Update on Chase Hunter’s future with Clemson basketball team
Chase Hunter has been with the Clemson men’s basketball program for five seasons, and he’s leaving the door open for a sixth as the Tigers enter the stretch run.
Speaking Wednesday after Clemson’s 76-55 loss to Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Hunter, who has a Covid year of eligibility, said he hasn’t given any thought to whether he’ll use it.
“No, I haven’t thought about it,” Hunter told The State. “It’s something that I’ll think about after the season, when the season’s over . ... No thoughts right now. When the season’s over, that’s when I’ll give that some more thought.”
Hunter has started all 31 games for Clemson this season at point guard and is the team’s third-leading scorer behind center PJ Hall and guard Joe Girard III, averaging 12.3 points per game as well as a team-high 2.9 assists per game.
Hunter, 22, is currently a redshirt senior in his fifth season on the team. A Class of 2019 recruit from Atlanta, he was limited to just nine games as a true freshman because of a season-ending foot injury and was awarded a medical redshirt waiver.
He has a sixth season of eligibility remaining because he played at Clemson during the 2020-21 season affected by Covid-19 (the NCAA gave every athlete who competed that year another year of eligibility).
Hunter — whose younger brother, Dillon, is a sophomore guard on the team — participated in Clemson’s Senior Night ceremonies last week but said he won’t make a decision on his future until the Tigers finish the 2024 season.
Hall, a first-team All-ACC selection who is considered a second-round NBA Draft pick, has a fifth year of eligibility remaining but has also said he’ll wait until after the season to decide whether to use it.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell said earlier this week that graduate guard Alex Hemenway (who’s missed the majority of the season with a lower leg injury) told Brownell he intends to return to Clemson next year on a medical redshirt, too. It’ll be Hemenway’s sixth season with the team.
Clemson NCAA Tournament update
Clemson is widely considered a lock for the NCAA Tournament and currently projects as a No. 6 seed in the bracket, which will be revealed Sunday (6 p.m., CBS). But the Tigers are trying to regroup after after a disappointing one-and-done conference tournament showing in Washington, D.C.
Clemson, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, fell to Boston College, the No. 11 seed, by 21 points in its opening ACC Tournament game and trailed the entire second half. Hunter was among a few usually steady starters who failed to make an impact; he had 2 points on 0-10 shooting and had a team-worst -29 plus/minus.
What does Clemson need to do to turn things around before the Big Dance?
“Just play better,” Hunter said. “Play better offensively, defensively, get stops when we need them. Speaking for myself, I need to play better and help this team.”
