Nick Davidson’s Patience Pays Off — And It Comes at the Perfect Time For Clemson

When Clemson forward Nick Davidson sat down in the press room on Tuesday night, he had a smile on his face talking about his performance. That smile was well-deserved.

The Nevada transfer erupted in the No. 22 Tigers’ win over Boston College during the week, with a double-digit win marking the program’s eighth straight win during this stretch. Davidson finished with a season-high 25 points in the win, with 21 in the first half. Those points in the first frame

He didn’t have much explanation to how it ended up happening, but Davidson just said he trusted himself and his shots.

“I just, you know, found open space, let it go, and trusted in my work and it was going in,” he said following the win.

And that’s all he needed. Being a common catch-and-shoot big man, those shots happen every game. It was the first time that the Mission Viejo, California, continued to shoot after seeing the shots constantly falling.

Not even Boston College head coach Earl Grant was able to believe the energy that Davidson brought to the floor in the win. His team wasn’t prepared for it.

“He hadn’t played like that all year, put it that way,” Grant said. “So, 21 points in the first half, so he had an out of body experience. He really helped and we watched the film. He hadn’t been like that.”

Davidson has been coming off the bench following the South Carolina game on Dec. 16. It was something that head coach Brad Brownell challenged him with, perhaps due to not seeing the performances that he had last season, where he finished with 15.8 points per game.

Despite the switch to the bench, Brownell thinks that his player is even better than most people think, due to the fundamental qualities he adds to the floor when he’s on it. He also said that his shooting is “much improved.”

“I think he’s played a lot better than most people realize because he does a lot of things,” the Clemson head coach said. “He passes the ball. He’s one of our best defensive communicators, leaders, handles the ball against the press, you know, two positions.”

Teammate Carter Welling chimed in during the press conference as well, saying he felt like Boston College did almost everyday in practice.

The anticipation by his teammate and his head coach show that a performance like this was waiting to happen for Davidson. At Nevada last season, he had eight performances of scoring 20 points or more. If the Tigers could get at least one more performance out of him like he did on Tuesday, that’s a pivotal performance that could pick up an ACC win alone.

That doesn’t matter for Davidson, though. Brownell knows it too, after understanding the forward’s emphasis on going to the NCAA Tournament, which he has only been to twice but never had a win.

If Clemson keeps playing like this, that’s bound to change. The forward has fully understood the offense since coming off the bench against Cincinnati, and that is going to get better as the season progresses.

“It’s part of the game, and you know, just play my role,” Davidson said. “I really just want to win, to be honest with you, and since that game, we’ve been on a winning streak. So happy about that.”

Brownell appreciates this team for its drive to win basketball games. Davidson has the same mentality, and if continuing to come off the bench to pick up heat checks will help the Tigers fly through the ACC, then his selflessness will be honored.

“There has to be a willingness on their part to make it about the team, and certainly guys can fight the coaching or fight the decision,” Brownell said, “but he’s such a good guy and really just wants us to be good, make the tournament and have a big year that way.”

Clemson will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Miami at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. from the ACC Network.