CLEMSON – Since March of 2023, the Clemson Tigers have made two NCAA tournament appearances, advanced to the Elite Eight, finished second in regular-season ACC play, and brought in over a dozen new players.

Still, for senior forward R.J. Godfrey, Clemson’s 83-56 win over Morehead State Tuesday transported him back 32 months ago, when the Eagles knocked the first-seeded Tigers out of the NIT Tournament.

For Godfrey, the moment checked off a bucket list item: avenging his former teammate, whose final game as a Tiger was the Morehead State loss.

“This is one game I kind of had circled, not only for me but for who I consider my mentor, Hunter Tyson,” Godfrey said. “That was his last game here, and I really wanted to come out and play hard for him because he means so much to me, and I still remember how the locker room was after that last game… When the schedule came out in August, I was like, ‘Man, I got to do it for him.’”

In his senior year, before beginning an NBA career with the Denver Nuggets, Tyson averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, with 16 double-doubles. In true Hunter Tyson form, Godfrey put up the third double-double of his career against the Eagles, finishing with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. 

Nine of his rebounds came in the first half, and six were on the offensive glass.

“Offensive rebounding is the mindset,” the Suwanee, G.A., native said. “It’s a battle of who wants it more, and I think just setting that tone kind of rubs off on the team a little bit. But I’ve just seen the guys before me master the art of that, and I think I kind of want to embrace that this year.”

According to head coach Brad Brownell, offensive rebounding is one of several responsibilities that Godfrey will take on as a veteran leader this season. Two seasons ago, Godfrey averaged 3.4 rebounds and just over six points for Brownell’s squad. In a one-year stint at Georgia last season, he notched just under four rebounds and 6.8 points per game.

In his first three games back as a Tiger, the veteran has averaged 11.7 points and just shy of nine rebounds, a team-high. The growth does not come as a shock to Brownell – it is a requirement for team success.

“R.J.’s at the point in his career where he needs to be a complete player. He’s got to do it all,” he said. “He’s got to score, he’s got to rebound, he’s got to defend, he’s got to be a leader. I mean, that all sounds good… Everybody wants all those responsibilities, especially when they’re young, but then when you have to go out and get 12 points and six, seven, eight rebounds every night, that’s the expectation. But he’s off to a great start.”

Now, after almost a decade of knowing Godfrey, starting with recruitment in early high school, Brownell is unsurprised by the success his veteran is seeing so far.

“R.J.’s been very good,” Brownell said. “He plays the game with great enthusiasm and energy, and I think our system is really good for him, and he’s comfortable. I don’t think it’s a surprise that he’s playing well.”

Next, Godfrey will embark on a challenge he has never faced in his collegiate career: travelling to Washington, D.C. to take on the Georgetown Hoyas in an early road test. The Hoyas and Tigers will tip off at noon on Saturday. Coverage will be shown on Peacock.

Photo courtesy of Alex Martin/Greenville News-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images