CLEMSON — We have a long way to go before we know exactly who the 2023-’24 Clemson Tigers will be, but we got a glimpse on who they might be in Monday’s 78-56 win over Winthrop.

“We are team, that I think, we are skilled. We have a team that likes each other so they are willing passers and I think our IQ is pretty good,” head coach Brad Brownell said. “I think we see things to move the ball and find the right guy.”

In other words, the Tigers appear to be an unselfish team. Though Hunter Tyson, who is one of the more unselfish players Brownell has ever coached, is now playing for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, it appears his old team is following his lead.

Clemson produced 21 assists in its season opener at Littlejohn Coliseum, continuing the trend Brownell saw begin in the preseason and carry over into their scrimmage against Ohio State and its exhibition game against Newberry.

“We have played pretty well that way, offensively, in all three performances,” Brownell said. “We have kept our turnovers down to ten or less and we probably have more possessions because we are playing a little quicker.”

PJ Hall, who led the Tigers with 20 points and had five rebounds, said they will be consistently fast-paced this season, thanks to their depth and because of the pieces they added in transfers Joe Girard and Jack Clark.

“[Passing] is one of our biggest strengths,” Hall said. “We have so many guys who can shoot the ball and so many guys that can score. Like, there are eight, nine, ten guys that can go in there and get a bucket. So, having guys like that, who are willing to pass as well, is one of our biggest strengths.”

Girard, who is known as a shooter and one of the top scorers in the ACC, led the Tigers with four assists. Alex Hemenway, who is also shooter, had three assists, along with Dillon Hunter. In all, 10 players had at least one assist. Hall finished the night with two assists.

“It just comes naturally to us, even though we are a great scoring team,” Hall said.

Besides Hall’s 20 points, the Tigers also got 16 points from Ian Schieffelin, 12 from RJ Godfrey and 10 points from Chase Hunter. The Tigers connected on 13 of 32 three-pointers (41 percent) and were 27 of 62 from the field overall (43.5 percent).

“I would say there are five or six there that I would love to have back,” Brownell said. “I think we are going to shoot a lot of three-pointers this year. I think that is what you should do if you have guys that can shoot, and we do.”

And because they have multiple shooters, you are also going to see Clemson running and running at a more consistent pace.

“We are probably going to be a little more consistently fast,” Hall said.

And what does that mean exactly?

“We had a whole summer to really kind of work and implement it into our offense this year, so I think it is definitely going to be a little bit faster,” guard Alex Hemenway said.

“And knowing when to go faster,” Hall added.

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