Clemson Benefited From a Rested PJ Hall
CLEMSON, S.C. — It just wasn’t Ian Schieffelin’s or Ben Middlebrooks’ day.
The two freshmen, who played so well for Clemson when Hunter Tyson and PJ Hall missed time with injuries last month, struggled during Tuesday’s 70-64 victory over NC State in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
And because they struggled, it meant Hall, who missed three games due to inflammation in his left foot, had to play about six minutes more than head coach Brad Brownell would have liked. Tuesday’s win at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was just the second game back for Clemson’s leading scorer and the Tigers were hoping to limit Hall to about 25 minutes.
Hall played just 13 minutes in Clemson’s win over Virginia Tech last Saturday.
“We had a couple freshman bigs maybe not play quite as well as I would have liked to, kind of steal a few more minutes,” Brownell said after the game. “So, I talked to him (Hall), and he was ready to go.”
Playing the extra six minutes did not seem to hurt the Tigers’ post player. In fact, it all worked out for the best.
Hall scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out three assists and had four blocked shots in leading Clemson (17-15) to just its second win over NC State in an ACC Tournament Game since 1994 and just its fourth overall.
“It’s great to think about, ‘Hey, the next game, the next game, the next game.’ You've got to win the game you’re in,” Brownell said. “We’ll wake up tomorrow pretty much how we have all year, and PJ will tell me how he feels, and the trainer will tell me how much he can play, if he thinks he can play or else he won't.
“That was probably five or six more [minutes] than I would have liked, but I think PJ will tell you in the moment that he wants to win the game and be out there.”
Hall’s foot has been bothering him all season, and he aggravated it even more just a minute into the Louisville game on Feb. 19. He missed the following three games before coming back in the regular-season finale against the Hokies.
“Whenever I was first having the thing in my foot, flare-up all over the outside of my foot, it was hard to be truthful to myself and my staff that I’m hurting,” Hall said. “So, then we’re playing Drake, and I'd go down a little bit and it wasn't feeling too great, and it progressively got worse. Obviously, I wanted to be out there and compete and fight with my teammates, but that hasn’t happened anymore.
“I’ve learned to sacrifice and make sure I can be truthful to my teammates because there were times I was out there, and I hurt my team because I couldn’t move very well. And Middlebrooks did a great job when I actually went out. Looking in hindsight, I want to compete, but you have to be smart. That was definitely a huge learning point for me.”
Because of the way Middlebrooks and Schieffelin played during the Tigers’ wins over Wake Forest, Boston College and Georgia Tech, Hall was able to rest his foot and get as healthy as he could. He scored 12 points, had five rebounds and two steals in the win over the Hokies despite being in foul trouble much of the day.
In Clemson’s win over NC State on Tuesday, he was as efficient as ever. Hall was 7 of 12 from the field. Made 4 of 6 free throws, had three assists and blocked four shots in the 31 minutes he played.
Hall admitted the three-game rest benefited him on Tuesday.
“It definitely helped a lot,” he said. “Just whenever I went down at Louisville, I had to take a few days off to at least be able to move around on it. Missing the games against Georgia Tech—all those games, Boston College and (Virginia Tech)—it was huge to get some rest on it.
“I came back the last game of the season to get my feet wet, regular season at least, and I felt pretty solid out there tonight. So, get rested up, ice it tonight, and be ready to go tomorrow hopefully.”
The 10th-seeded Tigers will definitely need him on Wednesday, as they play No. 5 seed Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Tigers' odds of winning the ACC Championship currently sit at +10000 according to Fanduel.
