# 2016–17 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team represented Clemson University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by sixth-year head coach Brad Brownell, the Tigers played their home games at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina after a one-year of renovation, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 6–12 in ACC play to finish in 12th place. They defeated NC State in the first round of the ACC tournament to advance to the second round where they lost to Duke. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Oakland.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2015–16 season 17–14, 10–8 in ACC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the second round of the ACC tournament to Georgia Tech.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Austin Ajukwa | 1 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Columbia, SC | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Jordan Roper | 20 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Columbia, SC | Graduated |
| Josh Smith | 33 | F | 6'8" | 245 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Landry Nnoko | 35 | C | 6'10" | 255 | Senior | Yaoundé, Cameroon | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Elijah Thomas | 14 | C | 6'9" | 251 | Sophomore | Lancaster, TX | Transferred from Texas A&M. Under NCAA transfer rules, Thomas will have to sit out the first nine games of the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| David Skara | 24 | F | 6'8" | 205 | Junior | Zadar, Croatia | Transferred from Valparaiso. Under NCAA transfer rules, Skara will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

## Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Scott Spencer #27 SF | Saint George, VA | Blue Ridge School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 5, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NA Rivals: NA ESPN: NA ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| A.J. Oliver SG | Central, SC | D. W. Daniel High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Dec 1, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Aamir Simms SF | Dyke, VA | Blue Ridge School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Clyde Trapp Jr SG | Hopkins, SC | Lower Richland High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | Nov 9, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Malik William PF | Orlando, FL | First Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 26, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NA Rivals: NA ESPN: NA |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016. |||||||

