CLEMSON — If you walked into Littlejohn Coliseum last week, you may have noticed three hundred screaming Clemson students donning blazing orange shirts and traditional white chef hats.
The culinary style made its debut against Louisville on Jan. 30 and was back again during an ACC basketball battle last Saturday, where Virginia held on for a one-point victory over the Tigers.
While the loss brought another heartbreak to Clemson fans, it also marked the start of a new fan club — The Schieffs.
The Schieffs are a part of the Clemson student section at Littlejohn, who are wearing chef hats in support of forward Ian Schieffelin, which is pronounced Chef-lin.
Schieffelin or “The Schieff” as he is known around the Clemson campus, has catapulted himself as the most improved player in the ACC. The junior is currently the only ACC player averaging 9.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and two assists per game.
“When I walk around town, the first guy people mention to me is Ian Schieffelin,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “It’s because some of us all look at Ian and think, ‘How does this guy do that? Maybe I can do that.’
“His heart is so big. His will to get balls and how accepting he is of what he’s trying to do. You just love coaching guys like that.”
Schieffelin has also become one of the more popular players in the conference, even coaches like Virginia’s Tony Bennett and Duke’s Jon Scheyer, among others, are fans.
“He looks like he’s just everyday kind of guy but hey, I liked him last year,” Bennett said. “He knows how to play. He’s crafty, he can shoot the ball, good passer but he’s continuous.”
Schieffelin’s hustle ignites Clemson’s student section, fittingly named the “Grit Pit” at every home game. Student leaders decided they needed to support Schieffelin beyond just their cheers.
According to Duren Chambers, a student section leader from Cornelia, Ga., a single donor provided over three hundred chef hats for Saturday’s game. The donor collaborated with Clemson’s CentralSpirit club to distribute the hats along with “Littlejohn Loud” shirts to the first anticipative students in the building.
Chambers shared that the ultimate goal for her club is to create a “hype” environment specific to only basketball games. Leaders of the “Grit Pit” are having dinner with the basketball team and staff this week to discuss further steps for defining basketball culture at Clemson home games.
“Lunchpail, hard hat guy and so I can see how the crowd would certainly get behind him,” Bennett said. “The combination with him and PJ is tough. That’s formidable and Brad (Brownell) does such a good job. This team is really good.”
Chambers is naturally hoping to keep the chef hats and fire orange shirts when the Tigers return to Littlejohn on Feb. 14 after the Tigers finish their road stretch against No. 3 North Carolina tonight and Syracuse.
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—photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications
