Until he got to Clemson, Donte Grantham wore the No. 32 on his jersey. He wore it all throughout middle school, high school and in AAU basketball.

But when he got to Clemson, Grantham switched it up and went with No. 15. Why? Because All-ACC forward K.J. McDaniels wore it and he wanted to create his own identity. Looking back on it now, the senior knows that was a mistake.

Grantham wore the No. 32 because he wanted to be like Magic Johnson, his favorite player of all time.

“He is the guy I looked up to,” the Clemson senior said. “I just tried to be versatile when I was growing up. I grew up loving Magic Johnson. I wanted to go back to number thirty-two for my last year and it is doing me well.”

Grantham loves Magic Johnson and since he went back to No. 32, it loves him as well.  Grantham heads into Saturday’s noon game against Louisville averaging 15.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, which is way up from his 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds during his first three seasons at Clemson.

The senior, who dabbled a little in the NBA Draft process in the off-season, is also shooting the ball better, while taking more shots. He already has 133 attempts from the field in 14 games this year compared to 235 last year in 33 games. He also has made 81 shots after making just 90 all of last year.

Grantham’s shooting percentage is up from 38.3 percent last year, to 60.9 this season.

“I think I’m just getting a lot of stuff at the rim,” he said. “I’m really just building my rhythm and I think just me rebounding the ball gives me a lot of confidence. This year, I have been getting to the free throw line way more than I got last year and I think I have shot way more free throws this year than I did all of last year.

“I think getting to the line and making free throws and seeing the ball go in a little bit more, touching the ball and rebounding a little bit has really got my confidence going. I’m really getting a lot of stuff at the rim.”

Don’t let Grantham fool you, though. He isn’t getting all of his shots at the rim. He is shooting 18-of-44 from behind the arc, making nearly 41 percent of his three-point attempts. He came into the season shooting just 32 percent from downtown in his first three years at Clemson.

“It’s just practice,” Grantham said. “Just putting in the reps, and I think now that I’m getting to the rim, a lot of teams are playing that too so that has opened up the shot for me a little bit and my three is opening up.

“It means just working in the off-season, getting up reps and just staying confident. That really is just it.”

Whether it’s the jersey or extra practice time in the gym, so far, it is working out well for Grantham and the Tigers. In Clemson’s win at Boston College earlier this week, he joined an exclusive club when he finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

Each of the other five players to score at least 20 points, grab 10 rebounds and dish out 5 assists in one game are in the Clemson Hall of Fame and were members of Clemson’s Centennial team chosen in 2012. Four of the five—Larry Nance, Horace Grant, Elden Campbell and Sharone Wright—were first-round NBA draft selections.

“He has made a conscious decision to be more aggressive this year and drive the ball, get into the paint and make more plays,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I think that has been good for him. Obviously, he has played at a very high level.”

Or maybe, just maybe it’s a little Magic. Maybe it is because he went back to wearing Magic Johnson’s No. 32 again.