added serious depth with Illinois State forward Myles Foster and underused Duke center Christian Reeves. The best scoring threat added in the offseason came in Jaeden Zackery, a point guard fresh off three straight double-digit scoring seasons at Boston College.

Those three each have a chance for good things with Clemson, though it’s Viktor Lakhin that could be the most important. Originally from Russia, he’s a 6’11 forward who spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career at Cincinnati. After a medical redshirt, he became a decent piece in the frontcourt for the Bearcats, with solid production in Cincinnati’s first year in the Big 12 last season. However, his best season was two years ago where he put up 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds during the Bearcats’ final year in the AAC.

By season’s end, it’s likely that Hunter, Zackery, and perhaps a few other players are more impactful scorers than Lakhin, so why is he the most important addition of the offseason? Lakhin fills an important hole for the Tigers. Nobody expects him to step in and mirror Hall’s talent and production, but Lakhin should be a solid interior scorer and rebounder for the Tigers this season.

He’s a veteran talent with experience at the power conference level and the makings of a decent long-term professional big man. He did take a slight step back during his season in the Big 12, but these new surroundings could be a great thing for him. One of the Big 12’s best rebounders, he had solid defensive metrics and might just be the rim protector and difference maker Clemson needs under the rim.

Nobody expects another Elite Eight run out of Clemson next season, but could this Tigers team surprise some people? After all, very few expected what Hall and company accomplished this past March. Lakhin boosts a new core of Tigers looking to make their mark. Is he that frontcourt weapon that pushes Clemson back into the NCAA Tournament and into the national spotlight again?