By Will Vandervort.

Rod Hall finished his Clemson career ninth in school history in assists, starts and minutes played, while scoring 926 points. But will he be missed?

There are a good portion of Clemson fans out there that appreciate what Hall did representing the Tigers, but a lot of those same fans are excited about what the future brings to the point guard position and whether the new guys can take it to another level.

Who are those new guys? San Francisco transfer Avry Holmes is the top candidate, Jordan Roper—who handled the point position at times this year is another, while incoming freshman Ty Hudson will get an opportunity, too.

But the position belongs to Holmes, who was brought in last spring with the idea that he would transition into the role once Hall graduated. Of course the junior had to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.

“He and Rod had some good battles this year in practice. I think there are some differences in them,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “Avry is more inclined to score and is a better shooter. He is a tough guy as well, much like Rod.

“He is probably not quite as steady. There is going to be some up and down every once in a while with him that he is going to have to learn how to play through and I’m going to have to learn how to coach him through some of that.”

Holmes averaged 12.5 points per game for the Dons in 2013-’14 as he gives the Tigers a little more speed at the position as well as a guy who can pull up and hit that mid-range jump shot, something Hall was not as comfortable doing.

“He will be really excited (to play),” Brownell said. “That’s one thing you get when guys sit out a year, whether it is Jaron because of an injury as a freshman or Avry as a transfer because you get guys that are excited to get back on the court and compete.”

Holmes is also excited about playing in the ACC.

“One of the reasons Avry came to Clemson was to play in the ACC and he wants to play against the best players,” Brownell said. “I joke with him sometimes and tell him, ‘you are going to get the opportunity buddy so be ready for it because it is going to be a challenge because these guys you are going against are really good players. You are going to play against pros. You need to be able to compete at a high level,’ but he is excited about that.”

Roper, who has appeared in 96 games in his career, is also excited about competing at the point and Hudson will try to compete and provide depth at the one and the two spot. But the ball will first be in Holmes’ hands.

“He will have a great chance to play a bunch of minutes for us at that position and we hope he will make a very good and smooth transition into the point guard position,” Brownell said.