Sophomore’s versatility has Clemson teammates calling him “an alien”
By: Cameron Burnett November 2, 2023

CLEMSON – Versatility is the word to describe the 2023-24 Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team. During the offseason, head coach Brad Brownell was tasked with testing a lot of players at different positions because of the injuries that plagued the team.

Desperate times required Brownell to move some of his tallest players to the wing. One of the times that was most interesting was 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Chauncey Wiggins playing up at the two spot, where 6-foot-2 Joseph Girard III normally starts for Clemson.

It was just a spur of the moment, and some Tigers were surprised by how well Wiggins can perform in that position. One even believed he was otherworldly.

“That man’s an alien, he can play anywhere. He’s 6’10”, can shoot, dribble. On defense, he’s getting there on defense but when he’s gets it down, the league is in trouble,” RJ Godfrey said.

Ian Schieffelin reiterated Godfrey’s sentiment, and there’s a clear hype around Wiggins taking the next step this season. His freshman year was a quiet one, but he appeared in 27 games, averaging 8.9 minutes per game.

That’s crucial time and it’s paying dividends with higher expectations and ceilings in his second rodeo. We got to see Wiggins’ versatility in the dominant scrimmage win over Newberry, and he finished the game with seven points over 15 minutes,

“He can really dribble, pass and shoot. I mean, he’s just a very skilled guy and obviously he’s working on his toughness and physicality and stuff around the basket. But I messed around when we had a bunch of the injuries…just for a couple minutes in practice, let’s see what this looks like. You do a lot of things differently defensively and the more versatility you have in your lineup, the better and this year’s a team where we’re gonna have some,” Brownell said.

The sentiment continues to be how Wiggins develops on the physical and defensive side, but the excitement is clear about what he can bring on the offensive end. Clemson has the versatility to succeed, and a breakout for Wiggins could be a massive piece in the Tigers’ hopes.