CLEMSON – Clemson men’s basketball opened their season with a 78-56 victory over Winthrop, and the Tigers got a lot of results out of a veteran that’s proving this could be a breakout year.

Junior forward Ian Schieffelin had 29 starts under his belt coming into the 2023-24 season, but he’s showing an exponential evolution headed into his third season. Head coach Brad Brownell talked about Schieffelin’s development, and how he’s taken this next step after the win.

“He’s good, man. I just think he’s a good player. Made two out of three three’s. He’s really worked hard, we’ve worked hard with him for a year and a half. Really maybe not his freshman year. Just started a little bit his freshman year, were working on it,” Brownell said.

Schieffelin was crucial in the win over the Eagles, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting. He was displaying a tremendous amount of effort on the floor, and ripped down three offensive rebounds in the first half.

Shooting is something that Brownell and the staff have slowly worked into Schieffelin’s evolution. During practice, the players will take 100 three’s and it’s something that certain players take very seriously. Schieffelin is in that group and it’s a testament to the work he’s putting in day in and day out.

” Ian made 80 one day., First time and he was celebrating like crazy because 80 out of 100 three’s is pretty daggum good now,” Brownell said. “Like, I guess it’s in gym in practice but the standards are what they are and you can kind of measure yourself and as you watch your guys get better and reach these standards and fight for these standards, then you know how much they are into it and care. He’s a guy that’s been really fighting for this.”

As this season could be a special one for the Tigers, Schieffelin is the hard-nosed worker Clemson needs. Now, he’s more than just that and with his development, Schieffelin is a catalyst for success in 2023-24.