When Florida guard Malik William committed to Clemson on Wednesday afternoon, it looked as though he would be joining Daniel guard A.J. Oliver in the Tigers’ class of 2017.

However, on Wednesday evening, Oliver announced that he will enroll early at Clemson as part of the 2016 class and redshirt this upcoming season.

“I decided a couple days ago,” Oliver told The Clemson Insider. “At first, I was kind of iffy about it because I kind of wanted to do the prep school thing, but then again I would have had to travel a long way, and I didn’t want to be away from my family for that long. So me, my mom and my dad decided I might as well enroll early and get it out of the way.”

Oliver was considering four prep schools: Brewster Academy, Hargrave Military, Huntington Prep and Legacy Charter School.

But along with his parents, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell and his staff helped Oliver decide what is best for him.

“They said it would be a good idea for me to get in early and learn the system earlier than most people would,” Oliver said of the Clemson staff. “They said it would help me develop as a player so that my freshman year, I’d be ready to go.”

Oliver will focus exclusively on academics at Daniel this semester. The rest of the time, he said, he will work out and improve his game in preparation for ACC competition.

What has Oliver’s preparation for enrolling early been like academically?

“I took two online classes for my core — probability/stats and economics,” Oliver said. “Now, I’m just taking half-semester classes because I have 21 and a half courses, and all I need is that half and then I’m good from there.”

Oliver feels there is a lot he can benefit from as an early enrollee.

“I’ll know most all the plays and will have already been in the system with the coaches,” Oliver said. “I’ll be comfortable with whatever they’re asking of me, and it won’t be a new thing to me. I feel like it will help me tremendously knowing the system and being there with the players I’ll be playing with next year.”

This summer, from July 20-24 in Las Vegas, Oliver competed in the 17-and-under division of the adidas Summer Championships with the Upward Stars team based in Spartanburg, S.C.

After a good showing, Oliver was selected to play in the adidas Global Nations event in Los Angeles from July 28-Aug.1.

Throughout the summer, Oliver has been working on his defense and finishing in the paint.

“I’ve been working on trying to get into the paint and finish,” Oliver said. “Also, defense has been a key component for me, and rebounding. Rebounding for guards is very rare, but I try to make it a habit for me. … I’ve just been trying to work on my all-around game instead of just being labeled as a shooter.”

Having accelerated his timetable for Clemson, Oliver is excited to get on campus in the near future.

“I’m living in the moment,” Oliver said, “but I’ll be ready to go and hopefully be able to please everybody in Tiger Town.”