Brownell Lands USF Transfer David Collins
Welcome back to the transfer portal, Brad Brownell.
While the Clemson men's basketball coach has been no stranger to this method of adding new players to a roster, the Tigers have been quiet during the wildest time since the NCAA began allowing players to submit their names to a database and be re-recruited.
That changed Tuesday when Clemson landed a commitment from former USF guard David Collins. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Youngstown, Ohio, native announced his decision to join the Tigers via social media.
Collins, a graduate transfer, averaged 12.5 points per game for the Bulls last year. He also grabbed 3.5 rebounds and shot 42 percent from the field.
What the Tigers will be especially thrilled about is that Collins made 37 percent of his 3-point attempts. That's an area of need for Brownell next season. Clemson (34.5 percent) was 10th in the ACC from behind the arc last year.
Collins had a double-digit points average in all four of his seasons with the Bulls. His experience and size in the backcourt is exactly what the Tigers need moving forward. Returning guards Nick Honor (5-10) and Al-Amir Dawes (6-2) struggled at times to match up with bigger backcourts.
Collins' best season as a college player came during his sophomore campaign when he averaged 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He was one of seven players from USF who entered the transfer portal, Collins chose Clemson over several schools, including Cincinnati, Kansas State and Duquesne.
The Tigers lost Aamir Simms (graduation), Jonathan Baehre (graduation), Clyde Trapp (transfer) and John Newman III (transfer) for the upcoming season. High school signee Lucas Taylor asked out of his letter of intent, and it was granted by the school, opening up another roster spot.
Clemson did, however, add class of 2021 forward Ben Middlebrooks on Monday after the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., recruit announced his intentions to join the Tigers.
Still, Brownell has work to do on the next roster, so expect him to continue recruiting veteran players from the transfer portal.
