Clemson’s men’s basketball team won its latest game in blowout fashion, and the Tigers did it without one of their top backcourt players.

Alex Hemenway started each of the Tigers’ first 12 games, averaging 9.8 points in those contests. He’s also been Clemson’s best 3-point shooter, knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a 50% clip.

But the junior guard missed Clemson’s 79-66 win at Georgia Tech on Wednesday as he continues to deal with plantar fasciitis, foot inflammation that head coach Brad Brownell said Hemenway started battling recently. Hemenway played in the Tigers’ previous game against Richmond but logged a season-low 19 minutes before exiting the game for good.

Clemson (10-3, 2-0 ACC) won’t return to action until a Dec. 30 matchup against NC State, but Brownell said he’s unsure exactly how long Hemenway will be out.

“Obviously being off of it is going to be good, but I think this is going to be one of these lingering injuries all year that’s going to be a little bit of a challenge for us,” Brownell said. “Obviously it’s hard because he’s a good player. He’s an older player, and he’s kind of a security blanket guy that just knows what to do and is usually in the right spot on both ends.”

With Hemenway out, freshman Dillon Hunter played a season-high 24 minutes against Georgia Tech alongside his brother, Chase, to help fill the void. Dillon, primarily a point guard, finished with just two points but dished out four of the Tigers’ 20 assists and didn’t turn the ball over.

Clemson may need more of that in the future from the youngster depending on how long the Tigers have to go without Hemenway’s services.

“Played well,” Brownell said of Dillon. “He’s a different kind of player that moves Chase over to the 2 (shooting guard) some. But, no, I don’t really know where (Hemenway’s timetable for a return) is going to be.”

Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.

Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”

Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”

Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!