Top Transfer Center in Contact With Clemson Basketball

Big men are hard to come by in this offseason’s transfer portal window, and Clemson basketball is taking its shot at one of the top ones in the pool.

According to On3’s Jamie Shaw and Tiger Illustrated’s Paul Strelow, George Mason center Riley Allenspach conducted a call with the Clemson Tigers earlier this week, looking to lock in a visit with the big man over the next week.

Allenspach averaged 13.6 points and 6.1 rebounds with the George Mason Patriots last season, being a Second Team All-A10 player at the end of the season. He finished the year with a 56.6%, adding a 31.3% three-point clip as well.

Before the Patriots, Allenspach spent two seasons under now-Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan at Sanford. He had a much larger scoring output with his time at George Mason, and he wants to grow that even more next season.

The 6-foot-11, 247-pound big man has taken calls from many other Power Four schools. Indiana, Syracuse, Saint Louis, Cincinnati and Kansas State are all also interested in Allenspach. However, the Tigers have an edge in being able to get him uniquely.

That edge? A family connection.

Riley’s uncle, Adam, played at Clemson in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He played from 1997 to 2001, finishing his Tiger tenure with averages of 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds over his four years with the team. Now, his nephew has a chance to potentially play a big role in Clemson’s frontcourt next season if he decides to choose the school.

Head coach Brad Brownell needs the depth due to the loss of starting center Carter Welling, who tore his ACL in the ACC Tournament a month ago, meaning he will most likely miss the start of the season. While Clemson has players like Trent Steinour and incoming freshman Will Stevens, getting an older player in Allenspach would help replenish the room.

Then, when Welling returns, the Tigers would have more rotation.

During this process, Allenspach will narrow his choices down to three schools before the end of the week. Following that, he will visit those schools before making his final choice.

For Clemson, the pickup would be a massive get, filling a critical need at starting center while Welling recovers, perhaps competing with him for the role. He is the No. 11 center in the portal class, according to 247Sports. With other transfer bigs in the past, like Nick Davidson and Viktor Lakhin, Brownell could have another chance to mold a starting-caliber center at the Power Four level.

Clemson Tigers on SI will remain updated with the center’s citation, as well as the other players that the Tigers are in contact with, through our transfer portal tracker.