By William Qualkinbush.

A message had to be sent. Clemson’s biggest player was coming up small, and the team was playing the price.

After six conference games, junior center Landry Nnoko’s contributions had been consistently miniscule: 3.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.7 fouls per game. He was only averaging 22 minutes per game for a team in desperate need of an inside presence.

Head Coach Brad Brownell made an adjustment on January 24, bumping Nnoko to the bench in favor of a harder-working Sidy Djitte. His maneuver worked, with Nnoko returning to the starting five at N.C. State and re-establishing himself as a more consistent force on the low block.

In the past three games—all Clemson wins—the Cameroon native has averaged 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. Those are not all-star numbers, but they are considerably better than before, including the nine-point, nine-rebound performance he contributed to the Tigers’ 64-49 win over Boston College on Saturday.

Since his brief benching, Nnoko has committed himself to staying on the floor for longer stretches. This puts an emphasis on avoiding fouls, which is something the junior has struggled to do all season.

He fouled out against North Carolina, and he committed four fouls in three other games. Even since his resurgence, Nnoko has had issues with fouls. He fouled out against Wake Forest and only logged 15 minutes at N.C. State due to his propensity to foul.

But against Boston College on Saturday, the 6-10 center played 28 minutes and only fouled twice. Nnoko was able to play with effort without fouling as frequently, and he admits being on the floor for longer stretches has allowed his game to grow back toward where it was at the end of last season.

“I’m just getting myself in the flow,” Nnoko said. “I’m trying to stay away from foul trouble, and I’m just trying to compete hard.”

A byproduct of getting into the flow offensively is improved free throw shooting. A solid contributor in that regard throughout his career, Nnoko missed half of his attempts in conference games prior to Saturday.

But he knocked down all three attempts against the Eagles, and Brownell believes it could allow him to regain the confidence he had from the charity stripe a season ago.

“That’s huge for him to make all three. He kind of was in a little stretch there where he was a little fragile.”

Nnoko’s development has coincided with some other improvements within the team on offense. Jordan Roper has become a more consistent scoring threat during the current three-game winning streak. Rod Hall has watched others score more baskets, which has allowed him to revert back to a more comfortable facilitator role.

The combination of perimeter scoring and a more passive Hall has meant more impactful post touches for Nnoko and the other post players.

“The guys are looking for me a little bit more,” Nnoko said. “I’m getting a (few) more shots, and I’ve just got to keep working.”

Nnoko’s new mindset was on display against the Eagles. He dove on the floor for loose balls. He grabbed four offensive rebounds, tying his best performance in an ACC game. He fought for position and earned post touches from willing passers.

Recently, playing well has become more of a necessity for Nnoko because of improved play from reserves Djitte and Josh Smith. Rather than competing with his improving peers, Nnoko sees the battle for minutes down low as a positive development for the team. He sees himself as the leader of that charge.

“It’s a unit,” Nnoko said. “When somebody’s doing good, I’m not just looking at that man. I’m looking at the whole group.”

The whole group has shown consistent improvement for several weeks, and with half of the ACC slate still to go, there is plenty of room to continue taking steps in the right direction—just as Nnoko has over the past eight days.