CHARLOTTE – Dillon Hunter’s locker at the ACC Tournament was wedged in the corner of a small grayish room, dimly lit with the fluorescent lights used by high school classrooms and warmed by the comfort of a non-lethal loss.

As the senior trudged in from a press conference after a 73-61 loss to top-seeded Duke in the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament, he wore tightly bound ice bags around the knees that carried him through 88 minutes of playing time across three games in as many days.

Largely thanks to Hunter’s 22 combined points, along with five assists and seven rebounds, the Tigers picked up wins against Wake Forest and North Carolina to send Clemson to its second semifinal appearance in two years and likely secure a favorable spot in this season’s NCAA Tournament. 

“We took our time with these first two wins,” Hunter said from the locker room after the Duke loss. “We didn’t really have an outcome we wanted in this one, but we know you’re not going to win every game, but still fight and take this, go back, work, and be ready for the (NCAA) Tournament.”

Much like the veteran guard, Hunter’s locker served as an anchor between two perpendicular rows of Tiger players. On one side, next to Hunter, sat transfer Butta Johnson, who joined the Tigers last offseason after three years at UAB. To Johnson’s left was redshirt Ace Buckner, who watched Clemson make an early exit from March Madness last season from the sideline as a true freshman.

On the other side of Hunter’s locker sat true freshman Zac Foster, veteran forward R.J. Godfrey, transfer Nick Davidson, former Middle Tennessee State standout Jestin Porter, and several more Tigers clad with orange uniforms and varying backgrounds.

Less than a year ago, Clemson had less than three players on its 2026 roster after eligibility rules and the transfer portal ravaged through a 2024-25 team that held a 27-7 record and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Though this season’s Clemson team looks almost entirely different from the squad that occupied the same Spectrum Center locker room after a semifinal loss to Louisville in 2025, the new-look Tigers find themselves in a similar position.

Again, Brad Brownell’s team is destined to go dancing.

With a 24-10 record and multiple wins over Quad 1 teams, national projections show that Clemson now awaits its third consecutive bid to play in the NCAA Tournament, this time with a team that was dispersed across seven colleges and nine states 12 months ago.

Hunter, Godfrey, and Johnson have all played meaningful minutes in the NCAA Tournament in their careers, but for the other 84 percent of Clemson’s squad, postseason play will be an entirely new opportunity.

 “It’s a beautiful feeling,” Johnson said postgame, after recording eight points against the Blue Devils. “A couple years ago, I was in the Tournament, but to be here and to already know that you’re going even if you lose in the (ACC) Tournament, I’m blessed to be in this position. And can’t thank the coaches enough for allowing me to be here.” 

While Johnson was fighting to give the UAB Blazers a postseason chance last year, freshman Chase Thompson was still celebrating a high school state championship win in Minnesota, where he was named the state’s “Mr. Basketball” at the conclusion of the season.

One year after claiming the title, Thompson notched five points, two rebounds, and a team-high plus-five in the +/- category against Duke in increased minutes. Though this will be the rookie’s first experience in March Madness, it feels more than familiar, as Thompson got to watch his brother, Treyton, play in the Tournament as a member of a 16-seed Stetson team in 2024.

“I got to see my brother play there two years ago, so it’s just really cool now for me to be there,” he said.

Unlike Thompson, as well as other freshmen and transfer players, playing in an NCAA Tournament is nothing new for Godfrey and Hunter. The pair have combined for six appearances, with five coming at Clemson.

The duo made their first and most recent postseason surge together in 2024, when the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight after besting Arizona and Baylor in upset wins. Now, after three seasons at Clemson, Hunter is entering this phase for a third time, now with some additional wisdom about postseason competition.

“Don’t take nothing for granted,” he said. “Just stay down. Keep grinding. Take every moment, every possession. Just fight to the end.”

The Spectrum Center visitors’ locker room holds many orange-and-purple memories from the last two years. It remembers three victories, several game-sealing free throws, and five halftime speeches. It holds the agony of two season-ending injuries, the pain of elimination losses, and the faces of over 20 players wearing a Tigers uniform.

But now, the Tigers will leave the ACC Tournament memories (and the familiar lockers) in the past, as they wait to find out their first NCAA Tournament opponent. The annual Selection Show, which will inform Clemson of its fate, will air at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Whether Clemson players are waiting to officially claim their first, second, or third Tournament appearances, it will mark a new beginning, a fresh life, and a chance to make history for the Tigers team.