Basketball thoughts

Went over to last night's basketball exhibition to get a glimpse of Brad Brownelll's third team in its 72-42 win over Lander. Tried to focus mostly on the freshmen.

A few observations:

-- Remember the 2009 recruiting class that was supposed to be the best in Clemson history? Milton Jennings, Devin Booker, Noel Johnson, Donte Hill.

It's way too early to say this, but could this year's freshman class end up being better though it's far less decorated?

I just see a lot of upside with Adonis Filer and Landry Nnoko. These guys play hard and seem to take well to coaching. Jaron Blossomgame has a long way to go -- it's looking as if he's going to redshirt this season -- but if he's able to eventually return to what he was pre-injury you're talking a really good player. Jordan Roper has some developing to do, but he can be a good player in time.

Don't misunderstand: The point is not to say these freshmen are ready to take the ACC by storm. They're not. But with this class, Brownell and Co. seemed to do a good job of identifying not only players who fit their system, but personalities too.

Never underestimate the personality part. Two members of the 2009 class, Noel Johnson and Donte Hill, abruptly left for supposedly greener pastures early in Brownell's first season and haven't done much since. Johnson averaged 2.1 points a game for Auburn last year as a junior. Hill averaged 7.8 points a game last year for Old Dominion, shooting 33 percent from 3 and 61 percent from the free-throw line.

The other two, Milton Jennings and Devin Booker, haven't come close to matching the blue-chip hype. They've been frustrating to watch because they haven't consistently been all there mentally. They haven't had the fire in their bellies often enough. They haven't always taken well to coaching. Sometimes that's the drawback of bringing in heralded athletes who have been worshiped by everyone.

If you could supply someone of Booker's talent and athleticism with Nnoko's want-to and willingness to work, you'd have a beast of a player.

Nnoko had a distinct size advantage last night because he's 6-foot-10 and the people guarding him were 6-7, so he had it easier than he will on most nights this season.

But I saw the makings of a good player. He runs the floor extremely well. He has good awareness on defense moving well off the ball and knowing how long he can hedge on screens before recovering in time to get back to his man.

Nnoko scored 14 points last night on 7-of-9 shooting, and he's probably not going to score like that on a regular basis in the ACC. But he's a hard worker and he's very coachable. That's refreshing to see.

And for a guy who's been playing organized basketball for just three years, he has a remarkable grasp of basketball nuance. Stuff like setting a quick screen at the top on the secondary break, giving Filer space to nail a jumper from the top of the key.

-- Filer still has a lot to learn, but he's just a natural and it's impossible not to notice him when he's on the floor. Plays with an air of assertiveness and confidence you don't normally see in a freshman. Very quick, and plays tenacious on-ball defense. Needs to improve his off-ball defense.

-- Roper is really small, and it's hard to see him not getting muscled around by some bigger guards. Defense is where he needs to improve the most, but he could end up being sneaky good on offense. Brownell was optimistic about him when I spoke with him after the game. Roper missed all three of his shots from the field, but Brownell pointed out that he looked good in the recent closed scrimmage against Georgia.

-- Damarcus Harrison didn't really stand out to me, but he does have a good feel for the game and that's evidenced by his stat line: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal. His versatility and ability to play both wing positions is going to be valuable.

-- Brownell extended his defense more last night than we saw last season, and that's a big reason we saw 19 steals by Clemson and 27 turnovers by Lander. The Tigers are going to be significantly better at ball pressure at the top this season with Filer and Rod Hall. Andre Young just wasn't all that good in that respect last year, and this year ball pressure is going to be a major key. If Filer and Hall can sustain the intensity we saw for large stretches last night, it will be tough for opponents to initiate their offenses and that's something we saw a lot of in Brownell's first season.

-- Things got a little sloppy in the second half with some careless passes at the top and poor shot selection. On back-to-back possessions, Roper and Harrison took quick shots outside of the flow of the offense. Something to work on, for sure.

-- Brownell is going to sit down and talk with Blossomgame at some point in the next few days. We don't think a decision has been made, but it does sound like Blossomgame is headed for a redshirt.

LW