CLEMSON – The dirty work in basketball always leads to wins, and No. 24 Clemson has a player that’s quite literally built for it.

Junior forward Ian Schieffelin is the Tigers’ leading rebounder through seven games, and his relentless nature is a key reason Clemson has yet to go down.

Road games are always a test, and Schieffelin was a bull in a china shop at both Alabama and Pittsburgh. He averaged 15.5 rebounds over the contests, and dominated the glass.

Head coach Brad Brownell spoke about his value Tuesday, and how crucial he is to this team’s success.

“I thought at the Alabama game, I thought he might’ve been the best player on the floor. I mean, his rebounding was incredible. Rebounding out of his area, rebounding in traffic. Keeping balls alive. People forget a rebound is like a fifty-fifty ball in the air,” Brownell said.

The Clemson coach detailed how rebounding is “who really wants them.” Last season, that was Hunter Tyson and now Schieffelin has assumed the role as a junior.

“There’s no timidness. He will throw his body into the mosh pit to try and rebound and I admire that. And he does it and really no fanfare. He just kind of knows ‘I wanna play, that’s probably the best way I can help our team win right now.’ He’s a good athlete and he’s a tough kid, but he’s not the best athlete on the floor, and yet some games he’s the best rebounder,” Brownell said.

He joked that Schieffelin can share some of the rebounds and get some help from his fellow Tigers. 17 against the Panthers isn’t necessary for one person according to Brownell as he smirked.

Oddly enough, Schieffelin’s physicality came from being a football player growing up. He went to the Dabo Swinney Camp when he was entering Grayson high school. That just happens to be where Tigers safeties coach Mickey Conn coached for 16 years.

All signs wojld point to Schieffelin becoming a football player, but he stuck to the hardwood. None may be more thankful than that than Brownell, and he made sure to poke at his fellow Clemson head coach in the process.

“He’s never been afraid of physical contact or anything,” Brownell said. “Just smart enough to be a basketball player, not a football player.”