## 2017 NBA draft

The Tigers had one player drafted in the 2017 NBA draft.
| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Jaron Blossomgame | San Antonio Spurs | 2nd | 59 | F |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Lander | W 105–49 | | 20 – DeVoe | 10 – Grantham | 5 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Georgia | W 74–64 | 1–0 | 19 – Reed | 9 – Djitte | 3 – Blossomgame | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC |
| 11/17/2016* 11:00 am, ESPNU | | vs. Davidson Tire Pros Invitational quarterfinals | W 95–78 | 2–0 | 22 – Holmes | 8 – Grantham | 4 – Tied | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| 11/18/2016* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 11 Xavier Tire Pros Invitational semifinals | L 77–83 | 2–1 | 21 – Grantham | 8 – DeVoe | 5 – DeVoe | HP Field House (1,002) Orlando, FL |
| 11/20/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Oklahoma Tire Pros Invitational 3rd place game | L 64–70 | 2–2 | 22 – Blossomgame | 14 – Djitte | 5 – DeVoe | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| 11/25/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | High Point | W 83–74 | 3–2 | 27 – Blossomgame | 15 – Djitte | 5 – DeVoe | Littlejohn Coliseum (5,500) Clemson, SC |
| 11/30/2016* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Nebraska ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 60–58 | 4–2 | 15 – Blossomgame | 9 – Djitte | 3 – Djitte | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,545) Clemson, SC |
| 12/04/2016* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Coppin State | W 85–43 | 5–2 | 15 – Blossomgame | 13 – Djitte | 2 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,711) Clemson, SC |
| 12/10/2016* 4:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Mercer | W 90–47 | 6–2 | 19 – Grantham | 7 – Tied | 5 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,514) Clemson, SC |
| 12/13/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | South Carolina State | W 93–65 | 7–2 | 29 – Blossomgame | 13 – Djitte | 5 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,333) Clemson, SC |
| 12/18/2016* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Alabama | W 67–54 | 8–2 | 18 – Mitchell | 7 – Djitte | 4 – DeVoe | Legacy Arena (11,147) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/21/2016* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 22 South Carolina Rivalry | W 62–60 | 9–2 | 15 – Blossomgame | 10 – Blossomgame | 2 – Blossomgame | Colonial Life Arena (17,026) Columbia, SC |
| 12/28/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | UNC Wilmington | W 87–73 | 10–2 | 20 – Blossomgame | 8 – Djitte | 6 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (8,726) Clemson, SC |
| ACC regular season |||||||||
| 12/31/2016 12:00 pm, RSN | | at Wake Forest | W 73–68 | 11–2 (1–0) | 21 – Reed | 10 – Grantham | 5 – Mitchell | LJVM Coliseum (10,034) Winston-Salem, NC |
| 01/03/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 14 North Carolina | L 86–89 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (1–1) | 24 – Blossomgame | 8 – Djitte | 4 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (8,716) Clemson, SC |
| 01/07/2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Notre Dame | L 70–75 | 11–4 (1–2) | 22 – Blossomgame | 8 – Blossomgame | 5 – Mitchell | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, RSN | | at Georgia Tech | L 63–75 | 11–5 (1–3) | 20 – Blossomgame | 6 – Blossomgame | 5 – Mitchell | Hank McCamish Pavilion (5,602) Atlanta, GA |
| 01/14/2017 12:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 19 Virginia | L 73–77 | 11–6 (1–4) | 22 – Blossomgame | 6 – Tied | 5 – DeVoe | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC |
| 01/19/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 12 Louisville | L 60–92 | 11–7 (1–5) | 13 – Reed | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (21,436) Louisville, KY |
| 01/22/2017 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | Virginia Tech | L 81–82 | 11–8 (1–6) | 20 – Tied | 6 – Djitte | 10 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,120) Clemson, SC |
| 01/28/2017 12:00 pm, RSN | | at Pittsburgh | W 67–60 | 12–8 (2–6) | 25 – Blossomgame | 8 – Grantham | 6 – Mitchell | Peterson Events Center (9,828) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 02/01/2017 7:00 pm, RSN | | Georgia Tech | W 74–62 | 13–8 (3–6) | 18 – Holmes | 10 – Thomas | 3 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,530) Clemson, SC |
| 02/05/2017 12:30 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 15 Florida State | L 61–109 | 13–9 (3–7) | 15 – Holmes | 11 – Djitte | 3 – Mitchell | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,868) Tallahassee, FL |
| 02/07/2017 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Syracuse | L 81–82 | 13–10 (3–8) | 20 – Blossomgame | 11 – Djitte | 8 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,045) Clemson, SC |
| 02/11/2017 1:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 18 Duke | L 62–64 | 13–11 (3–9) | 23 – Mitchell | 9 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| 02/14/2017 7:00 pm, RSN | | Wake Forest | W 95–83 | 14–11 (4–9) | 21 – Reed | 10 – Blossomgame | 3 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,929) Clemson, SC |
| 02/18/2017 12:00 pm, RSN | | at Miami (FL) | L 65–71 | 14–12 (4–10) | 16 – Blossomgame | 11 – Thomas | 3 – Mitchell | BankUnited Center (6,987) Coral Gables, FL |
| 02/21/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Virginia Tech | L 70–71 | 14–13 (4–11) | 18 – Reed | 10 – Blossomgame | 4 – Mitchell | Cassell Coliseum (7,179) Blacksburg, VA |
| 02/25/2017 12:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 19 Florida State | L 74–76 | 14–14 (4–12) | 24 – Blossomgame | 9 – Djitte | 4 – Reed | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC |
| 03/01/2017 8:00 pm, ACCN | | NC State | W 78–74 | 15–14 (5–12) | 18 – Tied | 9 – Djitte | 2 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,853) Clemson, SC |
| 03/04/2017 4:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | Boston College | W 82–68 | 16–14 (6–12) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Holmes | 4 – Reed | Littlejohn Coliseum (8,135) Clemson, SC |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| 03/07/2017 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (12) | vs. (13) North Carolina State First round | W 82–68 | 17–14 | 22 – Tied | 13 – Djitte | 6 – Mitchell | Barclays Center (8,656) Brooklyn, NY |
| 03/08/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN | (12) | vs. (5) No. 14 Duke Second round | L 72–79 | 17–15 | 19 – Blossomgame | 10 – Djitte | 3 – Mitchell | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 14* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) | (7) Oakland First round – Iowa Bracket | L 69–74 | 17–16 | 24 – Blossomgame | 11 – Djitte | 6 – Mitchell | Littlejohn Coliseum (2,785) Clemson, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||